Josh Lurie
builds things.
Antitrust class action attorney by day. By night, I design and build software at the intersection of gaming, data, and media — from ETL pipelines to consumer apps to an indie games publication I've run since 2017.
Projects
Vertical Slice Games
Media PlatformAn active video game media platform and review aggregator operating since 2017. Currently architecting a full-scale rebuild from a legacy WordPress monolith into a high-performance Next.js application, featuring custom data pipelines, proprietary scoring algorithms, and a bespoke editorial workflow.
IRIS
Residential Intelligence PlatformA bespoke, full-stack residential orchestration platform that unifies fragmented smart home ecosystems into a resilient, event-driven architecture. Beyond real-time state synchronization across Home Assistant, Ring, and Sonos, IRIS features a custom automation engine integrated with Google Calendar for context-aware scheduling and daily briefings. Delivered via a highly secure, coastal-inspired 'sea-glass' interface optimized for 60fps performance on wall-mounted hardware.
Backlog Slayer
Gamified ProductivityA feature-rich React application that turns conquering your gaming backlog into an RPG. Features a custom leveling system, unlockable companions, dynamic dungeon mapping, embedded minigames (like a fully playable DnD campaign!), and interactive CRT dashboard effects.
The Forge
ETL Pipeline / Internal Developer ToolThe bespoke data engine powering Backlog Slayer. A custom-built Electron application featuring a React dashboard, CLI, and automated GitHub Actions to ingest, sanitize, and transform massive datasets from the IGDB API into optimized, client-ready formats.
Nexus
ML-Powered Aggregation EngineAn advanced intelligence hub powering Vertical Slice Games. Nexus utilizes machine learning to identify review sources and NLP-driven sentiment analysis to evaluate unscored reviews, autonomously orchestrating global game data and real-time lifecycle tracking.
The Ecosystem
Each project feeds into the others. The Forge processes data for both Nexus and Backlog Slayer. Nexus powers the editorial engine behind Vertical Slice Games.
hover over nodes to trace data flow
The Shadowlight Legacy
Where the Shadows Sing
What if the fantasy world your father left unfinished was real—and its survival demanded your memories?
The foundational novel in an ambitious portal fantasy series that weaves deep psychological themes with intricate, systemic worldbuilding. Where the Shadows Sing follows sixteen-year-old Maya Blackwood as she is pulled into Athera—a dying realm that happens to be her late father's unfinished manuscript. To save this living story from a force of cosmic unmaking, Maya must forge interdimensional 'anchor points.' However, this magic system demands a devastating toll: the systematic erasure of her own memories from Earth. Blending high-stakes metaphysical architecture with a poignant meta-narrative, the story explores the cost of creation, the integration of grief, and the realization that home is not a single place, but the sum of our connections across worlds.