David Szymanski

David Szymanski (/sʌˈmæn.skiː/ suh-MAN-skee; Polish pronunciation: [ʂɨˈmaɲ.ski]) is an American^{[‡ 1]} video game developer. Szymanski developed Dusk and Iron Lung. He is set to have a cameo in the upcoming film adaptation of Iron Lung by Mark Fischbach.

Career

Video of a "visual protoype" Szymanski was working on before he started to develop Dusk^{[‡ 2]}

Dusk

Main article: Dusk (video game)

Szymanski released Dusk on December 10, 2018.^{[‡ 3][1]} For Dusk, Syzmanski has been credited by Super Jump with "single-handedly revitalizing the boomer-shooter genre".^[2]

Iron Lung

Main article: Iron Lung (video game)

Szymanski released Iron Lung on March 10, 2022.^{[‡ 4][3]} After the Titan submersible implosion Iron Lung sales increased, in response Szymanski tweeted "This feels so wrong."^{[‡ 5][4]}

In December 2023, Szymanski faced criticism online for increasing the price of the game by two dollars, to which he responded, "go pirate it or something". Sales of the game dropped after the price adjustment.^[5]

Film adaptation

Main article: Iron Lung (film)

On April 21, 2023 Mark Fischbach announced that he would be directing the film Iron Lung^{[‡ 6][‡ 7][6]} and Szymanski said that he would have a cameo in the film on Twitter.^{[‡ 8][7]}

Squirrel Stapler

Squirrel Stapler was originally released as part of the Dread X Collection, but Syzmanski released it on its own in September 2023.^[8]

The Pony Factory

Much like Squirrel Stapler, The Pony Factory was originally part of the Dread X Collection, being expanded and receiving a full release in 2024.^[9] According to Syzmanski, the game was inspired in part by a short story called Jacqueline Ess: Her Will And Testament by Clive Barker.^[10]

The Pony Factory takes place in the same world as Squirrel Stapler^[10] and Butcher's Creek.

Butcher's Creek

Butcher's Creek is a first-person horror game released in January of 2025 about a man going to the titular Butcher's Creek on a quest to collect snuff films on VHS.^[11][12]

References

1. Litchfield, Ted (October 1, 2023). "Just five years after launch, FPS hit Dusk's free 'HD' remaster is going to touch up 'every texture, every model, every asset'". PCGamer. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
2. Octavio, Artemis (July 16, 2024). "Celebrating David Szymanski's Small Wonders". SUPERJUMP. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
3. Price, Renata (May 17, 2022). "'Iron Lung' Is a Terrifying Horror Game About Your Inevitable Demise". Vice News. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
4. Encinas, Amaris (June 22, 2023). "Horror-themed submarine video game, Iron Lung, saw sales spike amid Titan search, developer says". USA Today. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
5. Yin-Poole, Wesley (December 18, 2023). "Iron Lung Dev Says 'Go Pirate It or Something' in Response to Price Rise Backlash". IGN. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
6. Grobar, Matt (April 21, 2023). "Markiplier To Star In & Direct Horror Film 'Iron Lung' From His Own Script; Self-Financed Feature Adapts David Szymanski Video Game". Deadline. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
7. Brunner, Raven (April 21, 2023). "'Iron Lung': YouTuber Markiplier Releases Scary Trailer For Video Game Adaptation". Decider. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
8. Shuman, Sean (September 18, 2023). "'Squirrel Stapler' Game Review: Absurd Horror Meets Hunting Simulator". HorrorGeekLife. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
9. Shuman, Sean (July 16, 2024). "'The Pony Factory' Game Review: An Equine Menace". HorrorGeekLife. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
10. Couture, Joel (February 27, 2024). "Horsing around with horror in The Pony Factory". www.gamedeveloper.com. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
11. Vatankhah, Matt (January 15, 2025). "Finally, a Game Lets Me Beat Up Murderous Weirdos With My Stinky Feet". VICE. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
12. Litchfield, Ted (October 19, 2024). "The creator of Dusk and Iron Lung is making a gruesome but surprisingly funny horror game about beating killer cultists with lead pipes and 2x4s". PC Gamer. Retrieved February 1, 2025.

Primary sources

In the text these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):

1. @DUSKdev (June 13, 2019). "Yeah I'm half Polish but from the US" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
2. Szymanski, David (December 7, 2018). "Pre-Dusk 'Betrayer'-style prototype". YouTube. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
3. Szymanski, David. "DUSK". Steam. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
4. Szymanski, David. "Iron Lung". Steam. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
5. @DUSKdev (June 21, 2023). "This feels so wrong" (Tweet). Retrieved July 22, 2024 – via Twitter.
6. Fischbach, Mark (April 21, 2023). "Iron Lung | Official Teaser Trailer". YouTube. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
7. Szymanski, David (April 21, 2023). "There's going to be an Iron Lung movie!". Steam. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
8. @DUSKdev (April 21, 2023). "So yes, tl;dr the reason I've been so busy lately is because I've been heavily involved with production of the Iron Lung movie, from assisting with the script and pre-production to now being on set for the shoot and even having a small cameo in the film!" (Tweet). Retrieved July 21, 2024 – via Twitter.