I'm a children's author, game designer, and web developer. I've spent years building things from scratch books, browser games, tools, workshops all without frameworks, all with genuine care for the people who'll use them.

📚 6+ children's books written, illustrated, and designed in-house

🎮 15+ browser games built in raw JavaScript, no engines

🌐 124-page website zero frameworks, pure HTML, CSS & JS

✦ Who Am I?

More than one thing

📚

Children's Author

5 picture books about real feelings fear, anxiety, resilience, belonging, and online safety.

🎮

Game Designer

10+ browser games, 3 tabletop games, and projects in Godot, GameMaker, Unity & more.

🎨

Designer & Builder

Built jvdesignstudio.co.uk from scratch 70+ pages of raw HTML, CSS & JavaScript. No templates.

🌱

Mentor & Teacher

1-to-1 mentoring for young creators. This discovery session is how we figure out if we're a good fit.

✦ The Books

Stories that don't
look away

🦊

Lumo & the Grumble-Grit

Anxiety · Resilience

Ages 4–8

🐢

Pip & The Great Dark

Fear of the dark

Ages 3–7

✨

Stardust's Cosmic Adventure

Belonging · Space

Ages 2–6

🦎

Echo & the Mountain

Courage · Choices

Ages 5–8

🔮

Elara & the Wire-Web Key

Online Safety

Ages 4–8

😰 Anxiety 🌙 Fear of the dark 💪 Resilience 🔐 Online safety 🌌 Belonging

5

✦ Browser Games

Free to play
right now, in your browser

🦊✨

Lumo's Firefly Shooter

✦ Tabletop & Card Games

Games you can hold
in your hands

🃏

Cooperative Card Games

Play together, not against each other. Designed for families.

Play Together →

🐉

Tabletop RPGs for Kids

Storytelling adventures designed for young players. No experience needed.

Begin the Quest →

🎲

Print-and-Play Kits

Free downloadable game kits. Print, cut, and play today.

Download Free →

🤝 Co-operative play 👨‍👩‍👧 Family-friendly 🆓 Free to download

🎲

✦ What I Teach

How to make things
that matter

🎮

Game Design

Godot 4, GameMaker, C++, Python, JavaScript. How games work and how to build them. Free Workshop →

🌐

Web Development

HTML, CSS, JavaScript. Building real things that live on the internet.

✏️

Storytelling

Characters, themes, structure. How a good story works whether it's a book or a game.

🎨

Design Thinking

Why things look and feel the way they do. Making intentional creative choices.

🔨

Building & Shipping

Going from idea to finished thing. How to start, how to keep going, how to finish.

💜

Making It Mean Something

The bit nobody else teaches. Why your work should care about people.

"Writing something down forces you to understand it, not just recognise it."

✦ Free Learning Resources

The Workshop

🧪

Learning Lab · 2026

The Learning Lab

11 subjects · 100+ challenges · XP levels · Study guides · Ages 6–12+. Free, no login.

8 modules. Real GDScript. Free PDF.

Start →

🎭

Roblox

Roblox Creator Journey

6 levels. T-shirts, clothing, 3D accessories.

Write real Python. Watch it run live.

Start →

⚔️

MUGEN

Build Your Own Fighter

Custom stages, characters, fighter factory.

C++, Three.js, JS, GML, 3D builders and more. All free.

See Everything →

∞

✦ My First Video Game · Series 1

The Godot Workshop Series

8 episodes. Real code. Beginner-friendly. Free forever.

Ep 4 · Space Invaders

🎮 Godot 4 · GDScript 🔰 Beginner → Intermediate 🆓 Free forever See All Episodes →

🎮

✦ 20+ Free Browser Tools

The Dev Tools

Built in-house. Free to use. No installs, no login.

"Every tool here was built because a student needed it and it didn't exist yet."

🛠️

✦ Why I Do This

"Every heart has a spark
that can never be dimmed."

💜

Brave doesn't have to be loud

Quiet courage counts. Rest counts. Trying a different way counts.

🌱

Small tries count

You don't have to climb the whole mountain today. One step, honestly taken.

🎨

Design is care made visible

When something is beautiful and feels right that's intentional love.

✨

Every heart has a spark

No matter what someone is carrying, their inner light can't be put out.

✦ Updated 2026

Learn & Play

Two free tools one for ages 6–12, one for ages 4–6. Study guides, XP levels, sounds, and explanations woven throughout every activity.

🧪

The Learning Lab

Ages 6–12+ · 11 subjects · XP levels · Study guides

Enter →

🦎

Computing

🐢

Maths

🦊

Number Bonds

📖

English

✨

Science

🔮

Memory

🌍

Geography

🔢

Times Tables

🏛️

History

🎵

Music

💻

Coding Logic

🌟

Tiny Learners

Ages 4–6 · Drawing studio · 10 activities · Tap-only

Play →

🎨

Drawing Studio

🐢

Counting

🦋

Colours

🦎

Shapes

✨

Phonics

⭐

Adding

🌈

Patterns

🐘

Big or Small?

🔮

Odd One Out

🎵

Rhyme Time

📖

Story Order

📖 Study Guide before each game ⭐ XP + Levels 🔊 Sound effects 🆓 Free · No Login

✦ Meet the Characters

Stories built around
real feelings

Lumo

Purple Fox · Ages 4–8

Anxiety & invisible struggles

Pip

Brave Turtle · Ages 3–7

Fear of the dark & wonder

Echo

Axolotl · Ages 5–8

Resilience & small brave steps

Tiger

Pink Tiger · Ages 6+

Emotional wellbeing & regulation

Each character has a book, a browser game, and a place in the Learning Lab. Click any to explore.

💜

✦ The Website

Built from scratch.
Not a template.

124+

Pages

15+

Games

6+

Books

20+

Dev Tools

0

Frameworks

HTML CSS JavaScript Canvas API Web Audio API Three.js No frameworks

"I could have used Squarespace. I built it in raw code instead because I wanted to understand every single thing on it."

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✦ The Process

How a game gets made

💡

The Idea

A feeling you want to create. What should it feel like to play?

✏️

On Paper

Rules, mechanics, how scoring works. No code yet.

🔨

First Build

Ugly but working. Can you play it? Does it feel right?

🔁

Iterate

Play it. Break it. Fix it. Play it again.

🚀

Ship It

Put it live. Real players find things you never will alone.

Lumo's Firefly Shooter went through 3 major versions before the board-clear mechanic felt right.

🎮

✦ The Process

How a book gets made

💜

The Feeling

What real emotion needs to be seen? What do children feel but can't name?

🦊

The Character

Who feels this feeling? What kind of creature shows it best?

✍️

The Rhyme

32 pages. ~700 words. Every syllable must earn its place.

🎨

The Art

Illustrations that carry more weight than the words alone.

📚

The Book

A thing a child holds. A feeling they recognise. A conversation that starts.

Picture book = 32 pages ~700 words max Rhyme scheme matters Ages 3–8

📚

✦ Earlier Work

Before JVDesignStudio
the Itch.io years

Do You Have an Invite?

Game Jam · 48hr

Space Marmalade

Arcade

↑ All clickable built in Unreal, Unity, GameMaker & game jams

✦ Think About It

If you could make
anything what would it be?

🎮

A game based on a feeling you've had?

📖

A story about something nobody talks about?

🦊

A character who feels the way you feel?

🌐

A website that does something useful for people?

🎨

Something beautiful that didn't exist before?

💡

Something that makes someone feel less alone?

There's no wrong answer. The best projects start with a real feeling.

✦ That's Me

Like what
you see?

If this feels like the kind of space your child would thrive in, reach out. No pressure just a conversation.

✉️ Get in Touch 🌐 Explore the Site

Hi, I'm J. Valentine

Hi. I make thingsthat feel like they matter.

More than one thing

Stories that don'tlook away

Free to play right now, in your browser

Games you can holdin your hands

How to make thingsthat matter

The Workshop

The Godot Workshop Series

The Dev Tools

"Every heart has a spark that can never be dimmed."

Learn & Play

Stories built aroundreal feelings

Built from scratch.Not a template.

How a game gets made

How a book gets made

Before JVDesignStudio the Itch.io years

If you could makeanything what would it be?

Like whatyou see?

Hi. I make things
that feel like they matter.

Stories that don't
look away

Free to play
right now, in your browser

Games you can hold
in your hands

How to make things
that matter

"Every heart has a spark
that can never be dimmed."

Stories built around
real feelings

Built from scratch.
Not a template.

Before JVDesignStudio
the Itch.io years

If you could make
anything what would it be?

Like what
you see?