Ludic Methods

Arjun Madhusudan

I study games, build things, and collect hobbies.

I'm Arjun Madhusudan, a PhD student at NC State University. Ludic Methods is where my research, tools, hobbies, and the things I make all get to live together.

See my academic work
Arjun Madhusudan smiling outdoors in a mountainous landscape.

About

About me

I'm usually happiest when I have something new to figure out. That might be a competitive game, a motorcycle, a dive, a woodworking project, or a place I haven't been before.

Research, tools, making, games, and travel look like different interests, but for me they tend to start in the same place: curiosity, followed by trying something myself.

Seeing the map

50 states. 63 national parks.

I'm trying to visit every U.S. state and every U.S. national park.

36 / 50States visited

31 / 63National parks visited

Visited states are filled sage. Green and brown park symbols are visited National Parks and muted park symbols are parks not yet visited.
Sketchbook page filled with black-and-white drawings of moustached characters.
A small hand-carved wooden airplane held above a table scattered with tools and materials.
A handmade Catan board with painted wooden terrain, roads, buildings, and numbered tokens.
A game of Scythe in progress on a table, with its board, player mats, cards, and pieces arranged for play.
Sketchbook page with a sequence of small line drawings based on the prompt Pierce.
A collection of hand-painted wooden game tiles decorated with shields, crowns, and other small symbols.
A hand holding a carved black Elder Wand above a brightly tiled pavement.
A hand holding a finished slender wooden wand with a carved handle.
A small sheet of artificial grass being cut on a pink work mat with hand tools nearby.
Sketchbook drawing of a city skyline assembled from bottles beneath a crescent moon.
Drawing of cricketer Sachin Tendulkar seen from behind with his bat and helmet raised.
Front and back views of a custom I3D publicity LEGO minifigure named FantaClaus.
A row of colorful SIGGRAPH collectible figures displayed on an RTX box.
Arjun standing behind large white SIGGRAPH letters inside a convention center.
Three underwater photographs showing a submerged structure, two divers, and a large fish.
Arjun underwater in scuba gear, facing the camera and making an okay hand signal.
Long-exposure star trails curving above the dark silhouette of desert rocks.
A close view of snow-covered Mount Rainier beneath a deep blue sky and drifting clouds.
Three first-person views from motorcycle rides arranged in a vertical collage.
A black Indian Scout motorcycle parked outdoors at sunset.
A Suzuki V-Strom motorcycle parked beside a lake in late-afternoon light.
A first-person view of one foot riding an electric skateboard along a road.
Arjun skiing down a bright snowy slope beneath a clear blue sky.
A person walking into a field of tall sand dunes beneath a pale overcast sky.
Three underwater photographs showing a submerged structure, two divers, and a large fish.
Three underwater photographs showing a submerged structure, two divers, and a large fish.
Three first-person views from motorcycle rides arranged in a vertical collage.
Three first-person views from motorcycle rides arranged in a vertical collage.