When Air Force Veteran Steve Lang began developing Block Heads, he wanted to create a simple mobile game people could enjoy during a break or in their spare time. What he didn’t expect was the feedback he received from players, particularly Veterans, who reported benefits beyond entertainment.
Now, Lang wants to find out whether there could be something more to those experiences, particularly for Veterans living with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) or post-traumatic stress.
Lang is the founder of Iron Wolf Interactive, a Veteran-owned game development studio he started about three years ago.
He served in the Air Force during the Desert Storm era, working on C-130 aircraft engines. His military experiences helped develop his interest in science fiction, which eventually led him to writing stories and wanting to turn those stories into video games.
Although he had spent years gaming, including about two decades playing World of Warcraft, developing games was unfamiliar territory.
His first project, Escape Stories: Virtual Reality, was an escape room game released on Steam in 2023. Players solve puzzles across three environments, including a research facility, an abandoned asylum, and an ancient city.
Lang also wanted his company to create opportunities for fellow Veterans.
“I started this company to try and help Veterans,” Lang said.
He hired an Army Veteran who had spent six years in the military working on generators. Together, they began learning the game development business, with plans to eventually expand their projects.
Earlier this year, Lang began concentrating more on mobile games after watching his teenage son and his friends spend much of their gaming time on their phones.
His first mobile release, Block Heads, is a free puzzle game built around an 8-by-8 grid. Players position blocks to complete horizontal and vertical rows, clearing space as they go. The gameplay has similarities to Tetris, although players can only rotate a block once before placing it.
The game features colorful blocks with smiling faces and simple mechanics that are easy to learn.
“You don’t ever really lose,” Lang said.
During development, testers began describing an unexpected experience. Some said they would play during work breaks, intending to spend only a few minutes on the game before realizing 15 minutes had passed. They also reported that playing helped redirect their attention away from stressful situations.
One of the people who tried the game was Lang’s wife, a fellow Veteran whom he met while they were both serving in the military. She has suffered multiple concussions and experiences symptoms associated with TBIs. Although she isn’t typically a gamer, she gave Block Heads a try.
“She started playing Blockheads and told me that it actually helped her calm down whenever she was feeling stressed out,” Lang said.
Her experience prompted Lang to seek feedback from other Veterans.
He reached out to John Woodall, director of Camp4Heroes, a North Carolina retreat that supports Veterans and first responders. Having previously attended events at the camp, he returned to introduce Veterans to the game and recruit volunteers for testing.
Lang made the two-hour drive to Fairmont, North Carolina, where he met with Veteran organizations and spoke with Veterans from different generations, including those who served during Vietnam.
One participant played more than 450 times during a two-week period, according to testing data Lang reviewed.
The response encouraged him, but it also raised questions he hopes researchers can help answer.
“I would love to be able to get a hold of somebody that is a psychological researcher for video games and find out, is there something to this?” Lang said.
He recognizes that personal experiences and repeated gameplay aren’t enough to establish therapeutic benefits. Still, he is interested in whether research could identify measurable psychological or cognitive effects, particularly among Veterans with TBIs or post-traumatic stress.
His military background has also helped him develop relationships with Veterans who might otherwise be reluctant to discuss their experiences.
“I think my military experience helps me get in the door with Veterans, too,” Lang said. “I’m not just some guy who decided to build video games.”
While Block Heads is available on Android, with an iOS version planned, Lang is already developing another mobile puzzle game called Hex Heads.
The concept is similar, but instead of a square grid, Hex Heads uses a hexagonal playing field that allows players to place blocks diagonally as well as in straight lines. Lang believes the different patterns challenge players in different ways.
He is currently looking for testers for the game, something he learned can be surprisingly difficult.
Preparing Block Heads for release required him to recruit 12 testers who would remain active throughout a 14-day testing period. It took more than a month to meet the requirement.
Lang has since created a simpler registration process and plans to recruit additional testers for Hex Heads during HeroFest at Camp4Heroes in Fairmont on November 7–8.
He has also been sending Iron Wolf Interactive T-shirts to people who helped test his games as a thank-you for their participation.
Beyond mobile puzzles, Lang is developing Heroes, a 50-level adventure game that combines puzzle-solving, exploration, and cooperative gameplay.
Players choose from four character classes: an archer, warrior, wizard, and rogue. The characters were designed to appeal to a wide range of players, with most having their faces concealed beneath hoods so players can imagine themselves in those roles.
The archer is female, a choice Lang made partly because he wants to attract more women to the game.
The story follows four heroes as they make their way through environments that progress from darkness toward light, solving puzzles and ultimately confronting a corrupted king.
“Even though things may not look so good initially, they can get better,” Lang said.
Unlike his puzzle games, Heroes is being developed with multiplayer cooperation in mind. Players will be able to join one another through invitation codes, solve puzzles together, and progress through the game’s levels.
During the interview, Lang said he was already testing multiplayer functionality across three phones.
His experience playing World of Warcraft has influenced how he approaches the multiplayer experience. Over the years, he has seen friendships develop through gaming, but he has also encountered the negativity that can exist in online communities.
“I kind of want to get people to connect in an environment where there’s really no negativity,” Lang said. “And you can just have fun.”
He hopes that cooperative gameplay will encourage players to develop friendships and enjoy shared experiences without the hostility sometimes associated with competitive online games.
The game is still in development, with Lang working toward a playable testing version. A demonstration of the project is available through the Iron Wolf Interactive website.
Lang encourages other Veterans interested in entering the industry to give it a try.
“Find a genre that you like because there’s a lot of them out there. Start simple,” he said.
He recommends using online tutorials and exploring development tools, including artificial intelligence, which can make some aspects of game creation more accessible than they were several years ago.
Lang is also willing to share what he has learned with Veterans who have ideas for their own games.
“If anybody wants to get into the video game industry, I don’t mind if they reach out to me through my website,” he said.
As he continues developing mobile and PC games, Lang hopes to hear from more players about their experiences with Block Heads and connect with researchers interested in studying its possible benefits.
More information about Iron Wolf Interactive, its games, and testing opportunities is available at ironwolfinteractive.com.
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