Michael Dawson is a game programming author and instructor who offers specialized programming training to the game industry for artists, designers, producers, and others. Mike also teaches students the art and science of writing their own games with courses at UCLA Extension and The Digital Media Academy at Stanford. In addition, his books have been used in colleges and universities across the country.

Mike got his start in the game industry as a producer and designer, but he also "starred" in an adventure game where the player controls the main character, named Mike Dawson. In the game, the player directs the digitized images of Dawson, who must stop an extraterrestrial invasion before an implanted alien embryo is born from his head.

In real-life, Mike is the author of Guide to Programming with Python, Beginning C++ Through Game Programming and Python Programming for the Absolute Beginner. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Southern California and is represented by the literary agency LaunchBooks.