Systems • Gameplay • Technical Design • UI/UX

I was a senior designer on an unannounced 3rd person adventure game title, working to design, prototype, and iterate on systems, player movement & feel, and UI/UX features. As it was a small team and my skillset is diverse, I wore various different designer “hats” from day to day, variably switching between design work, technical design prototyping and implementation, and UI/UX design depending on the changing needs of the team.

holistic design: systems, gameplay, narrative, and ui/ux

I spearheaded design and implementation of a variety of world systems, gameplay mechanics, and player verbs, and UX flows, focusing on creating engaging features that would tie together gameplay loops, narrative, and core pillars. I designed and prototyped a wide variety of features including collection and crafting, level transition mechanics, traversal, and gameplay feel.

I worked to design and implement gameplay features to support and expand the game’s narrative and worldbuilding in a way that was small-team friendly, and to create a sense of wonder and mystery for players. I worked with creative leadership to ensure that features upheld design pillars and to attempt to tie disparate systems and ideas together in a more cohesive whole. To that end, I touched many different areas of the game’s design, from traversal mechanics, gameplay loops, crafting, exploration, and unique in-game features to surprise and delight players.

In addition to my other design work, I was responsible for the majority of UI/UX features throughout the game, from bootflow and menu screens to input mapping and HUD. I worked to design and implement UI/UX content throughout the game, listening to feedback and refining interactions to create an intuitive experience for players.

technical design and mentorship

In addition to my design and technical implementation work, I mentored other designers to improve their technical skills and prototyping abilities, as well as worked with engineering leads to establish best practices for blueprint and level scripting across the project. I worked with other designers 1 on 1 as well as running “blueprint bootcamp” and regular instruction sessions for designers to expand technical knowledge throughout the team, and better establish best practices to ensure project stability.
I also worked to establish metrics for implementation, to ensure consistency throughout the game not only in the technical back end, but to ensure a consistent player experience.

Audio, narrative, and AI

In addition to gameplay, I also worked closely with the Audio Director on the project to build out the audio toolbox and implement new player-focused features involving music and sound effects, as well as design and build both friendly NPCs and hostile enemy AI. I also helped create and implement developer tools used for audio and animation to easily build narrative and other in-game content in a quick and easily scalable way throughout the game. I worked with engineering team to architect and implement features for narrative content delivery, and built narrative-focused features into gameplay and world systems to create a holistic experience throughout the game.