I've worked in Unreal Engine 3, Unreal Engine 4, Unity, various custom tools, and have used Radiant a bit. Below are the games I've worked on, as well as details on my experience as mentor for the non-profit organization Foundry10. Not included in this list are several games that were developed and sadly cancelled prior to any official announcements or are still in active development.
CURRENT GIG
Subnautica Franchise and Unannounced Projects
At UnknownWorlds I get to serve as the Lead Designer of the next game in the Subnautica franchise. I work with a relatively small team to shepherd the series in exciting new directions, and can’t wait to share more in the future.
PAST TITLES
Moonbreaker (PC)
I assisted in the design of some components of the turn-based strategy game, Moonbreaker. While not a regular member of the team, I had the pleasure of working with the Design Director to help shape core features of the game as we approached our Early Access release, as well as offer continuous advice on the product as it evolves.
Engine: Unity
Torchlight III (PC/PS4/Xbox One/Switch)
I was a Game Designer on Torchlight III. With a design team of only four, we touched every part of the game from inception to launch. This means that I created documentation for new designs, organized and lead teams to get features implemented, and engaged with and reworked every system in our game. I thrived in this sort of environment, where I got to be a jack of all trades, and love that everyone knows everyone personally.
Engine: Unreal Engine 4
MARVEL HEROES (PC/Mac/PS4/Xbox One)
Engine: Unreal Engine 3
Marvel Heroes is a free-to-play MMO Action-RPG created by David Brevik, the creator of Diablo and Diablo II. Just like Brevik's past titles, Marvel Heroes throws hoards of enemies at the player in their quest for loot, levels, and progressing to the next challenging piece of content. On this project I served as a Systems Designer, creating new heroes, bosses, and helping rework every part of the game to keep it up to date for our customers. I started with a paper design and implement the character prototypes using our proprietary tools, working in conjunction with art, audio, and programming departments. I also helped test and implement player feedback, both on characters and for new and old systems in the game. Working on this licensed product gave me a lot of insight into being creative within certain limitations, as well as letting me put my thoughtfulness to use as I help inspire and give feedback on continued ways to grow the game and increase its popularity and retention. It was shut down in November of 2017.
Daylight (PS4/PC)
Engine: Unreal Engine 4
Status: Shipped
Daylight is a procedurally generated horror title for PS4 and PC. It was the first Unreal Engine 4 game to ship, and as such taught me much about dealing with evolving technology on a very truncated schedule. It also helped me develop skills with Unreal Engine 4's Blueprint system (visual scripting). I scripted scares, placed them into the rooms that generated, implemented artists decoration layouts into the rooms, created decoration themes for rooms myself to increase randomness, plotted out our larger hero spaces, implemented dialogue, edited the script, wrote the vast majority of the in-game notes the player finds, crafted the larger, more memorable scare moments, and generally touched every single blueprint in the game. From working with the design document in its earliest stages to implementing prototypes to taking those ideas and turning them into mechanics in cooperation with artists and programmers, I got a bit of experience in every vein of design during Daylight's production. The game was a huge experiment for Zombie Studios, and I am happy to have been a part of something so ambitious.
Blacklight: Retribution (PS4/PC)
Engine: Unreal Engine 3
Status: Shipped
Blacklight: Retribution shipped on PC before I arrived at the studio, but it was ported to PS4 during my tenure. The changes I made (mostly to weapon balance and to the Onslaught game mode) were used on both platforms. I also helped with reworking and playtesting various maps, as well as with actor count optimization to get better performance on PS4. This game undoubtedly helped me become more familiar with Unreal Engine 3, with level design for shooters, and with the elements of free-to-play design.
Phantom Army (PC)
Engine: Unreal Engine 3
Status: Cancelled
Phantom Army is a third-person, cover-based shooter built in Unreal Engine 3. Taking Zombie Studios' experience with the title Special Forces: Team X, Phantom Army took over-the-top, G.I. Joe inspired visuals and placed them into a Gears of War style combat experience. Working with Korean publisher SmileGate, we reworked systems, designed new ones, and built entirely new maps to create a free-to-play shooter that was fast and unique. I specifically did much of the writing for the game, implementing the strings. I also helped with weapon balance, reworking cover for flow, and providing feedback for level design during testing. I worked directly with the Lead Level Designer to implement changes and make sure our maps were working perfectly.
BattleNations (iOS, PC, Mac)
Engine: Custom
Status: Shipped
Battle Nations is the game that made Seattle's Z2-Live (now a King subsidiary) into one of the PNW’s best mobile studios. In the same vein as games like Game of War and Clash of Clans (although it did it a couple years before either existed), this popular free-to-play strategy game has been played by millions. On this project I helped create and edit new story content, invent new units and implement them using proprietary tools, test and balance encounters, and ensure that our content was polished before release. It was a very aggressive content launch schedule and during my short time there I learned a lot about why their free-to-play model is so successful, and how to better think about concepts like monetization and retention.
Mentor Work
I had the pleasure of getting involved with Foundy10, a non-profit organization with investors from many disciplines, including videogames. They were looking for people experienced in game design, and I ended up helping a class of 15-16 year old kids during the summer of 2014 with an Unreal Engine 4 project. While the 10 weeks allotted didn't "ship" a game, the kids and I both learned a ton from one another about working on games.
My work with the organization continued until February 2015.