PORTFOLIO
DESIGN, ENGINEERING
I was part of a 5-person team who designed and engineered the new tutorial system for Football Manager 2019. Creating a tutorial for an extraordinarily expansive and largely text-based simulation within a 15 year-old engine brought many interesting challenges!
KEY DISCUSSION POINTS
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Considerations for new player experiences when text is the primary medium
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Striking a balance between simplicity and broad coverage in a gigantic pre-existing game
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Building a reusable system for future editions and features
DESIGN, ENGINEERING
As an homage to the single-player campaign of DOOM's 2016 remake, I created a new campaign level entirely within SnapMap. The editor provided many interesting constraints, and the finished level contains several technical achievements which aren't supported by default.
KEY DISCUSSION POINTS
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Principles of DOOM's level design and combat, and how they're reflected in the experience
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Explanation of process from start to finish, including paper design, themes and iterative development
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Technical achievements, including creating a checkpoint system by rewinding game state in an editor which only partially supports it
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Overcoming technical constraints and limitations to deliver a brief
DESIGNER, DM
I created and ran a homebrew D&D 5e campaign for a group of friends over the course of eight months, providing plenty of opportunities for world and encounter design. Here are some of the highlights!
KEY DISCUSSION POINTS
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Designing a desert island where players didn't feel alone
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Risk vs reward system design to add a novel layer on top of an existing ruleset
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Avoiding railroading by giving players freedom to solve puzzles how they choose
NARRATIVE AS AN INCENTIVE
A deconstruction of Hades' core gameplay loops, and how its narrative is used as a tool to retain players who might otherwise stop playing a game in a notoriously punishing genre.
KEY DISCUSSION POINTS
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The various hour-to-hour core gameplay loops, and how each takes over from the previous as the player progresses
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Encouraging players to interact with systems like the Pact of Punishment by tying it into subplot progression
- Retention of specific player archetypes by hiding the requirement to improve