PAST PROJECTS
The Bard's Tale IV - In Development
Mar 2017 - Present
Description
Return to the world of Caith in the most recent entry in the Bards Tale Franchise. The Bard's Tale IV is a modern entry in the historic RPGs franchise set hundreds of years after the last entry in the franchise.
Role
• Acted as product owner for all content, geometry, and gameplay for 6 of the game’s dungeons as well as all hub towns
• Implemented all dialogues, level events, enemy encounters, loot drops, and quest progression events associated with the games 30 hour main quest line
• Implemented 90% of all NPCs including NPC appearance, scripted functionality, and
dialouge using custom built systems in Unreal Engine 4
• Worked closely with the lead writer to edit and rewrite dialouge, quests, and cutscenes for content and clarity
• Managed the tasking and scheduling 3 developers to assist in the creation and management of NPCs, quest data, and in game chatter
Design Commentary
A multi-year project, The Bard's Tale IV is currently in production at inXile Entertainment by a large, multi-disciplinary team and is slated to release in 2018.
While currently in development, clicking the above image will reveal a link to a video of what game play in The Bards Tale IV looks like
While currently in development, clicking the above image will reveal a link to a video of what game play in The Bards Tale IV looks like
The Mage's Tale VR
Jan 2016 - Mar 2017
Description
Your master is taken, his friends disappeared, and the world is falling apart. Better grab your spells and get to dungeon crawling. The Mage's Tale is a fully featured game designed to make the player feel like a powerful mage through the use of Oculus Rift and Oculus Touch.
Role
• Scripted, iterated on, and maintained all sequences, dialogue, level geometry, and level events associated with the tutorial as product owner
• Designed, protoyped, and scripted complex interactivity between 30 puzzles, traps, and level features that were featured in multiple game levels
• Created 4 of the game’s 10 levels from the ground up using modular kits and acted as product owner for 3 of the game’s levels until release
Design Commentary
As my first serious foray into VR game development there was a lot to learn. Everything from level design, sound design, art creation, messaging, and really every part of development has to be tailored to VR so this was not just a learning process for me but for the studio as a whole. This was also the first game worked on by the New Orleans team of inXile Entertainment so there was a lot of adjustment for everyone involved. Even so it is still one of the highest rated games on the Oculus store.
A stoic, stony face protrudes from the wall of the sewers beneath Skara Brae
A purple anti-magic aura forces the mage's apprentice to think differently
One of the most recent positive reviews for Mage's Tale
A stoic, stony face protrudes from the wall of the sewers beneath Skara Brae
Blackwood
Aug 2015 - Dec 2015
Description
Blackwood Manor sits rotting in the woods, filled with terrible secrets and horrible deeds from years past. But those are all folk tales. Staying the night locked in this house is perfectly safe. Right? Blackwood is a horror game designed to transport players into the game through the power of Oculus Rift.
Role
• Scripted complex interactivity between 22 prefabs using the Unreal Blueprints visual scripting system
• Created technical and design documentation to aid the programming team in feature implementation
• Designed and implemented a custom system used to load and unload several game levels simultaneously
Design Commentary
Blackwood was the first independent project that I was involved in. A small team of 7 people, this was a massive learning experience for all of us as we developed simultaneously for PC and VR. We were able to publish the game to IndieDB and Gamejolt under the Panic Factory LLC label, where it has received a rating of 4.57.
Opening Soon
Opening Soon
Lanterns
Jan 2015 - Aug 2015
Description
Darkness has covered the land, seeping into every pore of the land. A band of five knights comes into this world to fight back the Darkness and bring back Light to the world. Lanterns is a five person cooperative game where players become stronger and more effective if they workd together.
Role
• Scripted 12 prototype platforming, combat, and exploration gameplay mechanics and features using the Unreal Blueprints system
• Constructed all interior level spaces using primitive shapes and textures to play test level flow and playability
•Collaborated with designers, artists, and programmers to create and balance an engaging and dynamic final boss experience
• Acted as technical and design liason between the programming and design teams
Design Commentary
Lanterns was created by a team of 13 people at the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy as the capstone project. This was the first large, extended project for many of the team members, myself included. Because of the stress of the graduate program workload, the new experiences, and just the deadline of what turned out to be an overscoped project tensions did run high for most of the project. Even so, we were able to turn out something that I am personally still proud of.
Mimic Space Simulator
Jan 2015 - April 2015
Description
The ISS is about to fall out of the sky and only you can stop it. Use your robotic arms to repair the space station and stop it from falling to Earth. Mimic Space Simulator is a dexterity puzzle game designed around the Mimic Robotic Surgery Simulator hardware and control scheme.
Role
•Designed four puzzles to test and improve player dexterity and timing
•Wrote and iterated on a voiceover script to reinforce player feedback and convey puzzle information
•Promoted collaboration and communication between designers, programmers, and artists to improve the art integration pipeline
Design Commentary
This project was done as part of a "serious games" course. The team, made up of 6 people, decided to make an application for the Mimic Robotic Surgery Simulator. Everyone on the team really wanted to work with this unique technology, while we had the chance, and were able to create a full, if short, experience that we created in an attempt to make training on the DaVinci Robot Surgery system more enjoyable
The International Space Station orbits over a rotating Earth
Connected to the Mimic Machine, the player has complete control of the robot arms.
Practice makes perfect in this game where dexterity can be improved and skills developed.
The International Space Station orbits over a rotating Earth
Magic Marker Madness
2 weeks in Sept 2014
Description
On a secluded island is a hose filled with monsters looking to keep you from your greatest treasure: a coloring book. Using your Magic Markers, you must distract, set aflame, and free the monsters to find and collect your treasure.
Role
•Created multiple assets using Photoshop, Maya, and Audition
•Designed all exterior and interior gameplay spaces
•Balanced gamepaly mechanics after receiving feedback though playtests
Design Commentary
The main game mechanic for Magic Marker Madness was created after one of our team members tried to toss me a marker and missed quite fantastically. After we stopped laughing we said, "Hey, what if our game was about markers?" This simple statemet spawned a game that was the winner of the First Penguin Award at FIEA, an award given to an innovative design concept with great potential.
A two week rapid prototype game, Magic Marker Madness was created to encourage emergent play and spontaneous strategies on the Unity 4 engine by a small, five person team.
Spawning in the world, the player sees a boat at the edge of an island with a house in the center.
Using the anti-gravity properties of the Wind marker and the duplication properties of the Life marker a player sends boats to the sky.
The credits screen of the game with a cool version of the house.
Spawning in the world, the player sees a boat at the edge of an island with a house in the center.
Exposè
2 weeks in Oct 2014
Description
In a sleepy, mountain town something has gone horribly wrong. Communication has been cut off, roads have been blocked, and all information no the situation locked down. But you need to know the truth. Armed only with your camera, you must go to this town and try to find out what horrors the townspeople have experienced.
Role
•Created multiple assets using Photoshop, Maya, and Audition
•Designed and iterated on level design to tell an engaging, environmental story
•Lead the effort to redirect the projects aesthetic and gameplay focus halfway through production ultimately leading to a more successful product.
Design Commentary
Another two week rapid prototype game, Exposè centered on atmospheric, environmental storytelling and was created using Unity 4.
Exposè was finished in its current state in under a week by a team of five after a drastic redesign, both aesthetically and gameplay wise, from its previous iteration.
Marge's Grub Hub sits in the darkness, wind blowing through the mountains.
The sun quickly sinks behind the mountains, leaving the photographer enveloped in darkness.
Electricity arcs in lightning-like tendrils off the structure as it sparks to life.
Marge's Grub Hub sits in the darkness, wind blowing through the mountains.