Project Showcase
Game Projects & Design Contributions
Tiberian Sun Rising
Role: Game Director & Systems Designer
Platform: PC (C&C3 Engine)
Years: 2007–Present
Team: 20+ global contributors
Summary:
A full-scale reimagining of Westwood’s Tiberian Sun, led as a decade-long passion project. I directed vision, systems, narrative, faction identity, and production pipelines. Total conversion mod for C&C3 Tiberium Wars using official Mod SDK and made to AAA production standards. This project is not endorsed by EA.
Highlights:
- Designed asymmetrical factions, tactical pacing, AI, and support power ecosystems
- Built and led international remote team across disciplines
- Over 215K YouTube views; 5× ModDB Top 100; #1 Best Upcoming Mod 2017
Mod.io
Role: Product Owner
Company: mod.io
Location: Melbourne, Australia (Remote Hybrid)
Years: 2022–2023
Team: Game Features Unreal & SDK
Platform: PC, Mac, Linux, PS5, Xbox, Switch, Android, iOS
Summary:
As Product Owner, I led the vision and development of mod.io’s Unreal plugin and C++ SDK — the backbone powering user-generated content (UGC) integration for major studios including Larian (Baldur’s Gate 3), Blackbird (Homeworld 3), and Techland (Dying Light 2).
Highlights:
- Directed 15 SDK releases and 14 Unreal Engine plugin builds across PC, PS5, Xbox, and Switch
- Collaborated with AAA, AA, and indie partner studios to prioritize features and resolve reported issues
- Designed intuitive UGC workflows adopted by leading studios, improving creator onboarding and content scalability
- Led documentation, onboarding, and studio integration strategy across multiple teams
- Delivered console-ready pipelines and QA, stepping in during bandwidth constraints to ensure release quality
- Contributed to a platform powering 2.1B+ mod downloads across 44M+ players
- Onboarded QA team and implemented processes that supported the resolution of 2,000+ bugs across SDK, plugin, API, and platform stack
Gods Unchained
Role: Producer & Engagement Designer
Company: Immutable
Location: Sydney, Australia (Remote Hybrid)
Years: 2018–2019
Platform: PC
Summary:
Worked across live-ops, tutorialization, and production pipelines for Gods Unchained, a high-profile digital TCG known for its deep gameplay and blockchain integration. Focused on improving first-time user experience, player retention, and cross-functional delivery.
Highlights:
- Designed onboarding systems, player tutorials, and engagement loops to increase retention
- Led multiple feature releases across beta and live environments
- Coordinated across design, engineering, and art to ensure timely and quality delivery
- Removed blockers during sprint execution to align cross-functional teams
- Supported analytics review and iteration based on player behaviour patterns
Monsters Ate My Metropolis
Role: Lead Game Designer
Company: PikPok
Location: Wellington, New Zealand
Years: 2014–2015
Platform: iOS / Android
Summary:
This was the last game I worked on during my time at PikPok. I led game design from initial concept and pitch to Adult Swim through to global release for Monsters Ate My Metropolis, a competitive mobile CCG featuring kaiju, card combos, and city-smashing mayhem. Designed all core systems, combat mechanics, progression, and PvP structure.
Highlights:
- Designed and balanced core combat loop, card mechanics, card abilities and metagame
- Created an innovative dual-deck PvP system: players attacked opponent cities (defence decks), avoiding mirror monster battles
- Developed an affinity system rewarding strategic synergy between monsters and card colour (Red, Blue, Green, Yellow)
- Defined Kaiju (Monster) class identities and power scaling across rarity, upgrades, and player progression
- Led UX decisions for card readability, pacing, and mobile-friendly feedback
- Collaborated with engineering, art, and production to ship on time and at quality
Into the Dead VR / Into the Dead (Mobile)
Role: Game Designer
Company: PikPok
Location: Wellington, New Zealand
Years: 2015–2016
Platforms: Meta Quest, Gear VR, Oculus Rift, iOS, Android
Summary:
Led core design for Into the Dead VR — adapting PikPok’s hit mobile title into a high-intensity, immersive VR experience. This was PikPok’s first VR title, and I had VR development experience from my work on the indie game Wander. Previously, I was best qualified to work on this title. Simultaneously contributed to live updates on the mobile game, porting new features from VR to mobile to maintain continuity and player experience across platforms.
Highlights:
- Highlights:
- Designed and implemented Stand Your Ground, a VR-exclusive wave survival mode with unique level layout, weapon loadouts, zombie archetypes, and escalating tension
- Created and tuned a modular wave system with progressive difficulty, integrating fast zombies, armoured soldier zombies, and precise spawn point placement to increase tactical depth
- Conducted extensive studio testing to optimise VR movement speeds, acceleration, and FOV — achieving high immersion while minimising motion sickness
- Reworked VR UI/UX from mobile: anchored HUD elements to fixed world positions to preserve immersion, with dynamic UI placement in runner modes to reinforce directionality
- Iterated multiple prototypes for weapon-switching (e.g., rear table interaction under pressure) before settling on a streamlined 3-weapon loadout system to maximise replayability and flow
- Ported VR features to mobile, including landmarks (e.g., barns, tractors) to convey distance milestones and reinforce player progression
- Used the VR wave system to redesign runner mode pacing — adding spawn variety, difficulty peaks/valleys, and rewarding breathers to increase replayability and tension pacing
- Balanced companion dog system for both VR and mobile, expanding strategic player tools and adding tactical support
Turbo Fast
Role: Game Designer
Company: PikPok
Location: Wellington, New Zealand
Years: 2014
Platform: iOS / Android
Summary:
Brought new life to PikPok’s hit mobile racing game Turbo Fast by designing asynchronous multiplayer systems and expanding racer tuning, addressing core retention challenges and aligning new content with the Turbo Fast animated TV series.
Highlights:
- Designed the “Challenge Friends” asynchronous multiplayer mode, allowing players to race friends, wager in-game currency (“tomatoes”), and escalate high-stakes rematches with winner-takes-all mechanics
- Created a stacking wager & rechallenge system that increased replay value and kept social rivalries alive until one player forfeited or timed out
- Resulted in a 40% uplift in player retention post-completion of the core Grand Prix content
- Balanced and tuned newly added premium racer characters, ensuring no racer outpaced Turbo while giving each unique strengths (e.g. handling, acceleration, cornering)
- Designed racer stats to reflect personality and behaviour from the animated series, enhancing both balance and player connection
- Expanded the Custom Racer feature by introducing new shell engine parts with distinct stats and handling properties, encouraging player experimentation and unique build strategies
Wander
Role: Narrative & Systems Designer (Volunteer)
Company: Wander MMO (Indie)
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Years: 2013–2015
Platforms: PS4, PC Steam (CryEngine), previously Unity (with VR support)
Summary:
Contributed world design, progression systems, and narrative structure to Wander, a meditative exploration MMO and one of the first indie titles on PS4 using CryEngine. Worked directly with Creative Director Loki Davison to design transformation mechanics, lore systems, player mobility, and world navigation across a massive, seamless open world.
Highlights:
- Directed a small team of level designers to structure environmental storytelling, placing lore stones and unlockables that guided player exploration across four major islands
- Designed the Transformation System, allowing players to take forms like Gaia (Ent), Elf, Griffon, and Azertash — each unlocking new movement, traversal, and access to hidden zones
- Created singing Transformation Stones as ambient navigation cues, helping players naturally locate form upgrades without explicit markers
- Designed air vent mechanics to support Griffon flight paths and sustained airborne travel — increasing verticality and long-distance exploration
- Introduced the Dreamscape Hub, a fog-of-war overworld map showing player progression, creature unlocks, and current position — solving navigation pain points in a non-linear open world
- Proposed and tuned storm events to gate early progression and prevent sequence breaking — subtly directing players toward intended transformation unlock paths
- Supported and refined early VR prototype testing (Unity build), gathering player feedback at PAX Australia and optimising UI, FOV, and headset comfort
- Contributed to PS4 port support during engine migration to CryEngine, advising on exploration pacing, level loading, and storytelling
- Provided narrative, lore writing, and thematic feedback to unify the world’s tone and environmental storytelling
- 🎮 Exhibited at PAX Australia with over 1000 live demos run
My Little Pony Magic Princess
Role: Lead Game Designer
Company: Gameloft
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Years: 2011–2012
Platform: iOS / Android
Summary:
Led design from concept to launch for Gameloft’s hit pony tycoon sim, based on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Adapted deep franchise lore into compelling game systems, mini-games, and live economy loops, contributing to a title that would go on to reach 83M+ players globally and remain live for over 13 years.
Highlights:
- Designed the game’s core loop, economic structure, and world progression, including Bit (soft) and Gem (hard) currencies, and the six Element of Harmony Shard systems used to unlock Princess Luna through a long-form narrative arc
- Developed expansion-based world unlocking, using narrative placement of shards and characters to reinforce progression and tie gameplay to fan-loved story arcs
- Introduced pathfinding and ambient AI behavior to make towns feel alive — ponies could wander, wave, interact, and express unique personalities based on show canon
- Designed four engaging mini-games (e.g., Clear the Skies, Apple Picking) tied to pony leveling, show lore, and attention spans of younger players
- Implemented tap feedback systems to reward player curiosity with animations, particles, coin drops, or shard reveals — increasing interaction depth and delight
- Prototyped entire game in paper form, translating F2P systems into a turn-based board game for early economy and pacing validation
- Balanced character personalities, homes, and animations in line with the show, diving deep into lore to ensure authenticity in dialogue, behavior, and design
- Collaborated on custom engine development with another internal game team, aligning on feature scope and maximizing shared tech investment
🎮 Game has sustained live ops and active playerbase for 13+ years
Silent Ops
Role: Level Designer
Company: Gameloft
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Year: 2011
Platform: iOS
Summary:
Led level design for Silent Ops, a narrative-driven stealth-action game with multiplayer components. Designed the game’s opening tutorial mission, ensuring intuitive onboarding and cinematic tone-setting, and all multiplayer maps and modes, balancing tight layouts with stealth-action pacing.
Highlights:
- Designed the first campaign mission and tutorial, shaping the player’s introduction to the game’s stealth mechanics, UI, combat flow, and core controls
- Built multiple multiplayer maps from blockout to final pass, tuned for varied game modes with a focus on readability, traversal, and cover-based stealth
- Created multiplayer game modes, integrating stealth mechanics into competitive settings while maintaining player clarity and flow
- Balanced encounters for both single-player and multiplayer, ensuring consistent pacing, stealth vs. action opportunities, and rewarding exploration
- Collaborated with narrative and tech teams to align environment storytelling, mission tone, and world logic
- Delivered mobile-optimized levels for the iPhone 4 generation — balancing performance, visual clarity, and memory constraints
🎮 Notable as one of Gameloft’s early forays into action-stealth narrative on mobile platforms