I'm so excited and proud for the launch of Return to Monkey Island! I was a programmer and writer on this project, with an amazing team!
I'm an experienced multitalented indie studio leader, designer, software engineer, writer, and producer, with 13 years experience in interactive entertainment.
Most recently, I built and wrote dialog for one third of the rooms in Return to Monkey Island (2022). I've conceptualized, designed, built, and shipped projects for clients including Disney, Amazon, Universal, Netflix, Shaquille O'Neil, and The Wiggles.
I'm an experienced multitalented indie studio leader, designer, software engineer, writer, and producer, with 13 years experience in interactive entertainment.
Most recently, I built and wrote dialog for one third of the rooms in Return to Monkey Island (2022). I've conceptualized, designed, built, and shipped projects for clients including Disney, Amazon, Universal, Netflix, Shaquille O'Neil, and The Wiggles.
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Portfolio highlights
Voice Games for Alexa and google assistant
As a senior software engineer at Creativity Incorporated, I worked closely with the designers to create the tools and proprietary engine we use to author voice-based games on Alexa and Google Assistant.
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Shaq Sky Slam
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My Roles: Game designer, software engineer (Unity, C#), project lead
Crater House, 2013 iOS and Android In this over-the-top extreme sport, Shaq and friends sky dive out of airplanes, plunge downward to pick up speed, then do mid-air trick combos to create earth-shattering slam dunks on landmarks around the world! During a skydive, the player can steer their character by tilting the device. They can also press-and-holding the screen to dash and gain speed, but cannot steer while dashing. The faster the player dives, the more awesome their dunk will be, but the harder it is to control their flight. We designed several interacting systems to provide a progression of gameplay. Players earn XP by completing Dares, such as doing particular tricks, reaching certain speeds, or even by colliding with a quota of wayward seagulls. As a player gains XP and levels up, they unlock new maps and playable characters. Some playable characters are only available for purchase. The player can collect or purchase coins which can be spent in various ways. They can purchase one-use combinable powerups including a jetpack, a coin magnet, Super Shaq cape. They can also use coins to level up their characters' stats. Free play is limited by the energy of each playable characters, which replenishes with time. Therefor, players who have unlocked more characters are rewarded with more overall play time. This metagame progression supported the bite-sized experience of each skydive, turning that basic concept into a highly replayable game. |
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Dig Quest: Israel
- My Role: Game Designer, Lead Engineer, Studio Cofounder
- Technology: Unity for iOS and Android
We worked with the Israel Antiquities Authority to make this mobile game where kids take on the role of archeologist, from piecing together the Dead Sea Scrolls, to uncovering the Lod Mosaic!
Unity Games
We developed many Unity games at my studio Crater House, with clients and partners including Shaquille O'Neal, Kraken Rum, the Israel Antiquities Authority, and the California Indian Museum and Cultural Center.
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Leafcutters — My MFA Thesis ProjectMy Roles: Lead game designer & project lead
University of Southern California, 2011 Windows, Mac For my MFA thesis, I established my design challenge: How could I create an experience of playing with an ant colony in way that brought understanding and connection with these creatures? Read the case study here! I determined that allowing direct control of the ants would negate the sense of them as living creatures. Instead, I designed a system of indirect control, where the player teaches the ants what urges toward certain actions they should have in reaction to various situations. This game features interplaying systems of ant training and colony creation, which were very rewarding to balance and refine. 
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Tlaloc's Book — A Game of Fraction MathMy Roles: Educational game designer, software engineer (Flash, ActionScript 3.0)
USC Games and UCLA CRESST, 2010 Web and Windows Tlaloc’s Book is an educational game to teach fraction math to struggling students. I was one of four game designers on the game development team at the EA Game Innovation Lab at USC’s Interactive Media Division. We created the game in collaboration with the UCLA’s Psychology Department. The overall project was led by the UCLA’s Center for Advanced Technology in Schools. Tlaloc’s Book is a puzzle platforming game in which players collect whole numbers, fractions, and mathematical operators, which they use to perform operations on platforms to change the platforms’ heights. Because the player can jump or fall up to one unit, it is sometimes possible for the player to pass the level with an inexact solution. However, exact solutions unlock treasure from the signposts in the levels. We continually playtested our prototypes with grade schoolers to make sure that the game was challenging and fun for our target audience. We also worked with education theorists and designers to ensure that the game adhered to the latest theories of learning. |
ant PaintTools used: Unity
My latest ant game! In this prototype, the player paints ant trails to help the colony find and gather food. The player has a limited amount of trail scent to use, which is replenished as ants gather food. |
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Digital Puppetry glove2008
Tools Used: Arduino, Processing, Physical Materials l created a lightweight glove to puppet a face on the screen. The user can bend three fingers to control the two sides of the mouth, as well as open and close it. |
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Selective Memory2008
Tools Used: Flash, Arduino, Physical Materials In this experience, a user prods the exposed brain in a mannequin head with electrodes, causing a video of the brain’s memories to replay. Each quadrant of the brain is tied to a specific personality trait, and the video skips and jumps to scenes reflecting that trait. Logan Olson and I made this in December ’08. 
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Clay2010
Tools Used: Unity, Microsoft Surface I created this multitouch clay experience for Microsoft Surface using Unity. Users touch, poke, and drag to mold the clay, and swipe with a whole hand to spin the ball. Resetting the clay ball requires teamwork with another user. Made at USC’s Interactive Media Division. |