Mobile Game Phenomenon
After the global financial shake up in late 2008, the console industry in the midwest region went through a rough time. Technology was evolving, and the market was looking for something new, something different.
This is when the mobile game phenomenon took hold and exploded!
I took my talents and skills into mobile and web-based games.
My first exposure to the non-console world was with a company called Seven Lights LLC. We did a mobile style tabletop game on Flash when Flash games were booming in 2009. Similar to a digital Warhammer.
Not too long after that, post-Activision, I landed an Art Lead/Art Consultant role with Flipside 5 Inc. They developed the very first air hockey game for the Apple App store. I worked on a second version of Touch Hockey and a strategy game called Touch Tanks. I was also part of a new game concept team that dove into a potential Mech game as well.
Most recently I've worked on mobile games that are kings in the free-to-play market for Kongregate. Animation Throwdown, Spellstone, and a high-profile unreleased IP.
For Animation Throwdown, Spellstone, and the new IP title, my role was less focused on the creation part and more on the production side of things. I did a large deal of sprint and Jira work, high level road mapping, work with brand licensors, team resourcing management, and process improvement initiatives.
Touch Hockey 2 , Touch Tanks 5 & Mancala HD After moving from console games to the mobile/Facebook world, I discovered many similarities and many differences. On a mobile platform, it’s in the game’s best interest to keep polycounts tight and maps--for the most part--baked down. Going back to the roots of quality hard surface 3D and smart texturing techniques was very enjoyable. Regardless of platform, a good game is a good game. The team consisted of 2 artists and myself.
Mech Online, was the new concept game we worked on at Flipside 5 that never released. It was a super creative and fun project. The ability to create from scratch doesn't happen often, and this was one of those rare times.
Yeknom Inc., I worked with Careerbuilder.com to create all the artwork for the Facebook game called Yeknom, Inc. They took the monkeys running the corporation ad campaign and built it into a lush office-inspired Facebook game. You’ve probably seen the campaign in past Super Bowl commercials. I personally 3D modeled and artistically finished all 300+ assets for the game. Here are a few screenshots of some assembled environments that you will find in the actual game.
The Continuum, During my time at Seven Lights LLC, I focused on leading creation for the turn based strategy game The Continuum. I worked on and led a small character team to build out the content from concept to in-game deliverable. We also worked on a handful of other Flash projects.