The early stage is where I want to ask the difficult questions. Who is this game for? What makes it worth playing? What do we need to build to find out?
Current work at Lake System ↓Before features, I want to understand who we are making the game for and what they should feel while playing. The fantasy needs to translate into something the player actually does.
What makes the experience distinctive? Which action should someone want to repeat, and why is that action enjoyable in itself? Those questions give the concept a direction before the feature list grows.
I prefer a small, playable expression of an idea to a large document built on untested assumptions. Build enough to answer the difficult question, put it in players’ hands and observe what holds their attention.
The first prototype should reveal whether the central interaction works. Progression and content can then develop around evidence from play.
Sometimes the most promising part of a prototype was not in the original pitch. If an unexpected interaction repeatedly produces the strongest player response, I want to investigate it.
A prototype should challenge the concept. Changing direction in response to what players enjoy is part of the work.
Rapid prototypes, stand-in assets, simple layouts and quick systems implementations let me answer design questions before committing expensive production resources. Reusable tools and AI-assisted workflows can shorten that cycle where they help.
Fidelity should rise when the question requires it. An interaction may need responsive controls; a visual promise may need art direction. Neither automatically requires a production-ready game.
A fun interaction is a starting point. I also examine whether it stays interesting, communicates clearly and can sustain the amount of play the concept promises.
Comparative concept evaluation brings player appeal together with positioning, content demand and delivery risk. It helps decide which ideas deserve more investment.
Appeal · Clarity · Repeatability · Replayability
Differentiation · Market positioning · Trailer and store-page readability
Technical risk · Content demand · Team size · Feasibility · Scope
A promising concept needs a form that other people can work with: clear design direction, scope, visual briefs, feature priorities and milestones, supported by prototypes, pitches and presentations.
I work across design, art and production to make the tradeoffs explicit. The goal is a game the team understands and can realistically build.
My current work connects the early creative questions with the product and production decisions that follow.
I create and evaluate game concepts, define player fantasy, product vision and positioning, and develop core loops, gameplay systems and progression. Comparing concepts helps us see where player appeal and a feasible production scope meet.
I build playable prototypes and define what we need to learn from them. Player response, replayability, technical feasibility and production risk inform decisions with founders and directors about what should continue.
I work with design, art and production on pitches, visual briefs and presentations. Steam-facing presentation, gameplay media selection and feature communication help reveal whether the game’s appeal is clear enough to show, explain and market.
Player research taught me how often intention and actual behavior differ. Systems design taught me to look for the interactions between mechanics.
LiveOps showed me what happens after launch. Product responsibility taught me to consider sustainability, and leadership taught me what teams need to make progress.
I can apply those lessons while the concept is still flexible, when changing a decision is much less expensive.
At Ubisoft, my work included the original Settlers 8 development before its redesign, prototyping, Technical Design training and PILGRIM procedural map generation R&D. I also contributed design review, playtesting and expert feedback to unreleased Ubisoft prototypes under confidentiality.
That interest continues through independent PC prototypes, procedural content, design tooling and AI-assisted development workflows.
Technical expertise ↗