Game Designer, Author, Educator
Main Skills
For most of the lifetime of this project I was the sole game designer, and remained responsible for the design of features even when other designers joined
Systems & Monetisation
I was responsible for establishing and modelling the player progression systems in accordance to mobile free-to-play design philosophy.
Multiplayer
I ensured that the real time multiplayer philosophy was applied to all different parts of the game. I was responsible for matchmaking, lobby and rewards, and making levels playable for up to 4 people.
Pitch to Live Ops
I worked on the game from inception all the way through to global launch and beyond. The game launched to 500K day one players, and accumulated 100M players over its lifetime.
Game Feel and UX
I established the user flow though the menu and matchmaking lobby, as well as the reward sequences and how the game felt to engage with.
Building Kitchens
My design philosophy behind each kitchen in the game was to keep the spirit of the cooking process but simplify the steps so they matched the fast-paced casual nature of the game.
My work on kitchens was not limited to establishing the recipe steps and the foods being cooked. A fundamental part of my work was prototyping the kitchens and determining where cooking stations were placed relative to each other and how each one functioned.
As this was a time management game, number balancing played a fundamental role. After each kitchen was established, I was the one to iterate on cooking times, customer orders, and interaction frequency to make sure the difficulty of every level felt just right.
Lobby and Flow
A huge part of my UX work on this project was surrounding the lobby and multiplayer experience, the matchmaking and conclusion of the team vs team match being fundamental to the game.
Player Progression
Long term progression used a card crushing system for upgrading kitchen stations. I used system prototyping tools to better understand the rarity of each card and balance out the systems.
Seasonal Events
For seasonal events I experimented not only with themes but also with the multiplayer format, offering players a new way to socially engage with each other.
Potion Party
The Halloween themed kitchen was a fan favourite. I created a fast paced drinks only level where customers ask for potions of different colours, decorated with spooky eyeballs for added dramatic effect.
Pool Party
The beach themed event presented players with two kitchens going head to head to determine the ultimate snack of the summer. Players could choose between ice cream and barbecue. Each week the winning kitchen would determine what reward the community would get on the progression road.
Jingle Burgers
The mischievous Christmas event had players passing a dangerous present box back and forth while also making and serving food. When left unattended the box started ticking and would eventually explode, sending all customers away.
Recreating International Cuisines
