Expurgated Portfolio
Some notes on the work I did (or didn’t) do. Unless otherwise noted:
My hands-on work has been primarily on the level-building side: pitching, documentation, level blockout, environment art, polish, and bug fixing.
On the art side, my work includes building structures & environment, texturing, some lighting, and set decoration, but not asset creation.
For Single Player (SP) experiences, unless noted otherwise, I collaborated with at least one designer who codeveloped the level and did the gameplay scripting.
For Multiplayer (MP), unless otherwise noted, I owned the levels completely: design, level-building, game modes, testing, and iteration.
EDUCATION
BA in Biology, St. Joseph’s College, Standish, Maine
PhD (almost) in Immunology, Caltech, Pasadena, California
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Treyarch
LEVEL DESIGNER
Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (2005)
All COD titles were developed with Radiant level editor and in proprietary engines.
SP - An Easy Detail
Call of Duty 3 (2006)
SP - The Island
Call of Duty: World at War (2007-2008)
SP / Co-op - Hard Landing
MP - Level Design Lead (~8 months) - Led designers building the infantry-based MP levels as a craft lead (not a people manager).
MP - Airfield - This larger open map was designed with significant reuse of sections of Hard Landing.
MP - Castle - A wholly unique, small infantry map combining a strong visual style with a solid overall design.
Co-op - Nacht der Untoten - The level was also borrowed from Hard Landing / Airfield, and I helped with various adjustments and fixes.
Infinity Ward
LEVEL DESIGNER
Modern Warfare 2 (2008-2010)
SP - Endgame - The only campaign level I owned from pitch to ship, though I contributed designs to others.
MP - Estate - I took over this level from the initial blockout of the house and some surroundings, bringing it to completion.
MP - Rust - Designed to be small and frenetic.
MP - Carnival (DLC) - Inspired primarily by the location, this involved significant collaboration with art to develop the environment.
Respawn Entertainment
DESIGNER
Titanfall (2010-2014)
All Titanfall Titles were developed in Radiant for a modified Source engine.
From this point on, I was less responsible for arting the environment, as our very talented environment artists took much of that responsibility.
MP - Fracture - An attempt to support both Titan and Pilot gameplay, with some parts that worked and some that didn’t.
MP - Overlook - Here I tried to more cleanly control paths and lanes, but that ended up with players a little too separated at times.
MP - Sandtrap (DLC) - With this I wanted to give Pilots and Titans each their own space to dominate, but it also led to significant separation.
MP - Swampland (DLC) - ‘Wallrunning on trees’ became the mantra behind this level. I discussed & showed the process in this blog & video.
SENIOR DESIGNER
Titanfall 2 (2014-2016)
SP - Into the Abyss - I was involved in the level from pretty much beginning to end, contributed some gameplay (moving platform puzzles and combat), though scripters took the level to final. I also built parts 1 and 2, but not part 3.
SP - The Pilot’s Gauntlet - This was an attempt to impart the most basic and necessary skills, which would then be built on throughout the campaign. It was also a close collaboration with art to develop a unique, low-cost, and stylish environment.
Process - I was lucky enough to give this GDC talk on Action Blocking and how the team approached it.
MISSION DESIGN LEAD
Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond (2017-2020)
Built in Unreal 4
All environment art was outsourced, with my involvement shifting to feedback and approvals.
SP - I had hands-on development of multiple levels, which primarily included: pitching, documentation, level blockout, first-pass event scripting, occasional gameplay scripting (combat and objectives in some simpler levels), environment art delivery oversight, and some bug fixing. Each ‘level’ was meant to be only a portion (5-10 minutes long) of the size of a full level in a traditional game, and most levels were handed off to other designers to add final gameplay and ship.
Whitehall Bunker - Our ‘menu level’ was designed to be a fun place to load into and explore. The bit after the prologue, the briefings, the Quartermaster, and the gallery videos are also in this space. And it changes after each act is completed (unpacking occurs, and knick-knacks from missions appear on shelves).
Act I - Secret Base • The Vino Brothers • Pointe du Hoc • Belle du Coin • Gestapo Headquarters • Blow the Safe, Burn the List • The Bravest People
Act 2 - The Chatsworth Girl • Fort Schmerzen • Bunker Assault • Find the Motorpool
Act 3 - Go Overlord, Pt 1. • Go Overlord, Pt 2. • Omaha • Shingles and Trenches • House to House • Your Friends and Liberators • Hold the Town
Act 4 - The Lion’s Paw • Abandon Ship • Dive Dive Dive!
Act 5 - Ski Into Danger • Comms Sabotage • Sneaky Penstocks • Generator Sabotage • Counterattack in the Telemark • Avalanche!
Act 6 - Science of Projectiles
MP - I built out a few of these, owning them from start to finish. My levels relied heavily on reuse of both assets and sections of the campaign levels.
Cathedral of Freedom - Built around the church from Act 3, this was a medium-sized map focused primarily on trying to control the church.
Pointe du Hoc - A key location in the war and a familiar location in games, this level was very large with long, open sightlines (and a few cramped bunkers). It spread out fighting, but definitely favored longer-range weapons.
Bunker of Fort Schmerzen - A small map, with most of the fighting taking place in one narrow, bendy hall with a few flank routes. Good for close combat.
Some leadership and management things also went on throughout this time. :)
MISSION DESIGN DIRECTOR
Star Wars FPS (plus) (2021-2025)
Craft leadership, people management, and hands-on development for both the canceled Star Wars FPS and an unannounced project.
Alas, to be able to show anything from in here.