Case Studies
SIX GAMES.
SIX PROBLEMS SOLVED.
Click any project to read the full case study.
Mayday Racers
Unity · 2024–2025
// Gameplay & Screenshots
🔴 Problem
A 23-person team with no shared design language. Artists built assets the engineers couldn't use. UI was unreadable at racing speeds. Dependencies were invisible until they became blockers.
🟠 Process
Introduced Agile sprint structure with daily stand-ups to surface blockers early. Built a Game Wiki in Notion to give the whole team a single source of truth. Ran UI playtests at simulated racing speeds to test legibility before locking assets.
🟢 Result
Functional prototype delivered on schedule. Cross-team dependencies resolved weeks earlier than previous projects. UI passed readability tests at speed — something the old design consistently failed.
✓ Delivered on schedule
✓ UI passed speed readability tests
✓ 23-person team coordination solved
// Contributions
The Captain's Pyre
Unreal Engine · 2024–2025
// Gameplay & Screenshots
🔴 Problem
Solo project with no audio team and no custom assets. The genre demands tension — but tension requires atmosphere, and atmosphere usually requires production resources I didn't have.
🟠 Process
Shifted strategy: built tension through narrative progression systems and environmental storytelling rather than audio cues. Used Blueprint prototyping in Unreal to rapidly test how level layout affected player dread before committing to polish.
🟢 Result
Delivered a cohesive horror prototype where the atmosphere came entirely from design decisions — not production value. Proved constraint can force smarter design choices than an open budget.
✓ Atmosphere without audio team
✓ Blueprint rapid prototyping
✓ Environmental storytelling
// Contributions
Sohvanii
Unity · 48hr Jam
// Gameplay & Screenshots
🔴 Problem
48 hours. Two people. A merciless scope problem: everything we wanted would take a week. The design challenge was not what to build — it was what to cut without losing the point of the game.
🟠 Process
Agreed on clear ownership split upfront — no overlap, no bottlenecks. Made a single binding decision early: the core loop feeling trumped everything else. Every cut was measured against whether it hurt that feeling.
🟢 Result
Shipped on time with a polished core loop. The constraint-driven scope decisions meant every remaining feature served the design. Nothing extraneous made it in.
✓ On-time delivery
✓ Polished core loop
✓ Constraint-driven scope
// Contributions
Eco Island
Unreal Engine · 2023–2024
// Gameplay & Screenshots
🔴 Problem
Seven people building the same world: visual inconsistency was inevitable without a system. Styles clashed, assets conflicted, and source control was a constant near-miss.
🟠 Process
Built and maintained a detailed Game Design Document used as a live reference throughout production. Structured source control with clear naming conventions. Created environmental content systems so builders worked from the same palette.
🟢 Result
No asset conflicts on delivery. The world read as coherent despite seven contributors. The GDD became the team's single source of truth rather than just an artefact.
✓ Zero asset conflicts
✓ Visual consistency across 7 builders
✓ GDD as live reference tool
// Contributions
Fishout Jim
Unity · Game Jam
// Gameplay & Screenshots
🔴 Problem
The fishing mechanic worked. It was also completely unengaging. Mechanically sound but emotionally flat — players cast, waited, caught. No tension. No reward. No reason to care.
🟠 Process
Identified that the loop lacked anticipation — the moment between cast and catch had no investment. Redesigned the feedback system to introduce escalating tension signals before the catch, then iterated until the reward felt earned.
🟢 Result
The loop became genuinely rewarding to repeat. The tension-to-reward pattern became the design anchor that every subsequent mechanic iteration was measured against.
✓ Engaging core loop
✓ Anticipation mechanics
✓ Repeatable tension-reward
// Contributions
Unearthed
Unreal Engine · 2022–2023
// Gameplay & Screenshots
🔴 Problem
My first time as lead. The brief was broad and the team had limited engine knowledge — including me. Turning a GDD into a playable system meant designing within hard technical constraints nobody fully understood yet.
🟠 Process
Used the GDD not as a static document but as a living design tool — updating it with every constraint we discovered. When something was too complex to build, the GDD adapted first, and the design followed.
🟢 Result
Delivered a playable prototype. More importantly, established a documentation discipline that I've carried into every project since — the habit of designing around real constraints rather than ideal ones.
✓ Playable prototype delivered
✓ GDD as living tool
✓ Constraint-led design
// Contributions