under construction

Piano

back to design

Target Game Play/ Visual Design (pre-production)

For piano, we were under a very tight deadline and budget. Essentially we needed to make a full game but with a 1/4 of the budget, staff, and time. This meant we needed to have a very clear idea of where we wanted to start. Once the project was green lit, we began development. During this production I worked as the creative director, art director, and lead designer, making decisions on what would ultimately launch under budget and on time.

Though challenging, the experience was incredibly fulfilling and the care and detail put into the feature by the dev team was appreciated greatly by the Rocksmith community.

During this time I worked alone conducting all research and creating all designs and art work with reviews happening directly with the Vice President of Product Development at Ubisoft.

My roles: In-depth competitor analysis, initial wire frame and user experience designs, creation of target game footage, preliminary research for hardware and software needs, project forecasts (budget and team), pitches and presentations to green light development.

*click here to see an in-depth breakdown

Prototyping and Play Testing

Development and Launch

With the target game footage approved and initial designs set I was given and green light to build out this feature. During this time i worked with our lead producer to construct a team and begin prototyping. The timeline was limited so the team dynamic needed to consist of individuals who could "wear multiple hats". Cross discipline collaboration and rapid iteration was a must. Having clear design goals helped the team to move quickly and allow for quick design changes where needed.

My roles: Led gameplay and UX design, daily playtesting and reviews, presented all progress to stakeholders, organized internal and external playthroughs, managed budget, staffing and equipment needs

*click here to see an in-depth breakdown

My roles: Led art team (development of art assets, pipeline, and reviews), led gameplay and UX design, daily playtesting and reviews, presented all progress to stakeholders, worked with marketing team to set tone for branding and launch campaign, worked with video lessons team to developed a "look book" for live action video assets, created wire frame/ screen flows for final features, worked with music education team to develop a beginner friendly curriculum (this included working with song licensing team to find appropriate music)

The development time for the piano was incredibly short (approx. 1/4 of the time used for the guitar feature) and we were limited on staff due to the game being live, meaning we had to be incredibly strategic about resources. This was a blessing and a curse as it limited us in many ways due to the limitations allowing for the teams ingenuity to really shine resulting in a community that loved the feature.

*click here to see an in-depth breakdown