Creative Director during the development of the PVE game :
(second portion of the video)

- Create a high level solo prototype of the new Transformer PVE arcade game and present it to the team and collect feedback & ideas. Because it was an arcade game it had to be straight forward, intuitive, easy to grasp for players to get an enjoyable 8 minutes experience.

- The game being a "ride/constant runner", build an HLD switching between enemy sequences and animation based gameplay with a selection of characters from the Transformers universe.
- Iterate with the team and collect their feedback as much as possible to keep everyone engaged and motivated. I believe creative direction is about stimulating and focusing the teams creativity through a frame. The right balance between a loose frame and a rigid one is key to stimulate without wasting anyone's energy and motivation.
- Iterate with Hasbro representatives to make sure we aren't doing any harm to the integrity of the Transformers IP.
- Present required Enemies to the programmers and figure out what was achievable for the team size and production time.
- Present required animations and work with the Art Director and animators on figuring out what was achievable for the team size and production time.
- List the necessary VFX and Work with Art Director and VFX artist to create the look and feel of each of them. From simple explosions, projectiles and hit impacts when two Transformers are fighting to destroying buildings and Transformers transforming.
- Work with our outsourcing sound designer to figure out the sound of the game based on the HLD narrative and the various animations we were planning for.
- Document Transformers lines and context and work with our voice actor to get the right tone for the various situations.
- Attend playtest sessions to collect feedbacks from testers and observe first timers to seek misunderstandings as in the end product most players will only play the game once.

Note : Considering we were short staffed my role also involved technical tasks.- Create a high level solo prototype of the new Transformer PVE arcade game and present it to the team and collect feedback & ideas. Because it was an arcade game it had to be straight forward, intuitive, easy to grasp for players to get an enjoyable 8 minutes experience. - The game being a "ride/constant runner", build an HLD switching between enemy sequences and animation based gameplay with a selection of characters from the Transformers universe. - Iterate with the team and collect their feedback as much as possible to keep everyone engaged and motivated. I believe creative direction is about stimulating and focusing the teams creativity through a frame. The right balance between a loose frame and a rigid one is key to stimulate without wasting anyone's energy and motivation. - Iterate with Hasbro representatives to make sure we aren't doing any harm to the integrity of the Transformers IP. - Present required Enemies to the programmers and figure out what was achievable for the team size and production time. - Present required animations and work with the Art Director and animators on figuring out what was achievable for the team size and production time. - List the necessary VFX and Work with Art Director and VFX artist to create the look and feel of each of them. From simple explosions, projectiles and hit impacts when two Transformers are fighting to destroying buildings and Transformers transforming. - Work with our outsourcing sound designer to figure out the sound of the game based on the HLD narrative and the various animations we were planning for. - Document Transformers lines and context and work with our voice actor to get the right tone for the various situations. - Attend playtest sessions to collect feedbacks from testers and observe first timers to seek misunderstandings as in the end product most players will only play the game once. Note : Considering we were short staffed my role also involved technical tasks.

 

​Skills: Client Expectations Management · Creative Direction · Team Leadership · Creative Writing · Gameplay Programming · Creative Management · Unreal Engine 4

Product Development Lead during the development of the PVP game :

(first portion of the video)

First of all, for a video game studio morphing into a studio that specializes in VR Arcades, the transition required a change of paradigm. Our client wasn't the player but the arcade owner making us a B2B and not a B2C anymore. Our new client didn't want the games to be full of depth, meaning, challenges and storylines. They wanted a robust, easy to operate machine that a non tech savvy user could easily manage without wasting time. It also had to offer an element of attraction to the people walking by it. On our side we wanted a machine easy to ship, assemble, and remotely fix if there's a need.

 

My tasks as Product development lead were to :
- Document this switch of paradigm and mind map the different moving pieces of our product and how this meant the creation of various new departments and areas of collaboration.
- Build relations with various VR industry actors (Valve, HTC, Intel, StrikerVR) and working with them on hardware related topics (instabilities, integration, firmware updates, roadmaps...).
- Design various hardware pieces (VR lighthouse attachments, Controller charging station for the Transformers VR arcade.
- Collect ideas, comments and feedback from everyone around the studio.
- Work closely with QA and observe the difficulties they experience when using the arcade machine to prioritize known issues and figure out new ones.
- Work closely with our customer care to get insight into the customer's experience.
- Go to show floors to present the machine, collect feedbacks and try competitor's products.
- Implement a plugin that allows the integration of Striker VR (a haptic input device) as a default UE4 input device. This implementation involved :
1. Retrieve hexadecimal data sent by the device and translate it to input events.
2. Implement input events allowing blueprint implementation.
3. Implement blueprintable static functions triggering haptic feedbacks to allow designers to easily use them.First of all, for a video game studio morphing into a studio that specializes in VR Arcades, the transition required a change of paradigm. Our client wasn't the player but the arcade owner making us a B2B and not a B2C anymore. Our new client didn't want the games to be full of depth, meaning, challenges and storylines. They wanted a robust, easy to operate machine that a non tech savvy user could easily manage without wasting time. It also had to offer an element of attraction to the people walking by it. On our side we wanted a machine easy to ship, assemble, and remotely fix if there's a need. As a product development lead my role involved : - Document this switch of paradigm and mind map the different moving pieces of our product and how this meant the creation of various new departments and areas of collaboration. - Build relations with various VR industry actors (Valve, HTC, Intel, StrikerVR) and working with them on hardware related topics (instabilities, integration, firmware updates, roadmaps...). - Design various hardware pieces (VR lighthouse attachments, Controller charging station for the Transformers VR arcade. - Collect ideas, comments and feedback from everyone around the studio. - Work closely with QA and observe the difficulties they experience when using the arcade machine to prioritize known issues and figure out new ones. - Work closely with our customer care to get insight into the customer's experience. - Go to show floors to present the machine, collect feedbacks and try competitor's products. - Implement a plugin that allows the integration of Striker VR (a haptic input device) as a default UE4 input device. This implementation involved : 1. Retrieve hexadecimal data sent by the device and translate it to input events. 2. Implement input events allowing blueprint implementation. 3. Implement blueprintable static functions triggering haptic feedbacks to allow designers to easily use them.

​

Skills: Design · Industrial Design · Customer Relations · Product Development · C++ · Programming · Unreal Engine 4