Zynga

I currently work with Zynga as a principal esigner on Words with Friends. I worked previously on Harry Potter, Puzzles and Spells.

Words with Friends

I am currently leading feature design for Words with Friends. I led the effort for the design of the Club feature, including Club Leagues and Leaderboards. I am currently working on other TBD Clubs features, as well as tuning and economy balancing within Clubs.

I also designed the Swap Plus Super Charge power-up.

Design Highlights

Zynga Club Tips on the new Clubs Feature, which was in soft launch at the time.

Second in a series of Club Tips on the new Clubs Feature.

Zynga video on the Swap Plus Super Charge power-up.

Harry Potter Puzzles and Spells

I previously did feature design for the top-five puzzle game Harry Potter Puzzles and Spells. I completed designs for world-wide launch and supported the live product.  I was in charge of all feature decks for licensing approval with Warner Bros.  I worked across production and design to create these decks and track submissions.  I created original feature design, focused on KPI-improvement and creating a proper event cadence.  Designing features that are in-line with the Harry Potter universe and engaging to players of match-3 titles was my priority.

I also led the project to add narrative story elements to the game.  I designed and oversaw our side-content feature, Club Challenge. For this feature, I designed eight bosses for encounters.

To improve team communication, I initiated regular brainstorming and collaboration meetings within the design team.  I also designed mechanics and top-performing levels in the game.

Design Highlights

The Hedge Maze is a cooperative Club Challenge for HP Puzzles and Spells, where players can work together with their club members to earn rewards.

The Forbidden Forest is another Club Challenge where players can work together with the community.

I had a lot of fun making this one.

The Basilisk was a really fun game mechanic to design, and the art department did an amazing job. The mechanic was on-theme and is exciting to play.

Inflatus is a mechanic that brings some levity to the game.

The Monster Book of Monsters was a long time coming, and players really enjoyed this mechanic.