Team Member Spotlight: Paul Shields

Paul Shields, Lead Designer

As Lead Designer my job is to properly lay out what the game is about so that way the whole team know exactly what we are making. Communication is key to creating a game with a uniform feel and look. If the game’s look doesn’t fit perfectly together the emersion is broken and our game has failed. So at the start of the game development process my job is putting together the design document that everyone can look at when they have questions so that everyone is working towards the same direction.

During the design process I work with everyone and keep them going in the same direction and answer any questions that can’t be answered by the design document. With such a small group I also have other jobs such as set-dressing and level design. Testing the game is a huge part of my job. Testing both to see if mechanics are fun before open tests and the open tests themselves.

Testing requires grabbing people of all aspects to get the widest range of variables. After testing I go over the results and spot patterns/consistencies. After looking over the information from testing I figure out the best ways to change the game to make it more fun for the player and then test some more. Any changes made to the game must also be informed to everyone so we’re all on the same page.