Principal Designer & Developer (2019)

As the operator of a one-person indie studio called XLCR Studios, my job is to design and develop games, and work with 3rd parties for outsourced assets and funding opportunities.

Achievements

• Built a unique mobile slot machine game in Unreal UMG UI (blueprints) as a microtransaction revenue stream to fund further business and game development

Software Design Engineer (2018)

As Xbox Avatar Editor started getting close to shipping, I was brought on to the team to polish the visuals of the interface by using a combination of my UX design and UI development skills.

Achievements

• Scripted 100+ individual UI animations and transitions, multiple resolution-based adaptive layouts, and provided app-wide look-and-feel polish for Avatars on Xbox One, PCs and modern Windows devices, using Unity, UWP XAML and C#

Prototyper & Design Developer (2017-2018)

As a prototyper for Microsoft Edge, my responsibility was to create rapid prototypes using UWP XAML and C# to prove design theories and technical feasibility for new product features, often with a 1 to 2 week turnaround. Later, as the needs of the project changed, my role changed to that of a UX Design Developer that delivered production-ready XAML and C++ bug fixes to improve the visual craftsmanship of the live end user product.

Achievements

• Developed a prototyping platform for a classified device form factor that required a totally reimagined UX, new methods of gesture/touch input, could support having features added iteratively, and was actively used as a polished design vision demonstration for executive and VP-level presentations
• Prototyped the mixed paradigm (XY-focus + free mouse) gamepad-based controls for Edge on Xbox, and the success of this control scheme was integral to the usability of the shipped product, giving players an Xbox web browsing experience that was as close to desktop as possible
• Created user-facing demos for improvements to Cortana integration, user input gestures, animations, and Microsoft's Fluent Design System UI variants that were used in user research studies which generated actionable data that improved the live Microsoft Edge end user product
• Engineered a custom dynamic theme editor UWP app that allowed visual designers to adjust colors, font styling and other theme elements of Fluent Design within Edge on the fly and output their changes to an importable and human-readable file for later re-consumption, which allowed decision makers to efficiently make numerous improvements to Edge’s visual theme in a short period of time

Senior Technical Artist (2013-2017)

At Wizards of the Coast, I wore many hats with a broad range of responsibilities. Most prominently, my role was oriented around the creation of new digital content for every Magic: The Gathering expansion released on Magic Online, however, I also served as an art director, project manager and person-in-charge to collaborate with multiple teams/disciplines to facilitate the creation and delivery of new game features and hundreds of high-quality assets per release for more than 20 expansion product releases.

Achievements

• Established and led a team of 4 people that focused on the creation of production-ready WPF XAML, C#, and UX/visual design for 6 to 8 Magic Online expansions per year
• Created all of the Magic 2015 style card frame templates which were significantly higher fidelity (print-to-digital representation) than any of the card templates created prior, which garnered the praise of both Wizards and players alike
• UX designer for overhauled, fan-favorite Magic Online Leagues feature

Shipped Expansion Titles

UX, UI & Graphic Designer (2014-2015)

When it was time to update and overhaul the Wizards Accounts web service, I turned the provided wireframes into developer-consumable design specs that had been designed, styled and redlined. I also designed graphics for print and digital, like the player identification (DCI) cards.

Achievements

• Web designer for Wizards Accounts and New Player Sign Up online services
• Graphic designer for Wizards DCI cards (both printed temporary cards and permanent digital cards)