Cryptic Studios

Principal Game Design | Aug 2026 – Present

Unannounced Project

• Recruited back to Cryptic by the studio CEO to take a principal design seat on an unannounced project
• Returning for a third tour with the studio, following prior work on Champions Online, Star Trek Online, and six years as narrative lead on Neverwinter

Intrepid Studios, Inc.

Principal Game Design | Apr 2024 – Feb 2026

Ashes of Creation | AAA MMORPG | A2 + Steam Release Team

• Joined the Alpha 2 Release Team on a $140M+ AAA MMORPG, contributing design direction across systems, content, and tools at studio scale
• Architected the design for the World State Manager, a real-time systemic layer greenlit by the director group as a foundational live-service system
• Authored the design for the Content Visualization Tool and unified the studio’s content tools into a single modular Unreal Engine 5 toolchain in partnership with tools engineering
• Set the core gameplay loops and systemic content standards for a twenty-five person design team, defining the quality bar across all authored content
• Owned the content roadmap in Miro across importance and time axes, setting priorities with production and the game directors against the studio-wide schedule
• Mentored designers and partnered across engineering, narrative, and content teams to set quality bars and align execution

Cryptic Studios

Senior Game Design (Lead Narrative Design) | Sep 2018 – Apr 2024

Neverwinter | MMORPG

• Served as sole creative authority on narrative output for Neverwinter, a live-service MMO built on the $1B+ Dungeons & Dragons franchise, partnering with Wizards of the Coast across several major live updates including Undermountain, Sharandar Reimagined, Avernus, and Spelljammer
• Managed the Battle Pass system and Heroic Encounter framework, both integral game-wide monetization systems
• Owned the documentation layer for a ten-person content team, writing module GDDs and story frameworks that set tone, voice, and canon
• Mentored designers and authored an in-engine onboarding video curriculum to accelerate new-hire ramp

Level Design | May 2019 – Aug 2019

Magic: Legends | AAA ARPG | Special Studio Project

• Designed and scripted level content for a AAA ARPG built on the Magic: The Gathering IP under Wizards of the Coast partnership, helping a behind-schedule team hit key pre-alpha milestones
• Owned full level design on the Forbidden Vaults, from paper design through encounter placement, AI Director settings, and scripted elements, culminating in a climactic dragon boss reveal
• Configured encounter placement and AI Director difficulty scaling on Geralf’s Charge, and scripted its full gameplay system for a generator-defense mode

Mulley Games

Game Direction | Jul 2018 – Jul 2019

Unannounced Mobile Project | Sports Sim

• Authored complete game direction documentation for an unannounced mobile sports simulation, covering systems, progression, monetization, UX, and technical architecture
• Defined product vision and live-service framework, aligning gameplay loops, economy, and long-term player engagement
• Led independent design direction across all major game pillars and supporting systems

Trion Worlds, Inc.

Senior Design III | May 2016 – Jul 2018

Trove | Voxel Sandbox RPG

• Owned core game systems on the Geode expansion, delivering new biomes and progression with integrated monetization hooks, and designed the Resistor Workbench crafting system and Rampage world events for Luminopolis
• Architected the evergreen subclassing system, a cross-class progression layer that added replay depth across every class, shipped alongside the Dino Tamer ranged combat class
• Designed multi-phase boss encounters including the Shadow Hydrakken and Darknik Dreadnought Mk II, tuned across three difficulty modes
• Designed the Trove new player experience and partnered with engineering on mission tools enabling dynamic, randomized content, contributing to a 15-20% retention lift across live operations

Senior Game Design III (Lead Design) | Feb 2016 – May 2016 (Studio Transition)

Defiance | Third Person Shooter

• Held sole lead design ownership of all systems, itemization, and live economy on an $80M AAA transmedia title with Syfy/NBCUniversal during a critical studio transition
• Tuned the Cyber Rig Merchants and Chip acquisition systems and cleaned up the supporting in-game stores, lifting ARPPU 10% and lockbox revenue 20%
• Designed the Malicious Daisy Cutter for the Frontier Loyalist Pack, a Legendary tier guided rocket launcher and the game’s first of its kind to fire a swarm of five homing missiles at once, a mechanic inspired by classic mecha anime

Senior Design II | Jun 2010 – Feb 2016

RIFT | AAA MMORPG

• Joined the AAA fantasy MMORPG launch team and stayed on RIFT through five years of live-service operation, shipping multiple expansion updates over the life of the game
• Took ownership of the Dimensions housing system and drove the crafting economy end-to-end through the Storm Legion and Nightmare Tide expansions
• Designed the RIFT new player experience from the ground up, and contributed zone events, colossi, and named systemic encounters engaged by 600k players across the live game
• Mentored designers throughout the project and served as a senior voice across content, systems, and live-service direction

Cryptic Studios

Staff Design | Oct 2009 – Jun 2010

Star Trek Online | MMORPG

• Contributed to the Star Trek Online launch team on an MMO built on the Star Trek IP, designing 20+ scripted quest lines and 7 raid experiences spanning both ground and space mission content
• Directed the original in-engine launch cinematic with original voice performance by the late Leonard Nimoy, leading cinematic production for one of the game’s signature moments
• Authored quest and raid content in Cryptic’s proprietary finite state machine toolset, scripting encounter logic and NPC behavior directly in engine

Staff Design | Mar 2008 – Oct 2009

Champions Online | MMORPG

• Contributed to the Champions Online launch team on a superhero MMO, designing mission content, systems, and gameplay features
• Owned, tuned and shipped the Nemesis System, a personalized antagonist framework and marquee feature that cast each player as the hero of their own comic-book narrative
• Designed the original Champions Online new player experience, a scripted alien invasion used to onboard every new player to the game

Sony Online Entertainment

Game Design II | Oct 2002 – Mar 2008

EverQuest II | AAA MMORPG

• Joined the EverQuest II team and shipped content across five major expansions on a flagship entry in the $1B+ EverQuest franchise
• Authored Nu’Roga, Deathfist Citadel revamp, and Sebilis, contested mega-dungeons in Kunzar Jungle, key endgame gameplay loop content
• Designed the Assassin Epic weapon questline, a class-defining, narrative-driven progression journey within one of the MMO genre’s most studied questline systems, alongside 40+ additional quests
• Scripted boss and raid encounters in Lua, designing NPC ability sets and AI behavior across multiple expansion cycles