Palia

Company: Singularity 6
Platform: PC, Nintendo Switch

Play

Role: Systems Designer
Tools: Unreal, Perforce, Google Sheets/Docs, Mural, Miro, GIMP, Jira, Tableau

Pitch, write design documentation for, and oversee the implementation of social and cosmetic features, including character creation, outfit changing, chat, emotes, and Nintendo Switch port requirements.

The following is a sample of my feature work:

Pets

Feature:

  • Equippable companion that follows the player around the world with different cosmetic skins
  • Purchase incentive for in-game currency
  • Developed on extremely tight deadline after a pivot from executives post-code lock

My Work:

  • Collaborate across all disciplines to determine lowest-cost option for implementation on an extremely short deadline
  • Reconcile competing stakeholder requirements and align team on a feasible, cohesive design
  • Wrote design spec
  • Define MVP requirements, stretch goals, and future improvements
  • Develop testing checklist
  • Playtest and provide feedback on AI behavior through multiple rounds of iteration
  • Wrote English copy and revised Spanish localization
Fan-Made Gameplay Video

Palia Pass

Feature:

  • A "FOMO"-free version of a Battle Pass in fitting with Palia's cozy environment
  • Players complete tasks to earn points toward the Pass
  • Upon reaching a new milestone, players unlock a reward on the free tier and, if they've purchased the pass, the premium tier
  • Passes and tasks have no time limits and do not expire

My Work:

  • Re-imagine Battle Pass monetization design to minimize FOMO while still giving players an incentive to purchase
  • Wrote, received team-wide feedback, and iterated on design pitch and spec documents
  • Model game economy, resource values, time to complete various gameplay tasks, and more to inform tuning for pass rewards and tasks
  • Ideated, pitched, and designed a variety of new reward types for the premium tier that were desirable to the player without impacting gameplay (and thus feeling pay-to-win)
  • Define MVP requirements, stretch goals, and future improvements
  • Develop testing checklist

Nintendo Switch Port and Compliance

Feature:

  • Updated meta-systems UX for usability on Nintendo Switch
  • Ensured compliance with all Nintendo lotcheck requirements

My Work:

  • Read and summarize Nintendo Switch technical and product requirement documents
  • Identify all changes and additions that needed to be made to comply with Nintendo's requirements
  • Own cross-platform implementation of Parental Controls and other player safety features
  • Playtest and give feedback on Nintendo Switch builds