HAVE YOU HERD?
ROLE
Technical Designer
DESCRIPTION
Wild animals have overrun the country, but Cowboy Maloy and his herding dogs are here to help! Play alone or play co-op with up to 4 players across various levels and encounter sneaky traps and fun antics. Help Maloy and his pups get their much-needed vacation and end the Herd-pocalypse!
YEAR
2022-2023
GENRE
Casual Game/Party Game
PLATFORM
PC, Nintendo Switch
CONTRIBUTIONS
As the primary technical designer on Have You Herd?, I was responsible for prototyping and validating the core gameplay loop, designing and implementing AI behaviors, building modular game mode systems, and developing designer-friendly tools for environmental interactions. My contributions enabled scalable gameplay systems and empowered the broader team to iterate rapidly on new features.
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Designed and built the original gameplay prototype in Unreal Engine using Blueprints, enabling rapid iteration to validate core mechanics and scalability of the gameplay loop.
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Developed core AI behavior systems for animal characters, including context-sensitive reactions (e.g., llamas spitting when barked at), enhancing gameplay variety and engagement.
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Engineered a modular environmental interaction system that empowered designers to implement mechanics like conveyor belts and event-driven objects without additional programming support.
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Implemented a flexible game mode framework supporting both cooperative and competitive playstyles, enabling varied objectives and match types.
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Contributed to a successful demo launch, which received positive feedback—particularly from younger audiences—and was showcased at PAX East.
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Supported multiple publisher pitch presentations, with the technical design work helping position the game competitively.