UNNANNOUNCED MMO
Role: Art Director | Tencent | 2012
​
When I had joined Tencent they were already well underway in the development of an ambitious MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) title. The primary challenge for the studio was being a split development team between Boston, USA and Shanghai, China (a 12 hour time difference).
There were communication challenges that stemmed from a split org and having very little overlapping times for leadership to align on vision, aesthetics, and key gameplay features.
In addition to my duties as the Art Director/Art Manager, I was asked to take on the role of a Product Owner (aka Producer), and create a vertical slice proof of concept with a team of dedicated artists, designers, and engineers.
UNNANNOUNCED MMO
Role: Art Director | Tencent | 2012
​
When I had joined Tencent they were already well underway in the development of an ambitious MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) title. The primary challenge for the studio was being a split development team between Boston, USA and Shanghai, China (a 12 hour time difference).
There were communication challenges that stemmed from a split org and having very little overlapping times for leadership to align on vision, aesthetics, and key gameplay features.
In addition to my duties as the Art Director/Art Manager, I was asked to take on the role of a Product Owner (aka Producer), and create a vertical slice proof of concept with a team of dedicated artists, designers, and engineers.
UNNANNOUNCED MMO
Role: Art Director | Tencent | 2012
​
When I had joined Tencent they were already well underway in the development of an ambitious MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) title. The primary challenge for the studio was being a split development team between Boston, USA and Shanghai, China (a 12 hour time difference).
There were communication challenges that stemmed from a split org and having very little overlapping times for leadership to align on vision, aesthetics, and key gameplay features.
In addition to my duties as the Art Director/Art Manager, I was asked to take on the role of a Product Owner (aka Producer), and create a vertical slice proof of concept with a team of dedicated artists, designers, and engineers.
UNNANNOUNCED MMO
Role: Art Director | Tencent | 2012
​
When I had joined Tencent they were already well underway in the development of an ambitious MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) title. The primary challenge for the studio was being a split development team between Boston, USA and Shanghai, China (a 12 hour time difference).
There were communication challenges that stemmed from a split org and having very little overlapping times for leadership to align on vision, aesthetics, and key gameplay features.
In addition to my duties as the Art Director/Art Manager, I was asked to take on the role of a Product Owner (aka Producer), and create a vertical slice proof of concept with a team of dedicated artists, designers, and engineers.
UNNANNOUNCED MMO
Role: Art Director | Tencent | 2012
​
When I had joined Tencent they were already well underway in the development of an ambitious MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) title. The primary challenge for the studio was being a split development team between Boston, USA and Shanghai, China (a 12 hour time difference).
There were communication challenges that stemmed from a split org and having very little overlapping times for leadership to align on vision, aesthetics, and key gameplay features.
In addition to my duties as the Art Director/Art Manager, I was asked to take on the role of a Product Owner (aka Producer), and create a vertical slice proof of concept with a team of dedicated artists, designers, and engineers.
UNNANNOUNCED MMO
Role: Art Director | Tencent | 2012
​
When I had joined Tencent they were already well underway in the development of an ambitious MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) title. The primary challenge for the studio was being a split development team between Boston, USA and Shanghai, China (a 12 hour time difference).
There were communication challenges that stemmed from a split org and having very little overlapping times for leadership to align on vision, aesthetics, and key gameplay features.
In addition to my duties as the Art Director/Art Manager, I was asked to take on the role of a Product Owner (aka Producer), and create a vertical slice proof of concept with a team of dedicated artists, designers, and engineers.
UNNANNOUNCED MMO
Role: Art Director | Tencent | 2012
​
When I had joined Tencent they were already well underway in the development of an ambitious MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) title. The primary challenge for the studio was being a split development team between Boston, USA and Shanghai, China (a 12 hour time difference).
There were communication challenges that stemmed from a split org and having very little overlapping times for leadership to align on vision, aesthetics, and key gameplay features.
In addition to my duties as the Art Director/Art Manager, I was asked to take on the role of a Product Owner (aka Producer), and create a vertical slice proof of concept with a team of dedicated artists, designers, and engineers.
UNNANNOUNCED MMO
Role: Art Director | Tencent | 2012
​
When I had joined Tencent they were already well underway in the development of an ambitious MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) title. The primary challenge for the studio was being a split development team between Boston, USA and Shanghai, China (a 12 hour time difference).
There were communication challenges that stemmed from a split org and having very little overlapping times for leadership to align on vision, aesthetics, and key gameplay features.
In addition to my duties as the Art Director/Art Manager, I was asked to take on the role of a Product Owner (aka Producer), and create a vertical slice proof of concept with a team of dedicated artists, designers, and engineers.
SHOW NO TELL
This video that was directed by myself (and produced with the efforts of a number of key people on the team), and served as a proof of concept for a major milestone/exec review.
The key differentiator was an instance that would dynamically scale its content and difficulty based on the number of players in your raid group.
We utilized picture in picture to illustrate the differences between 1 player and 3 player groups within the same instance. By differentiating the time of day, spawned monsters, combat triggers, and spawn locations, we were able to offer a dramatic alternative to the look and feel while maximizing the same environmental and core assets.
UNNANNOUNCED MMO
Role: Art Director | Tencent | 2012
​
When I had joined Tencent they were already well underway in the development of an ambitious MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) title. The primary challenge for the studio was being a split development team between Boston, USA and Shanghai, China (a 12 hour time difference).
There were communication challenges that stemmed from a split org and having very little overlapping times for leadership to align on vision, aesthetics, and key gameplay features.
In addition to my duties as the Art Director/Art Manager, I was asked to take on the role of a Product Owner (aka Producer), and create a vertical slice proof of concept with a team of dedicated artists, designers, and engineers.
SHOW NO TELL
This video that was directed by myself (and produced with the efforts of a number of key people on the team), and served as a proof of concept for a major milestone/exec review.
The key differentiator was an instance that would dynamically scale its content and difficulty based on the number of players in your raid group.
We utilized picture in picture to illustrate the differences between 1 player and 3 player groups within the same instance. By differentiating the time of day, spawned monsters, combat triggers, and spawn locations, we were able to offer a dramatic alternative to the look and feel while maximizing the same environmental and core assets.
ROBOT RISING
Role: Art Director | Tencent | 2013
​
Robot Rising was a F2P (Free to Play) IP developed from scratch, and was the first full 3D game developed for Facebook. This in-browser game delivered an ARPG (Action Role Play Game) experience along with a base building mechanic with a tripple-A visual aesthetic.
GAMEPLAY
This video shows highlights of Robot Rising's gameplay. In this game you play as an AI (artificial intelligence) embedded in the chassis of a robot. As players explore difference themed dungeons you find materials that can be used to build more advanced robotic components. One of the key goals is to build a chassis that can accommodate multiple weapons that get connected at key attachment points on the chassis.
WORK PRODUCT
Below is a collection of directed concept art, visual targets, art bible excerpts, and gameplay screenshots.
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  | |
WORLD BUILDING
This video was created by the project's Senior World Builder, Eric Chadwick. He graciously allowed me to share this clip as it does a smashing job at showing off our tools, pipeline, color palette, and versatility.
​
One of our core goals was to have massive amounts of re-use of environmental assets to keep load times as short as possible, while maintaining a rich palette of color indicative of a triple-A game experience.
VISUAL EFFECTS
One of the core visual pillars of Robot Rising was the Language of Combat. We put a large amount of emphasis on how to visually convey different families of effects (balistic, fuel, electric, plasma, etc), that help convey gameplay designs.
 |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
Robot Rising is a Sexy 3D Action RPG That Just Happens to Be on Facebook
A tipster poked me about Robot Rising again today, so I decided to give it a go. Wow. I mean, look at that. Wow.
— Kotaku