William Anderson – Video Game Designer

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

I’m a game industry veteran with over 35 years of experience in Game Design and Product Development.  Former Manager of Design of Original Concepts for NAMCO, Senior Game Designer for CAPCOM, Senior Game Designer for Midway Home Entertainment, and Virgin Interactive Entertainment, and was a design lead at Ready at Dawn Studios, to name a few.

I started designing and programming video games in the early 1980s and have over 30 published games to my name that I’ve contributed to.

Having worked for so many different game developers large and small over the years, I currently have a wide range of experience in just about all areas of the industry, from design, development, project management, publishing, and recruiting.

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

I was the first game designer employed by Virgin Interactive Entertainment, where I helped to establish, build, and train all of the incoming game designers.  The first game I designed all of the gameplay for was Global Gladiators which won Sega’s 3rd Party Game of the Year.  The second game, Cool Spot was a big success, qualifying for many magazine covers. The crowning product there was Aladdin for the Sega Genesis which I was the Senior Designer on, which went on to win Game of the Year.

Next, having been recruited by the owners of Oddworld Inhabitants as Manager of Design, I designed the gameplay for their first product Abes Oddysee for the Sony Playstation, which won many awards like E3 Showstopper.

At NAMCO I was responsible for transforming R&D to next-gen product development on the Sony PlayStation Platform, along with evaluating outside developers for future projects by Namco Japan.

Having moved over to CAPCOM and accepted the position as Senior Game Designer, where my job was to design from scratch Maximo Ghost to Glory for the Sony Play Station 2, which received industry praise and enjoys a Metacritic Score of 84 and IGN Score of 9.2/10.

At Ready at Dawn Studios I was the early design lead for the project where I was responsible for developing all of Daxter’s core gameplay mechanics, along with designing several levels for the game.

GAMES WORKED ON

 

  • Melting Point (PC) (Designer/ Programmer/ Artist)
  • Daffy Fish (Designer/ Programmer/ Artist)
  • Sky Drone Racer (Designer) (In Development)
  • InnerVerse (Designer) (In Development)
  • Domino Rally iOS (Concept/Designer)
  • Melting Point (Mobile) (Lead Designer)
  • Babes Vs. Robots, iPhone / iTouch. (Level Designer)
  • Mumuhug, Nintendo DS (Designer)
  • Cold Energy, Xbox 360/PC (Lead Designer)
  • Vacation Isle: Beach Party, Wii (Producer/Lead Designer)
  • NFL Rush Zone (3D Artist/Level Designer)
  • Pinball Hall Of Fame: Williams Collection, PS3/Xbox 360 (3D Artist/Assistant Producer)
  • Game Party 2-3 (Concept Designer)
  • Hotel for Dogs, PC/Wii/DS (Producer/Lead Designer/3D Artist)
  • Game Party, Wii (2.3M Sold) (Producer/3D Artist/Lead Designer)
  • Pinball Hall Of Fame: Williams Collection, PS2/PSP/Wii (3D Artist/Assistant Producer)
  • Hard Rock Casino, PSP/PS2 (Assistant Producer)
  • Scarface, PSP (Greatest Hits) (3D Artist/Level Designer)
  • Daxter, PSP (3.99 Mil Sold!) (Game Designer)
  • Army Men Sarges War, X-Box/Game Cube (Lead Level Designer)
  • Maximo Ghost to Glory, PS2/PS3 (Senior Game Designer)
  • Abes Oddysee, PSX. (Lead Game Play Designer)
  • Izzy’s Quest, Sega Genesis/ SNES (Lead Designer)
  • Jungle Book, Sega Genesis (Game Designer)
  • Aladdin, Sega Genesis (Senior Game Designer)
  • Cool Spot, Sega Genesis/ SNES/ Game Boy (Lead Game Designer)
  • Global Gladiators, Sega Genesis (Lead Game Designer)
  • Double Dragons, Game Gear (Level Designer)

 

EXPERIENCE

 

  • Awaken Games Position: Outsource Senior Game Designer and Development Consultant

    Duration: April 2007 – (Present)

     

    • Designer, Programmer and Artist on a Number of In-House Titles.
    • Developer of Proprietary Database System for Industry Research and Staffing.
    • Mission Critical Studios – Lead Game Designer and Business Consulting.
    • GuruShots – Interactive Development Consulting.
    • Psycraft – Co-Owner, Manager of Design.
    • Pyntail – Business Consulting, Game Designer.
    • SCEA – Game Play Consultant.
    • Keystone Games – Business Consulting and Lead Game Designer.
    • InterFUEL – Game Play Consultant.

     

     

    Mission Critical Studios

     

    Position: Outsource Senior Game Designer and Development Consultant

    Duration: June 1st, 2013 – June 26, 2017

     

    • Lead Game Designer on InnerVerse, and other TBA Games in Development.
    • Business Consulting.
    • Game Development Consulting.
    • Studio Promotion.
    • Level Game Play Designer on TBA Titles.

     

    GuruShots

     

    Position: UX Design and Interactive Consultant

    Duration: 2015/ 2016

     

    • On Call Interactive Content Consultant.

     

    Psycraft LLC

     

    Position: Creative Director and Senior Game Designer

    Duration: August 2011 – 2014

     

    • Senior Game Designer on Melting Point for iOS/Android.

     

    Pyntail

     

    Position: Contract Game Designer and Consultant

    Duration: April 2011 – 2014

     

    • Concept/Designer on Domino Rally (iOS)
    • Lead Level Designer on Babes vs Robots (iOS)
    • New business venture consultant.

     

    GameRecruiter

     

    Position: Contract Associate Recruiter

    Duration: Jan 2012 – Jan 2013

     

    • Research Candidates for Open Positions.
    • Work Directly with Managers to help Place Candidates.
    • Maintain Active Database of Candidates.

     

    SCEA

     

    Position: Design and Play Consultant on Sony Home

    Duration: September 2011 – October 2011

     

    • Game Play Design Consultant on Sony Home.

     

    Keystone Games

     

    Position: Contract Senior Game Designer/ Producer/ Industry Consultant

    Duration: March 2007 – September 2010

     

    • US Game Industry and Marketing Consultant.
    • Senior Game Designer Cold Energy, Xbox 360
    • Senior Game Designer Mumuhug Nintendo DS
    • Staffing Consultant.

     

    interFUEL

     

    Position: Contract Game Designer/ Development Consultant

    Duration: June 2010 – July 2010

     

    • Game Play Design Consultant.
    • General Development Consultant.

     

    FarSight Studios

     

    Position: Acting Producer/ Assistant Producer/ Designer

    Duration: April 2006 – March 2010

     

    • Game Designer/ Level Designer Game Party 4
    • Producer / Game Designer on Vacation Isle: Beach Party, Wii
    • Designer on Game Party 3
    • Level Designer, Leap Frog NFL Rush Zone
    • Designer on Game Party 2
    • Lead Designer/ 3D Background Artist, Hotel for Dogs, Wii/PC/DS
    • Project Producer/ Designer Midway’s Game Party, Wii
    • Assistant Producer/ Level Designer, Pinball Hall of Fame: Williams Collection
    • Assistant Producer / Designer Hard Rock Casino.
    • Assistant Producer / Level Designer Scarface.
    • Assistant Producer / Charlie Browns All Stars Baseball.
    • Design coordinator/ designer
    • 3D Environments Model Designer.
    • Scenario, tutorial development.
    • Text localization.
    • FarSight’s web site manager.
    • Help with new product research and creation of new product pitch Power Point presentations for the studio.
    • FarSight’s pinball hardware engineer. Responsible for maintaining, taking apart, reverse engineering and reassembling all of the real world pinball machines for product research.

     

     

     

    Ready at Dawn Studios

     

    Position: Game Designer Lead Roll on Daxter for Sony PSP.

    Duration: November 2004 – March 2005

     

    • Game Designer on Daxter for Sony PSP.
    • Responsible for level design.
    • Character A.I and Design Coordination.
    • Designed mini-online game system.

     

    JGI Entertainment, Inc.

     

    Position: Lead Game Designer

    Duration: February 2004 – September 2004

     

    • Lead Game Designer on Shaolin Streets.
    • Developed the game story and play structure.
    • Helped with design of combat system.
    • Worked with programmers on movement systems.
    • Designed about four production level for the project.
    • Designed Camera AI/ Character AI and Controls.
    • Help with pitching the game concept to publishers.

     

    Midway Home Entertainment

     

    Position: Lead Game Designer

    Duration: March 2003 – August 2003

     

    • Member of Midway’s company restructures team.
    • Original lead world designer Gauntlet Seven Sorrows.
    • Developed game structure and helped with story.
    • Designed the overall world structure for the game.
    • Designing player character and NPC combat A.I.
    • Did competitive research work on other gaming titles.

     

    Eagle Claw Studios, Inc.

     

    Position: Founder / Creative Director

    Duration: March 2002 – March 2003

     

    • Studio Founder.
    • Created the game concept for Clown Combat.
    • Lead Game Play and Level Designer on Clown Combat.
    • Designed a 3D Game Development Tool.
    • Studio & Project Promotion, Fundraising.

     

     

     

    The 3DO Company

     

    Position: Contract Game and Level Designer

    Duration: March 2002 – March 2003

     

    • Worked on Army Men Sarges War, X-Box/Game Cube.

     

    CAPCOM USA

     

    Position: Senior Game Designer

    Duration: November 1997 – March 2002

     

    I worked for Capcom for many years, where I was senior game designer on Maximo Ghost to Glory and managed the game play design and design staff for the product.

     

    • Senior Game Designer on Maximo (PS2).
    • Produced the game design bible.
    • Helped with funding approval with Capcom Japan.
    • Created the game structure and story plot.
    • Designed Maximo’s combat system with Producer.
    • Designed most of the in-level play mechanics.
    • Designed 2/3’rd of all levels for the game.
    • Designed the power-up management system.
    • Worked on Character A.I. and Game Camera.
    • Did final product tuning work.
    • Recruited, trained and managed design staff.
    • Helped with yearly performance reviews for staff.
    • Evaluated and recruited outside Sound studio.
    • Helped to design world builder tool for project.
    • Evaluate and report on external Capcom productions.
    • Responsible for new concept development.
    • Pitched new concepts to company directors.

     

     

     

    Namco USA

     

    Position: Manager of Design/ Producer

    Duration: March 1996 – September 1997

     

    I joined Namco USA as Manager of Design responsible for coming up with new concepts for the company and handle the transition and staffing of the studio from PC/Sega Saturn development to Sony Playstation development. I was also responsible for evaluating outsourcing companies and in-coming products for the company.

     

    • Responsible for converting studio to PSX Development.
    • Produced 6 New Namco concepts in 3 months.
    • Helped to evaluate outside studios for Namco.
    • Helped to secure Treasures of the Deep from Black-Ops.
    • Lead Game Designer on Pac-Man Ghost Zone.
    • Managed production funding approval.
    • Managed a production staff of 17.
    • Help to design world builder tool for project.
    • Namco Japan’s consultant to Rhythm and Hughes

     

    Oddworld Inhabitants

     

    Position: Manager of Design

    Duration: 1995 – June 1996

     

    I was brought in as Manager of Interactive Design by Sherry McKenna, Lorne Lanning and venture capital group CPTV to come up with a game play system for the studios first game product Abes Oddysee.

     

    • Established the game play system for Abes Oddysee.
    • Designed (4) worlds of game play for the product.

     

    Alexandria, Inc.

     

    Position: Lead Designer and Design Coordinator

    Duration: February 1994 – June 1995

     

    I joined Alexandria, Inc. as Lead Designer on Izzy’s Quest, the mascot character game for the 1996 Olympics, published by US Gold (Now EIDOS). Later promoted to Design Coordinator of all productions at the company.

     

    • Lead Game Designer on Izzy for the 1996 Olympics.
    • Level Designer on Max Mayhem (NP)
    • Managed all designers for the studio.

     

    The owners of Alexandria CPTV asked me to move over to help launch Oddworld Inhabitants, a new start-up also owned by CPTV at the time.

     

    Zono, Inc.

     

    Position: Game Research Consultant

    Duration: January 1995 -January 1995

     

    • Evaluated current hand-held games on the market and consult on future trends in this area. Only a one month contract.

     

    Abracadabra, Inc.

     

    Position: Movie Consultant

    Duration: September 1994 -October 1994

     

    • Contracted to evaluate the movie script for Cutthroat Island and provide feedback.

     

    Spectrum Holobyte

     

    Position: Manager of Design

    Duration: September 1993 -December 1993

     

    I was brought in to manage game design for non-PC products for the company by the President. I was laid off with most of the staff in department shortly after they were bought out by MicroPros.

     

    • Designed two proposals for Star Trek lic.
    • Consulted on VR project.
    • Consulted on game play on outside project from PF Magic.

     

    Virgin Games

     

    Position: Senior Game Designer

    Duration: October 1991 -September 1993

     

    I was the first game designer ever employed in-house by Virgin Games US and helped to build and train the design staff during the early 1990’s. I also was the design lead on Global Gladiators (3rd Party Game of the Year), the award winning Cool Spot for Genesis/SNES and senior designer on Aladdin for Sega Genesis (4K Units Sold/ Developed in less than 4 months)

     

    • First Game Designer employed by Virgin Games US.
    • Helped to create the Design Group with David Bishop.
    • Co-Managed all designers for the studio.
    • Did first pass designs on many products for License approval.
    • Senior Game Designer of Aladdin (Genesis).
    • Lead Designer of Cool Spot (Genesis/SNES)
    • Lead Designer of Global Gladiator (Genesis).
    • Did the GDD for Jungle Book and many other products.
    • Help to design the tile world builder tool tUME.

     

    Astra System Software

     

    Position: Lead Game Designer/ Programmer

    Duration: February 1988 -September 1990

     

    • Help to start new game development group.
    • Designer/ Programmer of Dweaby’s Quest.
    • Designer/ Programmer of Legends – The Tower of Doom.
    • Designer/ Programmer of Legends 2 – The Underworld.

OTHER EXPERIENCE

  • EXTENDED DUTIES 
    • Recruiting for development teams and management.
    • Held 100’s of interviews with Artists, Programmers, Designers, and More.
    • I’ve helped with staff performance reviews.
    • Handled finished and unfinished product evaluations for publishers.
    • Helped evaluate and screen external development studios.
    • Helped with game studio website development.

     

     

    OFFICE APPS

     

    • Microsoft Word
    • Microsoft Excel
    • Microsoft Visio
    • Microsoft PowerPoint
    • Microsoft Visual Basic
    • SketchUp
    • Paint Shop Pro
    • Camtasia Studio 8
    • GameMaker Studio

     

     

    TECHNICAL

     

    • WordPress Web Site Development (5+ Years)
    • Online Sales on eBay, Craigslist and Facebook (20+ Years)
    • Programming in 6502 and 68000 Assembly Language
    • Some Experience in C++ Programming.
    • Visual Basic Programming.
    • ASP Programming.
    • HTML Experience.

     

     

    TRADE SHOWS

     

    • Held meetings for R&D.
    • Handled meeting schedules for Directors of R&D.
    • Conducted Product Reviews at the shows.
    • Helps with booth setup and teardown.
    • Worked with the gaming press.
    • Done TV and Radio Interviews.

     

    SPECIAL

     

    • Trained by NAMCO legal team in managing human resource issues.