Ground Z
This was the original project that eventually was scrapped in favor of State of Chaos. Ground Z was a Mobile RPG set in a Zombie Apocalypse. It attempted to take concepts like character fusing and character upgrade randomization that were common in Japanese RPGs and apply them to a game for western audiences.
Main Responsibilities
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Combat and Ability Design
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Both in terms of balancing the battle and implementing various abilities
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Progression design and balancing
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Creating upgrade paths for each character and the Home Base feature
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Content Design
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Created procedurally generated system for a late game feature
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Had input into designing characters and enemy units
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Progression and Economy
One of my major tasks was designing the player's Home Base feature. This was similar to the bases from games like Mobile Strike and Game of War. In order to strengthen your characters, earn more currency, and access all parts of the game, a player would have to manage and upgrade their town.
Most of the work I did on this feature was spent designing ways so that each building would make an impact on some other part of the game. The sparring ground, for instance, was a way to earn XP Bonuses. The Guard Towers and Fence were ways to gain advantages in a Player-vs-Player Battle.
Beyond the general design work I also was responsible for the economic progression of this feature and the rest of the game. The goal was to make the Home Base a noticeable source of income in the early parts of the game, but later require greater amounts of currency and more types of currency so that the player was encouraged to take part in other features; namely PVP Battle and our Territory Open World Feature.
Open World Design
Ground Z was a game that revolved around collecting character and battling them against other groups of characters. During the late game we extended this concept by opening up an 'Open World' environment where you could move your Home Base around and claim large amounts of territory using your characters.
My tasks related to this game mode were focused on balancing the economy of each territory. The meant ensuring that the rest of the progression economies were in-sync with the territory. So at the same time that the player was being required to spend more and more currency in other parts of the game, they would unlock new territories that met their needs.
Additionally, as each Territory was procedurally generated, a lot of back-end work was needed to govern the generation and management. I spent a good deal of time researching and designing the systems and algorithms that were needed run the placement of resources and enemies on a territory.