SKILL TREE — BRANCH 03
NODES MAPPED: 6 / 24 — DRAFT
SYSTEMS DESIGNAVAILABLE 2025
I design the systems
players never see.
Game economy. Progression loops. Permadeath logic. Documented from first sketch to final patch note.
↳ 3 shipped titles · 40+ playtests documented · 2 economy rewrites under NDA
SCROLL
SHIPPED—3 Titles
GENRE—Roguelike / City Builder / RPG
PLAYTESTS—40+ Sessions Documented
SPECIALTY—Economy Balance
SPECIALTY—Permadeath Systems
SPECIALTY—Level Pacing
TOOLS—Machinations · Miro · Notion
YEARS—6 in Production
APPROACH—Playtest-First Design
SHIPPED—3 Titles
GENRE—Roguelike / City Builder / RPG
PLAYTESTS—40+ Sessions Documented
SPECIALTY—Economy Balance
SPECIALTY—Permadeath Systems
SPECIALTY—Level Pacing
TOOLS—Machinations · Miro · Notion
YEARS—6 in Production
APPROACH—Playtest-First Design
CASE STUDY 01SHIPPED
Roguelike RPG·Systems Lead·2023
↳ design brief
How do you make permadeath feel fair?
The player dies. Again. But this time it doesn't feel arbitrary — it feels earned. Designing that distinction required mapping every death state back to a player decision, not a random number.
Process Artifacts
death-state flowchartrng audit logplaytest heatmap v7
Decision Flowchart — excerpt
PLAYER ACTION
↓
SYSTEM EVALUATION
↓
LETHAL THRESHOLD?
↓
MERCY WINDOW CHECK
↓
OUTCOME STATE
Death Cluster Heatmap — Session 7
Low
High
100% — SHIPPED
Full breakdown locked — 8 more sections including paper prototype photos
CASE STUDY 02IN PROGRESS
City Builder·Economy Designer·2024
↳ design brief
How do you stop players from breaking your economy?
Every player is a potential exploit engine. The moment a dominant strategy calcifies, the game is over. Designing an economy that breathes — that punishes hoarding without punishing planning.
Process Artifacts
resource flow diagraminflation curve modelexploit audit v3
Decision Flowchart — excerpt
PLAYER ACTION
↓
SYSTEM EVALUATION
↓
LETHAL THRESHOLD?
↓
MERCY WINDOW CHECK
↓
OUTCOME STATE
Death Cluster Heatmap — Session 7
Low
High
65% — ACTIVE
Full breakdown locked — 8 more sections including paper prototype photos
Waitlist
The full case studies drop Q3 2025.
Eight complete design breakdowns — from first sketch to post-launch patch. Every decision documented. Every failure annotated.
WHAT YOU GET
Complete design problem → solution arcs
Paper prototype scans + iteration photos
Playtest session recordings (annotated)
Post-launch balance patch analysis