Firestorm

Firestorm is one of my favorite projects of all time. I've never had a better relationship with the people I worked with. What made it special was the back and forth between the game designers and myself — they taught me things, I taught them things, and together we built something none of us could have done alone.

I was brought on as a UI/UX designer to a project that was already two years behind schedule. Firestorm was meant to be the mission-based successor to the hit game Insurgency — taking Insurgency's core tactical gameplay and layering on mission objectives, navigation systems, and a progression system with weapon unlocks. Sabre, the publisher, was threatening to shut the studio down, and entire reviews hinged on what we could show them.

My role expanded dramatically during my time there. I went from UI/UX designer to working hand-in-hand with the game designers on navigation, mission design, HUD systems, gameplay evaluation, and more. I worked extremely closely with the game director and often acted as a bridge of communication between him and the studio director. Because we were so far behind, I was frequently asked to create entire storyboards and animated sequences of the full gameplay experience before anything was built — so Sabre could see exactly what we were proposing to ship.

I served as the bridge between design intent and what the team could realistically deliver under pressure — and I loved every minute of it.