OVERVIEW
Dungeon Defenders II (DD2) is the sequel to the original Dungeon Defenders. After defeating and imprisoning the ancient evil known as "The Old Ones," a new and mysterious enemy travels across Etheria trying to liberate this evil force. Team up with up to four other players in this free-to-play MMO adventure with action-packed tower defense game. Concoct your strategy, fight your foes, and vanquish the armies seeking the destruction of Etheria.
DD2 is a live game that released in 2017 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. I was part of a three member design team and contributed to the original game's release as well as numerous expansions from 2017 to 2019.
Dungeon Defenders II Trailer
CONTRIBUTIONS
OVERVIEW
As a technical designer, I worked with a team of two other designers to author and implement major expansions to DD2. These expansions added significant amounts of content and redefined core features of the game.
My involvement with DD2 culminated in me championing the creative direction of DD2's final two content updates. These updates received acclaim from our fans and have catapulted DD2's user reviews scores to the highest in its 6+ year history!
Key Features I worked on:
Pitched & Shipped a complete rework to loot
deep crafting system
Player trading & economy balance
Monetarily successful lootbox
brand new game mode
Co-Authored the New User Experience (NUE)
And MoRe!
Protean shift expansion (June, 2018)
EXPANSION OVERVIEW
The Protean Shift expansion was a pivotal content addition to DD2 that reworked loot and item progression to user acclaim. This loot rework was complimented by a deep crafting system that empowered user creativity and choice with the new loot they earned. For the first time in DD2's history, players were allowed to trade with each other, birthing a player-driven economy.
Upon release, the average session duration for active users nearly doubled. This prompted the most monetarily successful quarter for Trendy Entertainment since the DD2's official launch a year and a half earlier.
My role
pitched loot revamp (with team)
led the crafting system's design
Balanced Player trading economy
ui/ux on several crafting interfaces
PRIME INCURSIONS UPDATE (July, 2019)
update OVERVIEW
The Prime Incursion update was the final update for DD2. Players face off in a series of fearsome boss fights with each battle being harder than the next. Victory earns players some of the most prized rewards in all of Etheria.
My role
Concept & Creative Direction
difficulty balance
scripting & implementation
Mentored a jr. designer to success
As the Lead Designer, I was tasked with producing a low-cost update for DD2 so that resources could remain focused on DDA's development. DD2 contained a series of well-received boss fights that players encountered in the early-game, but held little relevance for mid-game to end-game players. I spearheaded the creative direction of producing "prime incursions," reinvigorating this content for our dedicated fans.
I trained and mentored a junior designer who produced the bulk of this update's content. I provided direction and assisted with technical implementation.
This update was tremendously successful. User reviews on Steam shot up to "Very Positive" and have remained there for over a year, the highest in DD2's six year history. This success was achieved on the smallest budget ever for a DD2 update.
