Finding New Suns With...

Having a degree in Industrial Design from San Francisco State University is such a unique educational background in the game industry! How has this foundation influenced your approach to gameplay and systems design?

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The processes of industrial design and game design share a strong connection, as both aim to create something innovative that the end user enjoys. My industrial design courses emphasized the importance of focusing on the user experience—considering how a product will be used, understanding its limitations, and factoring in production costs. The journey begins with concept sketches, followed by detailed planning, prototyping, production, and gathering post-launch data to guide future improvements, same as games.

 

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You've worked on major titles like Horizon: Zero Dawn, Star Wars: Republic Commando, and Star Wars: Starfighter, with roles like Gameplay Director and Lead Sandbox Designer at 343 Industries and more recently Lead Gameplay Designer at Twin Suns Corp. Looking back across these experiences, what are some of the key design philosophies that have remained constant in your work, regardless of genre or scale?

 

I have learned so much over the past 25+ years and continue to learn every day. Here are a couple philosophies that guide my approach to game development:
 

1. Perception is everything in game development: What players believe is often more important than what is real. I recall working on Republic Commando, when we introduced commando NPCs as part of the player's squad. Early feedback suggested that players found the squad ineffective and unimpactful. We discovered this was because their cool actions were happening behind the player, out of view. Once we adjusted their behavior to keep them in front of the player, their actions remained the same—but players began perceiving the squad as highly effective, intelligent, and integral to the experience.  This simple context change drastically shifted the perception of a critical feature.
 

2. Unified design through collaboration: Game development is inherently complex, involving many people working simultaneously on different aspects. Without a proper plan and coordination, the result can feel like a disjointed collection of parts that don’t quite fit together. One philosophy I’ve embraced is ensuring that everyone on the team considers how their work enhances others’ contributions. By focusing on how individual tasks impact the team’s collective output, features not only integrate seamlessly but also achieve a level of quality that siloed development simply cannot.

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Across your work, AI plays a crucial role—whether it’s squad tactics in Republic Commando, enemy behavior in Horizon, or dogfighting in Starfighter. What are some key lessons you’ve learned about designing AI that feels engaging and lifelike?

 

NPCs are one of my favorite features to work on because of the impact they have on the players’ experience.

Player perception, not strict reality, is the key to crafting believable NPC behaviors. For instance, if we modeled a military enemy to follow actual military tactics, players without similar training would lose every time—not fun. The true purpose of NPC behaviors is to enhance the player experience. While it’s easy to make NPCs overly challenging or too simplistic, the real magic lies in striking a balance: creating a satisfying challenge that aligns with the player's expectations. 
 

My approach is to consider how we want the player to feel during interactions with NPCs. Should the player feel fear, intelligence, or power? For example, in Republic Commando, we aimed to make NPCs appear smart and coordinated. To achieve this, we introduced military-style hand signals—simple animations unrelated to their actual intelligence. Yet, this visual cue significantly changed players’ perceptions, making the squad feel highly capable. 
 

Another way to make NPCs feel lifelike is by crafting moments that suggest they have lives independent of the player. For example, Horizon: Zero Dawn had multiple factions of NPCs that could spawn randomly around the world. As a player, you might stumble upon guards battling bandits—only for a robot to wander into the fray. None of these encounters were scripted; they emerged dynamically from the chance crossing of characters, with their behaviors driving the action.

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One of the standout features of Horizon: Zero Dawn’s combat is the ability to use the environment and enemy weaknesses to your advantage. How did you approach designing these layered combat mechanics?

 

Designing the combat for Horizon: Zero Dawn was an incredibly enjoyable and rewarding experience. As a player, I’ve always appreciated having multiple approaches to combat that cater to different play styles. For example, some players might prefer high-risk, high-reward strategies, while others may take a more methodical and tactical approach. There’s no single “right” way to play.

 

Much of the inspiration stemmed from Aloy’s role as a tribal hunter, crafting primitive weapons like arrows using natural materials. However, to effectively take down the high-tech machines, her arrows needed an extra punch. To address this, we designed the Machines to drop valuable resources when defeated—these materials could be used to craft weapons capable of challenging even more powerful Machines.

 

At one point, the combat system became so complicated that players struggled to understand it. The components were all there, but they lacked cohesion—like a jumbled pile of parts without structure. This prevented the confused players experience to align with the highly intelligent, skilled character of Aloy.

 

Sometimes, it’s necessary to step back and critically evaluate your own work. We realized the system’s complexity needed to be streamlined. For instance, we reduced the machine damage modifiers from seven down to two, and organized damage into three straightforward categories with clear, predictable outcomes.

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This newfound clarity brought the combat system to life, aligning with Aloy’s character and creating an experience we could truly be proud of.

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Star Wars: Starfighter had to convey the feel of Star Wars space battles while also being an original experience. How did you and the team balance being true to the IP while achieving fresh gameplay mechanics?

 

Working with an established IP like Star Wars has challenges but also provides so much to draw from to create a true experience.

 

The final Droid Control ship battle perfectly illustrates this concept. Our goal was to recreate the thrill of the battle around the droid control ship and allow players to experience flying inside the ship, just like Anakin did in the film. We wanted the player to feel like the hero of this epic moment, while still preserving the significance of Anakin’s original actions.

 

To make this battle stand out from other dogfights in the game, we focused on creating a unique experience around the droid control ship. Flying inside the ship, however, was initially deemed technically impossible. Determined to achieve this vision, I collaborated with Brett Douville and crew to develop the necessary technology that allowed players to transition seamlessly from the exterior to the interior of the ship.

 

We crafted a scenario where the player must chase the bad guy from the dogfight outside into the ship. To make this work, we had to build a space large enough to fly inside which meant we had to activate and deactivate parts of the level, as the interior of the ship was much larger than the exterior.

 

In the end, the solution worked great, and players loved being able to have the experience from the film.

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Now that you’re at Twin Suns, how has being a Certified SCRUM Master informed your design process and what key aspects of development do you continue to lean into?

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My title of Certified SCRUM Master is mostly something I like to share at parties to impress people.  But seriously, the two main points I take away from the process are:

1. Break down large problems: Don’t try to tackle big challenges as a single entity. Instead, divide them into manageable pieces and address each one step by step until you succeed.

2. Avoid overcomplicating processes: Don’t let excessive procedures slow you down. Keep things simple and suited to the team and the work at hand. If something isn’t effective, don’t hesitate to change it.

I’m not a fan of overly complex production processes, but I do believe SCRUM can be effective in helping teams define clear goals and work toward them. Without structure or defined objectives, teams can easily lose focus and stall progress. At the same time, overly rigid systems can stifle creativity and prevent teams from moving forward. Striking the right balance is key.

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