Embedded Files
GAME DESIGNER
Hi! I'm Claire Engvall, game designer and explorer of philosophy in all forms of storytelling.
I've driven gameplay systems on multiple projects with a passion for how the psychology of game mechanics evoke player empathy and emergent narrative. I also have experience creating game content from outlining gameplay beats to writing for interactive and branching game narratives.
Currently, I work as a Systems Designer at KingsIsle Entertainment on the 17-year running MMO Wizard101 and their new single-player project Ravenwood Academy. I have a B.S. in Games and a B.S. in English (Interactive Narrative) from the University of Utah.
FEATURED WORK
GAME DESIGNER - SYSTEMS
In addition to Wizard101, I have been a core member of the design team for KingsIsle's next project, Ravenwood Academy. I was responsible for balancing economic and progression systems, then grew to overseeing content and gameplay design to ensure a unified experience amongst the mechanics and narrative.
On Wizard101 as a Systems Designer, I focus primarily on combat design and regularly design new boss encounters and puzzle mechanics for new quest content. I own general game features from GDD to final implementation, responsible for coordinating with any department involved in the feature from Engineering to Marketing.
MISSION DESIGNER
I designed quest missions to teach critical life skills on an educational children's MMO called Heroes League.
GAMEPLAY DESIGNER
I led a 30-person team through the design and development of a chaotic time-loop game, Natural Disaster: A Butterfly's Guide to Mass Destruction. I developed core mechanics, content structure, and created design documentation for internal and external audiences.
MORE GAME DESIGN
A 2D pixel adventure uncovering a secret beneath a desert fortress. Made for a two-week game jam.
MISSION
Art is made to build community.
From cooperative play to book clubs to fanart, art is the vehicle by which we share our emotional experiences with the world. I aim to add my piece to this cultural space using games, to build bridges that connect new people together and forge communities.
I aspire to share connections with others as I have seen in my favorite game communities; to not only bond with others over games, but to make the games that build these friendships. It is rare, it is beautiful, and I will become a part of it.
I want to make the kind of games you would study in a classroom.
While pursuing a bachelor's degree in Games, I added a double major in English with an emphasis on interactive narrative to deepen my exploration of storytelling using game mechanics in comparison to literature and film. I am a systems designer because of my passion to evoke the narrative through gameplay and use player behavior to reveal themes in humanity and ourselves. Underneath each story told in dialogue and cut scenes is a deep philosophy supported through the very psychology of the game's systems. This is the depth I strive to achieve in my designs.
Google Sites
Report abuse