Jonathan Charles Evans
Lead Designer • Senior Designer • Scrum Leader
Email: jogo@jogosity.com Twitter: @Jogosity LinkedIn: Jonathan Evans
I am a highly experienced, creative and dedicated designer, skilled in all aspects of game development.
Key Skills
Creative:
- System Design and Implementation- Advanced
- Level design and implementation – Advanced
- Level reviews and improvements – Advanced
- Creative leadership – Advanced
- Original concept creation – Advanced
- Narrative Design and Writing – Advanced
- Cutscene and trailer storyboarding – Advanced
- Meta Game Design – Intermediate
- UI and UX – Intermediate
- 3D Level Design – Intermediate
Technical:
- Level Technical Scripting – Advanced
- All relevant software (Adobe Creative Suite etc…) – Advanced
- Technical Design – Intermediate
- 3DS Max – Intermediate
- JaveScript/LUA – Improving
Management:
Attributes and Soft Skills
- Creativity and Vision – Creating and delivering new ideas, games and narratives from my own “blank page” – or developing ideas from within the team and client structure.
- Practicality – Turning a great idea into a fully functional, polished feature, creating tasks, proposing technical requirements and offering direction to the team.
- Team Collaboration and Cross Discipline Working – Excellent track record of partnering with the Code, Art and UI/UX teams as well as the live-ops teams. I am also very comfortable working alongside the wider structure of publishing, marketing and corporate partners.
- Player Understanding – Empathising with the players emotional experience and their practical needs in terms of knowledge, tutorials and objective communication and feedback.
- External Tuition and Assistance – I have taken part in numerous visits to local colleges and universities to offer guidance and support to student game developers.
Experience
Rebellion Warwick • Senior Designer • November 2017 to present day
- Level Design on the forthcoming WWII shooter – Sniper Elite 5.(Full details still under wraps. Due Q2 2022)
- Created a forthcoming – and still secret – major game level with unique new mechanics for Zombie Army 4: Dead War. (Due Q1 2022)
- Supervised external team for the creation of a new Horde Map for ZA4 – including milstone definition, weekly meetings, technical support and design leadership.
- Co-led the fundamental system design for the all-new Horde Mode design for ZA4.
- Designed and implemented 5 Horde Mode maps – including all enemy population and event scripting.
- Created and scripted campaign gameplay from blank page through white box and final production.
- Trained and mentored additional team members on the creation of new Horde Maps.
Radiant Worlds • Senior Designer • Aug 2016 to Nov 2017
- Created the rolling Events system for SkySaga: Infinite Isles – this guided and encouraged users to create new UGC games and experiences according to a list of suggested metrics.
- Created “stub” levels for users to build on for their own games if they wished.
- Designed and implemented FTUE menu-flow and video tutorial systems
- Contributed to creative meta game and retention mechanics
Team Lumo • Lead Designer and Co-Founder • Jan 2014 to July 2016
- Created, developed and launched 2 original games – Lumo Deliveries Inc. and Lumo’s Cat.
- Designed and implemented all game levels
- Collaborated with business manager on economy design
- Contributed to social media and promotional copy
- Team Lumo games were created in Unity.
SEGA Hardlight • Level Designer and Script Writer • Nov 2013 to Feb 2014 • Contract
- Devised and completed level designs for on all primary missions on Crazy Taxi: City Rush
- Wrote narrative scripts and storyboards for cutscenes
- Contributed to game structure and progression design
- Crazy Taxi: City Rush was created in Unity.
Modern Dream • Lead Designer • Sep 2013 to October 2013 • Post-Blitz project resurrection
- Led technical design to convert Typing of the Dead: Overkill from light-gun shooter to text-shooter
- Organised and and acted as main contributor to the text writing process
- Converted, edited and re-balanced 3 complete levels
- Contributed to client contact before and after project resurrection
Blitz Games Ltd • Design Manager • Jul 2004 to Sep 2013
- Game design leadership and team management across 8 projects
- Conducted staff training modules
- Contributed to team personal development reviews and recruitment procedures
- Pitched and presented to internal and external stakeholders and clients
- Took charge of game system design and level design – notable achievements include:
- Created Kumo Lumo, an original iOS game – brought to market as Blitz’s first mobile title.
- Led design on a live, server-based enviromental game including true-to-life ecology
- Led design team on Kinect launch-window title; including interaction design and game design
- Designed a procedural “natural language” feedback system for American Idol games
- Voice over direction on several games including major celebrity cast members (Simon Cowell)
- Clients include SEGA, Google, Chillingo, Bandai-Namco, Komani, Microsoft and more
Blitz Games Ltd • Designer/Artist • Jun 1998 to Jun 2004
- Collaborated on game design, level design and scripting
- Contributed to 3D level and prop modeling
- Directed cutscenes on several projects.
Public Speaking
I enjoy speaking at games industry events and have built up a good reputation for delivering fascinating ideas about game design with clarity and humour. Of particular note is my lecture at GDC Europe in August 2015 for which I received rankings of 91% positive. This talk was ranked as the 3rd best in the design track, and the 8th best talk in the entire GDC Europe event that year.
- TIGA: Life After Launch (Leamington Spa 2016) – Porting Emotions (with Steve Stopps)
- Pocket Gamer Connects (London 2016) – What Kind of an Indie Dev Are You?
- GDC Europe (Cologne 2015) – Fear Love and Great Big Ideas
- Pocket Gamer Connects (London 2015) – Design from the Heart
- Independent Game Developers Conference (London 2015) – Fear, Love and Great Big Ideas
- Unity Untied (London 2014) – Games for Busy People
Full video – GDC EU 2015 – “Fear, Love and Great Big Ideas”
Human Stuff
After 21 years in the game industry, I am perhaps more enthused and passionate than ever about creating high quality games, stories and experiences. When I am away from the controller I enjoy reading and writing (I am an enthusiastic fiction writer with short stories and a completed (to first draft) novel in the can.
I also love cooking, walking, photography, astronomy, theatre and cinema, going to the gym, throwing myself through mud during a Wolf Run and down mountains during Snowboarding season.
I have recently joined forces with a small group of friends to create a new tabletop dice/card game called Pistoleros. A wild-west shootout game that is previewing on Tabletop Simulator at the moment and is due for a Kickstarter launch in 2022.
If I wasn’t making games then I probably would be writing novels or comics because I don’t really know how to do anything apart from making things up. So far this has worked out well for me.
Current/Recent Playlist
- Destiny 2(XboxOne)
- Forza Horizon 5 (XboxOne)
- Pacer (PC)
- The Division 2 (XboxOne)
- Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order (PC)
- Dishonoured 2 (PC)
- Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes (iOS)
- Sayonara Wildheart (iOS)
Personal Projects
Pistoleros – A brand new, tabletop dice and card game due on Kickstarter and Tabletop Sim. Made as part of a 5-person indie team of creative friends. Now in community-beta. Due 2022.
Imprint – A near-future sci-fi novel exploring the power dynamics when humanity discovers that it is no longer top of the food chain. A long-term project now in second draft/rewrite. Due in 20xx…
Full Game Credits
(see Games Portfolio for more details)
Rebellion: November 2017 to present day
- Sniper Elite 5 – Senior Designer (due to be released 2022)
- Zombie Army 4: Dead War – Senior Designer
Radiant Worlds: August 2016 to November 2017
- SkySaga: Infinite Isles – Senior Designer/Scrum Lead
Lumo Developments Ltd (Co-Founder): April 2014 to July 2017
- Lumo’s Cat & the Co-op Collider (2016) Apple TV- Design Director/Game Maker
- Lumo’s Cat (2015) iOS – Design Director/Game Maker
- Lumo Deliveries Inc. (2014) iOS – Design Director/Game Maker
SEGA Hardlight: November 2013 to March 2014 (Contract)
- Crazy Taxi: City Rush (2014) iOS/Android – Level Designer & Writer
Modern Dream: September to October 2013 (Contract)
- The Typing of the Dead Overkill (2013) Steam PC – Design Manager (Lead Designer) & Writer
Blitz Games Studios: 1998 to September 2013.
- Paper Titans (2013) iOS – Additional Design
- Kumo Lumo (2012) iOS – Creator and Design Manager (Lead Designer)
- Environmental Game (2011) – Web/social game (unreleased) – Design Manager (Lead Designer)
- Yoostar 2 – In the Movies (2010) Xbox360 Kinect, PS3 +Eye – Design Manager (Lead Designer)
- Karaoke Revolution Series – (2004 – 2009) – 4 Titles Xbox360, PS3) – Design Manager (Lead Designer)
- Pac-Man World 3 – (2004) PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, PSP, DS – Design Manager (Lead Designer)
- Bad Boys 2 – (2003) PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, PC – Senior Designer/Scrum Leader
- Fairly Odd Parents – Shadow Showdown (2003) – Cutscene Director
- Zapper (2002) PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, PC – Assistant Manager
- Fuzion Frenzy – (2001) Xbox Exclusive Launch Title – Designer/3D Artist
Education
BA (Hons) Animation – University of Wales – Graduated in 1997
(Course taken at Newport School of Art & Design which was merged into the University of Wales whilst I was studying.)