{"id":554,"date":"2026-07-01T00:28:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T07:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/karenmcmullan.com\/?page_id=554"},"modified":"2026-07-01T00:28:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T07:28:47","slug":"resume","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/karenmcmullan.com\/?page_id=554","title":{"rendered":"Resume"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"simpletoc-title\">Table of Contents<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"simpletoc-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#profile\">PROFILE<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#skills\">SKILLS<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#key-achievements\">KEY ACHIEVEMENTS<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#selected-design-projects\">SELECTED DESIGN PROJECTS<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#experience\">EXPERIENCE<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#education\">EDUCATION<\/a>\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 id=\"profile\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>PROFILE<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Game Designer<\/strong> with 25+ years of game development experience; 9+ years of AAA game design experience, and 4+ years of content creation leadership at a robotics startup; encounter design, level design, systems design, rapid prototyping, narrative design, project management, mentoring, live operations, and user-focused content creation. Proven track record collaborating across disciplines to create compelling worlds through playtest and iteration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 id=\"skills\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>SKILLS<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Design:<\/strong> game design, level design (2D &amp; 3D), GUI-based visual scripting (Blueprints, EmPath, BangEditor), narrative design, prompt design, JSON, prototyping, rapid iteration, playtest, ability\/systems balancing<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Game Production:<\/strong> remote team leadership, Agile, project management, risk management<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Software:<\/strong> Unity, Unreal, Microsoft Office, Confluence, Photoshop, GitHub, Jira, Trello<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 id=\"key-achievements\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>KEY ACHIEVEMENTS<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>6 shipped AAA titles with level design contributions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Live ops for cross-functional collaboration with art and engineering teams<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Experience with both 2D planning (maps\/diagrams) and 3D implementation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mentoring experience<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>227 paid GM sessions across 5 concurrent campaigns, 17\/17 five-star reviews; live encounter design, iterated weekly against real player feedback<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 id=\"selected-design-projects\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>SELECTED DESIGN PROJECTS<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Procedural Guided Meditation<\/strong><em> <\/em><em>(Moxie, Embodied Inc; shipped)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Designed and shipped a procedural wellness module that was development and asset light, but content and experience rich; the meditations grew and adapted with individual users over repeated use; observed in beta as measurably improving young users&#8217; ability to self-regulate and engage with sustained stillness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>SwiftHeart<\/strong> <em>(design exercise \u2014 unshipped)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Solo Unity prototype built in one week: tuned a 3rd-person movement and double-jump controller, designed a hub-and-branch level layout, and implemented all gameplay scripting. Led to a paid 3-day onsite interview. [Play it ?](https:\/\/heysparky.itch.io\/swiftheart)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rock, Paper, Scissors, Party!<\/strong> <em>(design doc; unshipped)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Full ability\/kit design for a party-arcade game: player-controlled abilities (&#8220;Hunters&#8221;), powerup-driven team powers, and numeric balancing data (acceleration, hit points, lunge modifiers).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Araucania Random Map<\/strong> <em>(Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs; shipped)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scripted a procedural map in Ensemble&#8217;s proprietary .XS language that generated three distinct biome\/resource configurations from one script.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Wingleader<\/strong> <em>(teaching prototype; playable)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A tutorial mash-up combining a flight sim and a meteor-fall survival loop into a single Dragonriders of Pern-inspired prototype, built to demonstrate the value of play and system recombination to students. <a href=\"https:\/\/heysparky.itch.io\/wingleader\">Play it at itch.io<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>[See full writeups on the <a href=\"https:\/\/karenmcmullan.com\/?page_id=421\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"421\">Design Portfolio<\/a><\/em> <em>page.]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 id=\"experience\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>EXPERIENCE<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Game Design Consultant,<\/strong> AIGI \u2014 <em>January 2026 \u2013 Present<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Contract design for mobile game. Brought in mid-production to playtest and provide clarity, direction, and continuity between internal and external teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Lecturer,<\/strong> University of Southern California \u2014 <em>January 2015 \u2013 December 2017, January 2026 \u2013 present<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mentoring student game developers through design and production; developing, teaching and refining design curricula for university students; co-taught high school students in the Summer program; ITP committee volunteer; thesis committee member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Courses Taught: Interactive Design &amp; Production, Level Design for Single-player Games (Unity), Co-instructor, Introduction to Video Game Design<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Game Design Consultant,<\/strong> Imposter AI \u2014 <em>*March 2025 \u2013 October 2025<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Contract design for mobile and web. System design, narrative design, interaction design, and writing. Unity-based. AI-character focused. Contributed to 3 prototypes to showcase core technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Level Design Consultant,<\/strong> HomeTeamGameDev \u2014 <em>August 2018 \u2013 Present<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Playtest and provide level design advice and mentoring to HomeTeamGameDev club members ranging from brass tacks design to environmental storytelling club projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Content Design Director,<\/strong> Embodied, Inc \u2014 <em>August 2019 \u2013 December 2023<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hired and managed a team of designers of varying experience levels, from juniors to seniors. Steered the group through coming out of stealth, betas, launch, layoffs, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Systems &amp; Architecture<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Designed and implemented meta-systems for content tagging, scheduling, and delivery<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Architected conversation design frameworks for both authored and AI-generated content<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Established A\/B testing protocols to optimize player engagement<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Team Leadership &amp; Collaboration<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Led remote design team through product launch, live operations, and strategic planning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Coordinated with child development specialists to ensure content met educational standards<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mentored team members in content design and technical implementation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Live Operations &amp; Content Design<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Designed 50+ activity modules and 100+ quests; full cycle from concept to live deployment<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Doubled user engagement (45 to 90+ weekly minutes) through data-driven content iterations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Designed and launched systems combining authored content with GPT-based interactions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Freelance Writer,<\/strong> Blindlight Studios \u2014 <em>October 2018 \u2013 May 2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Worked with a team of writers to localize, write, and edit dialogue, mission text, item descriptions, and character backgrounds for a FTP browser game on a short timeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Course Director,<\/strong> The Los Angeles Film School \u2014 <em>Aug 2010 \u2013 May 2018<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pioneered the formal introduction of Unity to our program; mentored student game developers through design and production; developed, taught, and refined game and level design curricula for a diverse student body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Courses Taught: Worldbuilding (Unity, Unreal, GameMaker), Level Design (Unity, Unreal, GameMaker), Prototyping (Unity, Unreal, GameMaker), Game Design 1 &amp; 2 (Unity, Unreal, GameMaker, Oculus), Concept &amp; Preproduction<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Associate Producer,<\/strong> Soft Egg Enterprises \u2014 <em>Feb 2010 \u2013 Mar 2010<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Freed developer to finish <em>*Rhythm Core Alpha (DS)*<\/em>; oversaw ratings compliance with ESRB and equivalent overseas entities; some marketing responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Game Designer,<\/strong> Performance Designed Products \u2014 <em>Nov 2009 \u2013 Dec 2009<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Expanded a hardware-focused concept into a full game design; delivered a design and pitch document for a lifestyle game focused on relaxation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Content Designer,<\/strong> Microsoft Ensemble Studios \u2014 <em>Nov 1999 \u2013 Mar 2009<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Designed systems, levels, and narrative content for multiple AAA titles in the Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, and Halo Wars games. Implemented content using proprietary tools while collaborating with cross-functional teams across multiple successful launches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Designed encounters players could approach in any order (Halo Wars Beachhead, Homecoming), with systems tracking player progress regardless of sequence<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Created and tuned game systems including AI behavior, player progression, and mission rewards<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Conducted playtesting sessions and implemented data-driven improvements<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>*Shipped Titles: Halo Wars (Xbox 360), Age of Empires III + Expansion (PC), Age of Mythology + Expansion (PC), Age of Empires II: The Conquerors (PC)*<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 id=\"education\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>EDUCATION<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Bachelor of Environmental Design (Architecture)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Texas A&amp;M University, College Station, TX<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026 PROFILE Game Designer with 25+ years of game development experience; 9+ years of AAA game design experience, and 4+ years of content creation leadership at a robotics startup; encounter design, level design, systems design, rapid prototyping, narrative design, project management, mentoring, live operations, and user-focused content creation. Proven track record collaborating across disciplines to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/karenmcmullan.com\/?page_id=554\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Resume&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-554","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenmcmullan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenmcmullan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenmcmullan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenmcmullan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenmcmullan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=554"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/karenmcmullan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":556,"href":"https:\/\/karenmcmullan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/554\/revisions\/556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenmcmullan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}