Bears vs. Art
Who knew art galleries could be so hazardous?
Project Overview
“Greedy millionaires have opened abstract art galleries to display and admire their latest work. Now Rory the bear is ready to fight back against the pointless pieces invading his home!
Discover 150 galleries with exciting puzzles around every corner. Plan your moves carefully or race the clock in timed challenges to destroy every painting on every wall. Each painting is protected by sneaky security measures including lasers, spikes and mind-bending portals. Not to mention snooty guests, nosy security guards and art-snatching thieves!”
Bears vs. Art was one of Halfbrick Studios’ first free-to-play puzzle titles. It blends logic and chance based mechanics to create an interesting blend of luck and mastery for players of all types. Throughout development, the small agile team completed an extensive list of A/B tests to learn more about our players and challenge our assumptions.
Role: Game Designer
Worked as one of two designers on the project from concept, to soft-launch, to global launch & LiveOps. Led design for the first 6 months of soft-launch where I managed a team of 5 developers.
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Responsibilities
Level & Gameplay Design
Designed, developed and playtested 100s of levels. Large contribution to the design and vision of the in-house level editor and level creation toolchain. Owned and iterated on gameplay features such as control schemes, puzzle mechanics and overall progression systems & pacing.
Technical User Interface Design
Designed and implemented much of the game’s user interface using an in-house tool. Scripted UI events and animation events in collaboration with engineers and artists. Provided focussed feedback on the in-house UI toolchain and workflow.
LiveOps Lead
Took on a lead design role for LiveOps. Ran numerous successful A/B tests targeting various KPIs, including a casual-friendly RPG system that doubled the project’s retention numbers. Coordinated closely with studio leadership and stakeholders as the point-of-contact for the game.
