Zynga
Mobile Live-ops | Puzzle Casual | 4 Months
Intern Game Designer
Over the summer of 2020, I worked remotely as an Intern Game Designer at Zynga Toronto. There, I had the opportunity to work on several mobile live-ops titles, including Puzzlescapes and two internal puzzle game prototypes.
Gameplay of new mode in "Puzzlescapes" I pitched and helped design.
"Ben is a joy to work with - tremendously responsive to feedback, adaptive in nature, and always on the lookout for ways that he can go above and beyond for the benefit of the team."
- Jesse Bruch, Lead Game Designer @ Zynga
Responsibilities
During my internship, I was tasked with:
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Designing and iterating upon features.
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Creating and maintaining design specs.
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Mocking up wireframes and user flows.
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Planning and implementing puzzles/levels.
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Ideating and pitching game concepts.
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Refining game/level design workflows.
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Tracking tasks and design data in sheets.
Process
To inform my designs, I constantly sought feedback from peers and playtests to iterate upon and improve my work. I also conducted regular research of competitors and stayed up to date with the mobile market and trends.
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Additionally, I collaborated closely with the UX, UA and engineering teams to complete my tasks. As a result, I became very familiar with the pace and cross-disciplinary nature of mobile live-ops development.
Result
By the end of the internship, I had:​
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Shipped several key features, including game mechanics, boosters, and modes.
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Implemented over 50+ puzzles/levels.
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Pitched several new game concepts.
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Introduced a new game mode for Puzzlescapes.