ShawnPitmanProfile (PDF)

Shawn Pitman
Always open to exciting new opportunities

Summary
N/A

Experience
Lead Designer at BANDAI NAMCO Studios Singapore Pte Ltd
May 2016 - Present
• Projects – Unannounced IP (First Person Shooter/Adventure Exclusive to the Nintendo Switch)
Ace Combat 7 (VR Aircraft Dogfighting Action-Simulator Exclusive to PS4 and PS4 VR)
Ridge Racer 8 (Drift-based High Speed Car Racing Exclusive to the Nintendo Switch)

• Content Design – Designed worlds, levels, enemy types, tracks, futuristic cars, near-future jet fighters (and
much more) for multiple titles intended for simultaneous Japanese and Western markets.
• System Design – Designed combat encounters, puzzles, environmental hazards, car suspensions,
acceleration balances, weapon balances, and spawn placements for multiple titles.
• Multiplayer Design – Designed online and local multiplayer for VR and standard game matches,
leaderboards, rally races, ranking systems, and voluntary handicapping systems for multiple titles.
• UI Design – Oversaw UI design for transition between original platforms to new modern trends.
• Concept Design – Created many design concepts in order to meet Nintendo’s exacting requirements.
• Documentation – Created and maintained the GDD for use between Western and Japanese studios.
• Writing – Wrote ingame lore entries, plot structures, backstories, dialogues, and announcer barks.
• Leadership – Provided direction and mentorship to teams of Junior and Senior designers.
• Business Development – Drafted multiple design pitches for new IPs intended for development by other
BNS studio holdings of which two achieved successful funding.

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• VIP Presentation – Regularly presented pitches, storyboards, design directives, and gameplay to both
Nintendo Headquarters and Bandai Namco Entertainment Group.
• Storyboarding – Created scripts and top-level direction for creating storyboards used for cinematics and for
communicating game concepts between Japanese and Western development methods.
Creative Director / Producer at RealU
July 2011 - September 2015 (4 years 3 months)
• Project – Otherland (Free2Play Multi-Genre Action MMO)
• Leadership – Responsible for maintaining and communicating the game’s vision all team members
• Design – Designed, implemented, and playtested a wide array of gameplay functions and features.
• Production – Tracked tasks between departments and worked with publishers to identify MVP.
• IP Treatment – Converted the plot/characters from a popular book series to work within a video gaming
environment. Awarded the author’s public permission to write the continuation of his existing novels.
• Features – Designed and prototyped multiple innovative features to bring freshness to the MMO genre.
• Monetization – Incorporated Free2Play models to match publishers’ revenue requirements.
• Documentation – Wrote flowcharts, spreadsheets, and design ‘bibles’ for use by multiple departments.
• Press – Wrote scripts and directed the cinematic trailer and ‘Making Of’ videos for trade shows.
Senior Game Designer (Feature Lead) at Paragon Studios
April 2009 - July 2011 (2 years 4 months)
• Leadership – Led the mid-sized team responsible for creating new features for an existing product.
• IP Treatment – Leveraged existing IP in order to create a new, fresh gameplay experience.
• Design – Designed, implemented, and playtested features with input from management and customers.
• Features – Altered existing feature framework in existing product to create new yet familiar gameplay.
• Monetization – Helped to convert existing product to meet demands of more modern business models.
• Documentation – Wrote extensive documentation for use by Quality Assurance and PR.
Senior Game Designer (Feature Lead) at Slipgate Ironworks
May 2008 - April 2009 (1 year)
• Project – Redwood (Children’s Educational MMO/Flash Game)
• Leadership – Led a small team to create a series of features important to nature of the product.
• IP Treatment – Worked alongside other departments to create a new IP marketed towards children.
• Design – Designed, implemented, and playtested prototypes alongside children’s focus groups.
• Features – Created means of converting industry-standard features for the children’s demographic.
Game Designer / Writer at LucasArts
February 2006 - May 2008 (2 years 4 months)
• Project – Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Third-person Action/Adventure)
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• Writing – Co-awarded the Writer’s Guild of America’s winner for Best Writing in a Video Game (2009).
• VIP Collaboration – Worked with George Lucas to create story for ‘canon’ Star Wars product.
• IP Treatment – Worked within well-known Star Wars franchise to create a new, important character.
• Level Design – Prototyped, implemented, and created two of seven levels including First Playable.
• Multiplayer Design – Designed new features revolving around competitive, multiplayer gameplay.
• Lore – Maintained consistency for the project in regards to existing, exhaustive story elements.
• Documentation – Wrote documentation and flowcharts for both features and gameplay story.
Senior Game Designer at Midway Games
February 2005 - February 2006 (1 year 1 month)
• Project – Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows (Single / Multiplayer Action / Hack&Slash)
• IP Treatment – Helped to translate an existing IP from a children’s product to a mature audience.
• Level Design – Prototyped, implemented, and created three of nine levels.
• System Design – Created AI behavior systems for enemies in addition to two boss encounters.
• Creature Design –Designed the visual direction for design’s needs in regards to enemy types.
Game Designer at Sony Online Entertainment
2001 - 2005 (5 years)
• Projects – Everquest: Planes of Power (Everquest Expansion)
Everquest: Legacy of Ykesha (Everquest Expansion)
Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (Star Wars MMO)
Everquest II (Fantasy MMO)
• IP Treatment – Worked with both company-owned IPs and third-party IPs to create new products.
• Quest Design – Designed and wrote hundreds of quests for multiple titles.
• World Design – Designed and implemented hundreds of encounters over many zones.
• System Design – Designed and balanced countless loot tables and enemy stats.
• Story – Created dialogues, backstories, and histories for zones, races, and monsters.

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Shawn Pitman
Always open to exciting new opportunities

Contact Shawn on LinkedIn

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