Hi, I’m Ed, a game designer who loves to work with individuals and teams to solve creative problems.
About Me
Since 1999 I have been a level and game designer, director and manager for over thirteen published titles (and many more that never were) including Splinter Cell, SOCOM, Forza Motorsport and Marathon. I have:
Shipped Free-to-play, Action, Stealth, Simulation and Multiplayer games, amongst many others
Designed and built levels such as the CIA level from Splinter Cell, multiplayer maps for SOCOM and the Hogwarts grounds.
Developed products for mental health and creative applications for Microsoft Windows
Delivered talks and lectures at GDC and written a book on level design.
How I can Help You!
Gamification: Developing gameplay mechanics, interactions and UX for products in sectors such as health care, education and research projects.
Design: Creating and documenting mechanics, systems, and levels for games of all sizes.
Ideation: Coming up with core concepts, understanding audience motivation, refining and developing ideas.
Auditing: Assessing product scope, looking over design documentation and level plans for edits, improvements or refactors.
Teaching: Instructional design, learning outcomes and teaching materials both for, and using, games.
Coaching: I am always happy to engage with aspiring and mid-journey Designers for help, advice and career planning.
If you are a big team, a small team or a solo dev, if you need a critical eye, design support or creative work, I’d love to help. My rates are generally based on company size, project scope and availability, just shoot me a note here or on LinkedIn and let me know what you’re looking for! I’d be delighted to hear from you.
“Ed is one of those rare individuals who is both a great game developer as well as a knowledgeable game scholar. He has the creative insight as well as the analytical ability to craft fun, immersive, and high quality games. Ed is also a great team member, mentor, and leader who has a wide range of experience to draw on to focus and direct a group to producing a high quality final product. Ed is an absolutely invaluable designer and leader who greatly benefits any project or team he is a part of.”
Del Chafe III, Assistant Game Director at Bungie
“I had the honor and pleasure of working with Ed to ship the Featured Multiplayer game mode of Forza Motorsport (2023). He and I were embedded into a leads team that also included James Parsons and Viet Pham, our dev and test leads, respectively. I can't say enough how great it was to work with Ed. First off, he's just a great guy and easy to get along with, and he's always respectful and has great personal insights. He's a perfect example of a servant leader in that he always put the team first, and he was not afraid to get into the thick of it with the devs.”
Alex Gregorio, Senior Producer at Turn10
“Ed was one of the most influential people I've had the chance to work with when I first started in the industry at Ubisoft, and also probably the only one I'd truly consider a mentor. Ed's insights helped me trust my design instincts a lot more early on, and I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for him. Ed's a great designer, teacher and communicator - so really a HUGE asset to any team.”
Mathieu Bérubé, Expert Game Designer at Funcom
“Ed is passionate about advocating for a variety of voices and perspectives and reliably would make sure he was considering perspectives other than his own, which helped him to be a highly effective leader and advocate. I've enjoyed working with Ed tremendously and strongly recommend him to any other teams.”
Carrie Gouskos, VP of Production at Scopely
“Ed is an exceptional designer and creative leader who can adapt his incredible skills to any game genre. He has helped spawn memorable franchises, designed world class levels, and “wrote the book” on how shooters should play on handheld devices. “
Travis Steiner, Principal Design Director at Microsoft
”Ed celebrates and values diversity in background and perspective, and that extends far beyond the fact that he and the team welcomed me into Bungie, when my background was apart from the video game industry. Ed has vast experience and a deep understanding of game design across many companies and genres, yet Ed would always challenge his own perception. He diligently and consistently sought out every voice on the team, tangibly innovating the way we approach game development, communication, and collaboration.”
Sarah Dreilich, Design Manager at Bungie