Portfolio: Wyshbound
Studio: Knights of the Island
Role: Lead Director, Animator, Level Designer
Project Summary: An action-adventure game heavily inspired by classics from the 80’s and 90’s, with a 2010’s cartoon renaissance art style. A true sentiment to old school and new school gaming, with an easy to access play style so young and old can enjoy it all the same.
Responsibilities: Built a high-fantasy world that invites curiosity and rewards exploration. Designed characters whose gameplay mechanics complement their personalities, supporting growth beyond their starting archetypes. Crafted puzzles and levels that challenge players’ understanding of the environment while emphasizing replayability.
Engine: Unity
Studio: Long Island University - Senior Thesis
Role: Creator, Level Designer
Project Summary: Most platformers move players from a leftmost starting point to a rightmost endpoint. Birden flips that structure, after completing the journey once, players must retrace their path with expanded movement abilities, relying on their knowledge from the first run. Presto begins as a young bird unable to fly, but after reaching adulthood, he must return to his nest using his newly gained flight.
Responsibilities: Developed the core concept for the game and its characters. Designed enemy types and behaviors that respond to both the environment and the player’s moveset. Built the game’s environments and levels, including puzzle design and enemy placement.
Engine: Unity
Portfolio: Existential
Studio: Long Island University - Existential
Role: Creator, Creative Designer
Project Summary: The feeling of existential dread can be difficult to articulate. Tasked with conveying this emotion through interactive design, this walking simulator begins in a small, brightly lit bedroom before gradually revealing the isolating sensation of being one among millions.
Responsibilities: Conveyed themes of existentialism through simple assets and restrained visuals. Designed the player’s path to gradually reinforce a growing sense of isolation.
Engine: Unity
Portfolio: Brew Below
Studio: Knights of the Island
Role: Lead Director, Animator, Gameplay Designer
Project Summary: A survival-horror game created for Scream Jam 2025. Stuck in a dungeon brewing potions for the man behind the grate, will you meet your quota and SURVIVE? This game uses the 2D art style used in Wyshbound, but places it in a 3D environment to create an immersive, eerie experience.
Responsibilities: Concepted the core gameplay flow and player input mechanics. Designed monsters and characters to function within a limited environment. Built a persistent sense of unease, encouraging players to second-guess their actions and make mistakes that amplify tension.
Accolades: Placed 23rd overall in Scream Jam 2025
Engine: Unity
Portfolio: Portal 2 - Prison Break
Studio: Long Island University - Prison Break
Role: Level Designer
Project Summary: Tasked with designing puzzle centric levels that convey narrative through environmental storytelling. These five levels depict a prison escape, with a strong emphasis on the emotional bond players form with their companion cubes.
Responsibilities: Designed the structure and flow of each puzzle while emphasizing reliance on companion cubes under increasing pressure. Engineered a sense of artificial trust between the player and an inanimate object, which is ultimately broken in the finale to create a moment of betrayal.
Engine: Portal 2 Level Editor
Portfolio: Supermarket Simulator
Studio: Long Island University - Supermarket Simulator
Role: Creator
Project Summary: Welcome to the most disorganized, liminal supermarket imaginable. Designed as a goal-less experience that remains oddly addictive, the game finds its joy in the simple, colorful act of stacking produce.
Responsibilities: Designed a vibrant environment with minimal visuals but an oddly satisfying gameplay loop. Built physics that made each fruit and vegetable feel unique in weight, encouraging players to toss, stack, and experiment strategically.
Engine: Unity