Resume

Technologies

Unreal Engine 3/4/5
Unity
IW / id Tech
Bungie/343 (Tiger/Slipstream)

Design

Core Gameplay & Sandbox
Investment & Progression
Multiplayer Modes
Live Service Balance & Tuning

Business Acumen

Brand & IP Direction
Monetization/MTX Strategy
汉语流利 (Mandarin)

Professional Development Experience
Turn 10 Studios; Redmond, WA April 2024 – Current
Design Director (Multiplayer/Live & Competitive Systems) – Forza Motorsport (PC/Console): Shipped 10/10/2023

Unannounced – PC/Console – Multiplayer Design Director
- Conceptualization and design direction for “what is competition” and multiplayer features
- Initial design for skill-based matchmaking using True Skill 2.0, and a Rank system for progression
- Innovating in the “Motorsport” space a “Pace Rating” concept to determine player onboarding and mastery within a “road toward competition”
Forza Motorsport 8 – PC/Console – Multiplayer & Live Design Director
- Owned the vision and feature roadmap for Multiplayer and Live Development
- Shepherded or contributed to major player requested features:
  - Proximity Radar
  - Multi-Class Racing
  - Endurance Racing
- Defined and maintained KPIs for Live performance and tracking content & feature impacts
  - MAU, DAU, Sentiment Ratio, Review % (Steam & Xbox), Monthly Churn Rate per Mode
- Designed and released 11 monthly updates from 7/2024 – 6/2025
- Held and led weekly playtests for Simulation, MP & SP content to ensure quality design feedback and improvement on moment-to-moment wheel-to-wheel racing
- Increased player sentiment pos-to-neg ratio from sub-10% to plus-40% through targeted content and feature releases
- Improved Steam recent review scores from a low of 41% to a consistent 60-65% in 5 monthly updates.
  - Xbox review score improvements from 2/5 to a consistent 4/5 in same time-period
- Designed and co-planned retention beats through content, features & partnerships to maintain MAU within 600k to 800k players even with reducing investments into Live during the past 11 months
Turn 10 Design Leadership
- Mentor for Turn 10 junior to mid-level designers
- Design Mentor for UW College of Engineering

Bungie; Bellevue, WA Jun 2021 – April 2024
Design Lead (Gameplay & Systems) – Destiny Rising (iOS/Android): Shipped 8/28/2025
Design Lead (Gameplay) – Marathon (PC/Console) – Shipped TBD

Marathon – PC/Console – Character Sandbox Design Lead
- Directing holistic sandbox goals & features for the Character Gameplay team
  - Directed multiple pivots between Tactical and Action RPG sandbox
  - Directed and implemented character moment-to-moment movement sandbox during pivots
  - Directed the motion & pace sandbox for the entire on-map flow
- Collaborating and aligning with Systems & World teams to support multiplayer goals
- Creating design documents to drive content development for Heroes and Hero Progression
  - Ex: drove the ideation, conceptualization and initial design for Blackbird, Void, and Glitch.
- Advocating for dynamic social/group interactions unique to Hero Design for the Extraction genre
Destiny Rising – Mobile – Gameplay & Systems Design Lead
- Directed and set holistic design goals for three design groups (Gameplay, Investment, and Social Systems) among NTSE partner teams. Design areas encompassed:
  - Collaborating on Game Modes by maintaining Sandbox vision
  - General Sandbox (Weapons, Armor, etc…) & Character (Heroes) Gameplay
  - Investment & Progression for all Gameplay features
  - Live Service Multiplayer - PvP/PvE/Social Solo/Group & Raid Interactions
- Directed social multiplayer systems to reduce toxicity and empower better group experiences
  - “Power as a social good” was a vision we held the game ecosystem toward
- Researched and co-drove pivot with Creative Director on new Destiny “Heroes” direction
  - Drove the ideation, conceptualization, and approved design of the 10+ Release Heroes
  - Destiny Rising Heroes are the “characters that you bond with as you complete the campaign”, and “become the synergies and mechanics to master end-game activities, action combat and progression-based chases”.
- Maintained Bungie studio and brand values when providing feedback for external partners
  - Advocated and maintained Destiny gameplay and social/multiplayer values for all features
- Created Design Documents, Pillars and Processes that empowered NTSE to maintain the Bungie vision & brand quality for the project up-to-and-after launch as a live service game
Bungie Design Leadership
- Maintaining 3+ Senior to Design Lead direct reports, and Design Craft mentor to Bungie Design Staff (all levels)
- Frequent presenter of gameplay/sandbox processes & craft-skill knowledge for Designer All-Hands
- Hiring Manager for multiple design roles, specifically in Gameplay, Systems, AI and UI/UX

Electronic Arts; Redwood Shores, CA Jan 2020 – May 2021
Senior Game Designer – Competitive Gaming Entertainment (Sims / FIFA) – Business Unit

Sims Spark’d
- Worked with the team to adapt and integrate a competitive challenge system into a Reality TV show competition
- Provided editing feedback on the Sims Spark'd TV show episodes
- Created systems and work-flow pipelines for the CGE and User Messaging Teams to best integrate both competitive messaging and in-game UI content
- Proposed and led the focus on providing visibility for Spark'd participant contributions to the Sims community
- Provided design guidance on legal, competitive integrity, and competitive gameplay systems
CGX – Research / Analysis / Strategic Esports Design Unit
- Worked with EAP (Electronic Art Partners) to consult and provide competitive design feedback
- Made recommendations for competitive launch programs like Twitch Rivals
- Made recommendations for pre-season ranked, and ranked-based systems for Esports incorporation
FIFA Esports
- New team tasked with, research, analysis, business strategy and MTX development for Esports.

Rooster Teeth Games; Austin, TX Nov 2018 – Sept 2019
Lead Gameplay Designer – Vicious Circle (PC/Steam): Shipped 8/13/2019

Leading Designer on metagame, combat, and character implementation and systems
Created and designed system specifications for additional playable characters and creatures
Created specifications for progression interaction, challenges and rewards for Battle Pass features
Co-designed and developed additional gameplay events, gadgets and interaction mechanics
Co-wrote C++ and blueprint script for all the above systems, features and specifications

Certain Affinity; Austin, TX Oct 2017 – Nov 2018
Lead Mission Designer – Unreleased Transformers Game (Multiplatform):

Lead Mission Designer and owner of procedural technology and design
Led a team of 3-4 developers in the creation of procedural mission systems for UE4 development
- Objective specific mark-up blueprint and components
- Developed AI spawning components within objective mark-up
Ownership of cooperative mission flow and encounter pacing
Assisted meta-progression design with mission content for Free-to-Play loops

Certain Affinity; Austin, TX Feb 2016 – Sept 2016
Game Designer – Modern Warfare Remastered (Multiplatform): Shipped 11/4/2016

Sole scripter on sound effect implementation for triggered gameplay scenes
Adjusted sub-mixes, DSP values, and emitter placement during co-dev with partners (8 levels)
Balanced and designed individual sound effect properties for level ambience
Map Team Lead, responsible as design point for Death From Above, No More Fighting, and Mile High Club
Supported art team with scripting, in particular fixing gameplay bugs that occurred from World Building
Designed, pitched and implemented upgraded scripted destruction events for flying gunship sequence

Certain Affinity; Austin, TX June 2015 – Feb 2016
Game Designer – Mafia III (Multiplatform): Shipped 10/7/2016

Responsible for prop layout, specifically generic combat zones useable by randomized mission AI
Part of level design team for environment prop placement / design in three open world districts
Implementation specialist on the cover and navmesh system for CA’s design team
Designed and propagated AI combat kits for randomly generated missions
Designed, placed and balanced AI combat and stealth encounters for District Hideouts

Certain Affinity; Austin, TX Jan. 2015 – June 2015
Systems Designer – Doom (Multiplatform): Shipped 5/23/2016

Spawn system designer, used heat maps to measure spawn efficiency and balance implementation
Aided progression designer in balancing the experience / reward loop for OOG stats
Camera shake implementation / design for explosive weapons and equipment
Gameplay and UI scripting for Domination, Freeze Tag, War Path, Soul Harvest, and Clan Arena

Certain Affinity; Austin, TX Jan. 2014 – Dec. 2014
Systems Designer – Halo 2 Anniversary (Xbox One): Shipped 11/11/2014

Scripted MP Game Modes: Juggernaut, CTF, Slayer, Oddball, Ricochet and King of the Hill
Designed new multiple Juggernaut game modes, and implemented new Gungoose CTF
Implementation of audio, UI markers and HUD notifications for above game modes
Implementation of achievements and medals for gameplay and above modes
Co-designed and implemented camera shake and recoil for weapons and vehicles
Implemented and co-designed vehicle sandbox based on Lead Sandbox Designer specifications
Re-designed, balanced and implemented all weapon melee damage based on Halo 2 sandbox

WB Games QA; Bothell, WA April 2011 – Dec 2011
QA Tester– Batman: Arkham City (PS3 / 360 / PC): Shipped

Specifically tested Ambient, Environment, and VO Audio
Tracked and monitored bugs / issues via JIRA
Creation of test cases for Voice-Over dialogue

Zipper Interactive; Redmond, WA May 2010 – April 2011
Tools / MP QA Tester – SOCOM 4 (PS3): Shipped

Tested proprietary Level Design (Magellan) software and plug-ins on Maya 8.0 & 2010
Performed daily compilation tests, Magellan error checkups and Lua script issues
Tested Multiplayer and Coop game content for bugs, graphical, game-play & design flaws
Wrote and tracked bugs via Bugzilla and DevTrack

Education
The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University Graduated – Dec. 2013
Plano, TX 75024

Masters in Digital Game Development, Specialization in Level Design
Student Activities Committee (SAC) Treasurer: 2011 – 2012

Purdue University Graduated – Dec. 2009
West Lafayette, IN 47907

Bachelor of Science in Computer Graphics Technology

email / Linkedin / Downloadable Resume

Copyright 2025 | Lincoln Li