I care deeply about building experiences that bring people together. I began my career designing games for social networks, and nearly all my projects reflect a desire to broker connections between people through the power of play.
I describe myself as a casual game designer because I believe in making games for everyone. Casual game design is about approachability, usability, and broadening your audience by limiting the need for prior games literacy. The overlap between casual game design and user experience design is massive, which is why I focus on user experience throughout the game design process.
I also believe that a playful approach to design has value outside of strictly games. Any experience I build should be delightful to engage with. And any system designed for humans should be intuitive, responsive, and teach itself through its interactions. Above all else, I want to design games and experiences which help people connect to one another.
My most recent work was as design lead and product owner of the Jam System, a unique social mashup mechanic shipped as part of Harmonix’s Fortnite Festival. Prior to that, I was lead designer on the award-winning mobile game HoloVista.
My work is informed by over a decade of experience in the industry—bringing music and rhythm to the world at Harmonix/Epic, making design sing at Smule, prototyping play at PopCap/EA, divining delight at Playdom/Disney, and pioneering the social games zeitgeist at Zynga.
You can find more info about my games and other projects here.
Other fun Scott facts:
I do karaoke mashups. Some are inspired by existing mashups (like “Never Gonna Give Up Teen Spirit”), and some are original creations (like “Wondercreep”, and “When You Were Vanilla”).
I have a lot of thoughts about social media. Specifically, I feel that the core flaw of modern social media is in how it quantifies the value of our connections to others, and the emergent behaviors that this design engenders. I’ve written a bit on the topic, and plan to write more.
I used to collect photos of sad bicycles. Bikes of SF is where I documented bicycles around the bay area that had been stripped while locked outside. Consider it a series of cautionary tales.
I like giving people little things as a way of connecting. If we ever meet in person, I’ll probably give you a button, or a zine, or a sticker. Or all three. It’s how I honor positive social connections, and I delight in the delight it brings to others. You can always say no!
I’m weirdly obsessed with Quiznos, and I use it as an object lesson when discussing the value of informed design over boundless user choice. Ask me about it sometime.
If you have any questions or comments, or compulsive compliments, please feel free to contact me. Thanks so much!