I AM PLAYR

I joined WeR Interactive in June 2010. I was the fifth employee at the company and have been involved in all areas of I AM PLAYR’s evolution.

“Play the Life of a Footballer”

I AM PLAYR blended first person video narrative vignettes with playable soccer minigames to create a Football lifestyle sim that asked players to navigate the wild life of a professional player both on and off the pitch.

After going live in October 2011 the game saw consistent organic growth, circumventing expensive user acquisition costs. The game was uniquely monetised with evenly balanced transactional and brand revenue.

MY ROLE

Game Design – Designing game features to engage users, enhance company KPIs and add value for brand partners. Approaching the creative process with an open attitude. Presenting to the team, considering feedback and iterating appropriately before implementation.

Data Driven Iteration – Game optimisation using detailed analysis of live user behaviour and a/b testing.

Technical Design – Scripting for all game features, working closely with programmers to continually improve in-house tools.

Documentation – Implementation and maintenance of accessible, centralised game design documentation in Google Drive.

Narrative Design – Design and implementation of narrative content using our prorietary AI-driven interactive storytelling system MUSE, capable of delivering unique story paths for every user.

Brand Partnerships – Designed and oversaw development of brand integrations for Gillette, Nike, Red Bull, Alfa Romeo and more.

UX Design – Working closely with UX designer Hayley Brant I provided detailed designs and wireframes for every new feature we worked on

Mentorship – Training of junior content designer.

RECEPTION & AWARDS

PLAYR was the #1 Unity game on Facebook with over 15 million installs and 2 million MAUs. The app boasted industry-leading stickiness with over 250k DAUs with a dwell time of 1 hour.

It was nominated for a BAFTA in the Best Online Browser Game category and won the Cannes Lions Gold Award for Branded Content.

WRAP IT UP

Working at WeR Interactive on I AM PLAYR was a very welcoming start to my career in the games industry.