Zhiguo Lai

Game Designer

          zhiguol@andrew.cmu.edu                             (+1)626-650-8435                          https://www.laizhiguo.com/

         

          Education

          •Carnegie Mellon University, Entertainment Technology Center (ETC)                                  Pittsburgh, PA

          Master of Entertainment Technology                                                                                             May, 2020

               

          •Sichuan University, School of Electronics and Information Engineering                             Chengdu, China

          B.S. in Optical Information Science and Technology                                                                    June, 2015

                                                                   

          Skills

          •Unity, C#, Lua, Axure, Microsoft Word & Excel, SVN, Perforce

          •VR/AR, MMORPG, Rapid prototyping, playtesting, Agile development, User Scenario Analysis

 

           Academic Projects

          Game Designer/Programmer, Artificial Intelligentsia, ETC                                     February, 2019 -present    

          •Developing Artificial Intelligentsia, a 15-minutes transformational mobile game about demystifying AI to help                the public foster an informed view of AI’s potential impacts

          •Responsible for core game mechanics design, building a paper prototype and designing playtest session to                       analyzed and adjusted game systems to accomplish design goals.

          •Responsible for implementing relevant game systems and player interactions on iOS platforms

          •Collaborated with peer designers and artists to solve problems within the context of design goals

 

          Game Designer/Programmer, Building Virtual Worlds, ETC                                           July, 2018 - present    

          •Worked on interdisciplinary teams of 5 making game prototypes every 2 weeks on new hardware platforms

          like Meta 2, HTC Vive, and Phidgets, with Unity as the game engine.

          •Communicated, collaborated and iterated with artists and sound designers to achieve design objectives

          •Conducted playtesting sessions to improve game accessibility and fine-tune gameplay experience

 

           Experience

          Senior System Designer, Netdragon Websoft Holdings Limited                               June, 2015 - July, 2018

          Project: Conquer (A 14 years old MMORPG game published in China and the U.S.)

          •Designed a cross server Texas Hold’em system that achieved 100k MAU and generated 1.2 million monthly                      revenue

          •Created three classes each with unique and novel spell system and resource system

          •Revamped the entire in-game UI to attract new players while retaining an existing player base

          •Communicated with players periodically to gather feedback and shared findings with the design department

          and lead

          •Directed the game's art style by communicating with the art department and gathering art references

 

          Project: Conquer II (A MMORPG game published in China and the U.S.)

          •Designed a battle system that features real-time Kungfu-like air combat experience

          •Created the game's spell system, buff system, and 25 unique classes

          •Designed a gear system with collectible features and enhancement system

          •Lead art assets creation of characters, spells, and scenes by communicating and collaborating with the art                          department

 

          Project: Game Prototype Design (under lead designer’s instruction)

          •Designed a MonsterStrike-like physics-based pinball game prototype that features 6 unique characters and                      mathematical formulation of combat data

          •Prototyped a collectible card game that features 10 characters and a three-way counter system based on the                      MOBA game battle system and AI rules for characters.