BEAMDOWN
Game Design Leadership · Production Coordination · UX · Agile
University of Utah · Capstone · Salt Lake City · 2024–2025
INTRO
Beamdown is a 3D top-down boss rush where players travel planet to planet as E.R.O. 4, uncovering the truth behind their mission one boss at a time. As Lead Designer and Production Coordinator across a 30-person team, my job was as much about keeping people aligned, scope managed, and deliverables moving as it was about the design itself. This is the story of how we got it to ship.
Some Stats:
30 — Person team
9 months — Production timeline
87% — Positive Steam reviews
Shipped — On Steam March 2025
What I did
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What I did ·
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Production Coordination & Team Leadership
Led a 6-person design team through full production cycles using Agile methods — managing schedules, running Pod Meetings across disciplines, and keeping a 30-person team aligned from prototype through public launch.
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Scope & Change Management
Made tough scope calls under pressure — cutting platforming entirely in Alpha after consistent playtest data showed player frustration, and doubling down on what made the experience special. Every decision was documented and communicated clearly across the team.
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UX Research & Iteration
Designed HUDs, menus, and controls for both controller and M+KB players — running regular playtests and translating feedback directly into UX improvements and gameplay balance changes at every production phase.
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Stakeholder Communication & Documentation
Created and maintained design bibles, narrative pillars, prioritized backlogs, and one-pagers for industry stakeholder presentations — ensuring everyone from the design team to outside reviewers had clear, actionable information at every stage.
REFLECTION