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Combat balance, progression design, matchmaking architecture, and live game economies built from prototype to production. I create scalable gameplay ecosystems that are clear to players, usable by teams, and durable in live operation.
Systems Architecture
Core disciplines I bring to live game development.
Readable Combat Systems
I build combat systems players can learn, mastery curves they can grow into, and balance frameworks teams can maintain over time. From damage formulas and mitigation curves to status interactions and counterplay, every layer is designed to feel fair, legible, and strategically deep.
- Damage scaling and mitigation math
- Targeting patterns and counterplay structure
- Gear progression that preserves balance
Progression That Drives Retention
Progression should unlock meaningful decisions, not just inflate stats. I design content gating, reward pacing, recipe dependency structures, and EXP curves that guide players forward while protecting the game from degenerate loops and burnout.
- Zone bands and content gating
- Recipe graphs with bounded complexity
- EXP/hour tuning to reduce farming exploits
Sustainable Game Economies
I design economies that reward engagement without collapsing under inflation, exploit pressure, or short-term speculation. That includes token flow modeling, sink/source balance, marketplace structure, and long-tail reward systems built for live environments.
- Token sink/source equilibrium models
- Marketplace pricing architecture
- Inflation and exploit mitigation
Design Documentation That Ships
Strong systems fail when the handoff fails. I create specs, data structures, edge-case documentation, and implementation-ready design materials that let engineering, production, and design move quickly with less ambiguity.
- Ability and item data specifications
- Content tables for zones and drops
- Patch cadence and release frameworks
System Terminal
Type 'help' to see available commands.
Live Modules
Playable system demos that reflect how I think about tuning, readability, feedback, and player response.
Space Shooter
Vertical shmup with power-ups and boss fights.
Platformer
Celeste-like physics with hand-crafted levels.
Roguelike Dungeon
Turn-based dungeon crawler with permadeath.
Snake / Tetris
Dual-mode classic arcade. Switch modes mid-session.
Contact
Consulting, contract work, design leadership, and high-value collaboration.
me@bradking.me
For consulting, contract work, design leadership, or collaboration across combat systems, progression, live operations, and game economies.
If you need someone who can turn complex systems into shippable design, let's talk.
What I Take On
- Full combat system architecture
- Economy and tokenomics design
- Progression and content pipeline design
- Live ops tuning and balance passes
- Technical game design leadership