portfolio

2011-10-28

Tag, Reading System (including 21 software titles)

The team was faced with the challenge of taking an existing technology and applying it to a younger age range and for a very specific goal, to teach kids to read. I worked closely with the team to write engaging stories and to design fun interactive games with educational content. This was no small feat. We were faced with many challenges. We worked with multiple licensors and publishers with rigorous and lengthy review cycles, we were developing a new authoring tool to build the software titles simultaneously, we created a new scripting writing format to communicated content and functional design and created new processes for the demands of a new product. Finally, we worked with external developers in Argentina to build the products. I provided the expertise and leadership the team needed and led and trained a team of newly hired producers and associate producers through the Leapfrog design and development process. I have a strong combination of design skills and people management skills as well as being process oriented and a commitment to strong project management skills that brought the team to a successful launch. The result, on time shipment of the base platform and 21 software titles. This was Leapfrog’s biggest launch to date. Tag also won Educational Toy of the Year in 2009.

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Little Leaps, Creative Baby

One of the most fun products I worked on at Leapfrog. This product used infrared DVD technology and turned it into a gaming device for kids. I designed and developed games that focused on teaching “creativity” something unusual for leapfrog whose content tends to focus more on core education skills like reading and math. These games infused live action video, animation and puppetry in 4 different languages. The game design was simple, but managing all 3 different media types and production processes was challenging. The results, a charming product that teaches young children the value of creative expression.

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Clickstart, My First Computer

Clickstart is a toy that introduces a child to a computer and pre-school skills. With a keyboard and mousepad that hooks up to a tv, clickstart provides a safe environment for a child’s first interaction with a computer-like experience. My role was to design early game concepts that address teaching computer skills. The challenge was that leapfrog didn’t have any guidelines on how to teach computer skills. So I researched, designed and wrote the computer skill guidelines for Leapfrog to include in the broader curriculum guidelines documentation. Additionally, I designed and conducted kid tests to test out early game concepts for kids who have never interacted with a computer before. All of those assumptions we take for granted about people-computer interaction like knowing that one clicks on an object to open it or clicking on the “X” to close the window or typing on the keyboard were out the door. My initial research and design helped to pave the way and created guidelines for the following titles in the library.

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Leapster

My role on these Leapster projects was as Producer. At Leapfrog, that means you wear multiple hats, interaction (game) designer, educational content designer, creative director and project manager. The challenge I was tasked with was to design games based on contemporary casual games. What that meant for me was to start my research by playing, as many of these games online that I could get my hands on. Additionally, the titles were Dora and Scooby which meant managing 2 different licensor relationships and approval reviews simultaneously. The result, fun simple game design using engaging licensed characters.

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Fly

New platform, new technology, new educational talent. This was a fun project. As usual at Leapfrog, for initial product launches, we developed the base platform simultaneously with the 1^st year launch library titles. This presented some interesting challenges with both design and production. Additionally, this was Leapfrog’s first attempt at design non-core curricular education content. Additionally, this was new age territory for Leapfrog. The older tween age range meant writing and designing content that could be engaging but “cool”. This is probably one of the most discerning audiences write for. After multiple rounds of kid testing and resdesign, we designed a charming, yet hip collaborative scrapbook like game book for girls that teaches the value of friendship, self awareness and self confidence.

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LeapPad

The LeapPad was the cornerstone product at Leapfrog for many years. These projects were my first at Leapfrog. Each presented very different challenges; creating a book with a grab bag of education for children in kindergarten, working with a new (to Leapfrog) licensor (Marvel), and designing a 2-player board game without game pieces using a technology originally created for single person play. My role was to design the interaction, educational content, creative director and lead a team of audio designers, art directors, developers and QA throughout the production of each title through completion. I also was the project manager keeping tight tabs on the budgets and schedules. The result…using a unique technology and minimal memory, we created simple engaging games and content where characters were brought to life using static art and audio

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