007 First Light - IO Interactive

In December 2024, I joined IO Interactive Brighton as a Junior Technical Designer, working on Project 007. I have since been promoted to Technical Designer. As part of the Technical Design team, I work closely with Level Design to design and build a variety of interactable level elements and larger game systems. My main focus is what we internally call "Drama Moments" - cinematic narrative moments during gameplay.

I work in IOI's proprietary engine, Glacier 2, using Unreal Blueprints-style visual scripting.

Above are 2 examples of the 200+ Drama Moments throughout the game that I helped to deliver, by building level setups, handling camera transitions, dialogue timings, and reacting to various rounds of feedback. These moments ranged from simple camera grabs, to branching conversations, to gameplay-heavy sequences. In every case, I ensured seamless transitions from gameplay into sequenced animations, with HUD elements disappearing and player input being blocked at the right moment. Throughout the project, I have deepened my understanding of how best to create narrative moments during gameplay.

I built initial blockouts within the level to get a sense of timing and staging, and then went back to implement more final animations when motion capture had been done. Delivering these moments required a significant amount of cross-discipline collaboration between myself in Technical Design, Level Designers, Animators, Sound Designers, Producers, UI Designers and more.