About Me
Hello and welcome to my portfolio! My name is Cory Williams, and I am a combat designer with a passion for creating engaging gameplay experiences in the RPG/MMORPG genre. I specialize in designing combat systems, encounters, and gameplay loops that keep players immersed and in their flow states.
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Throughout my career, I have honed my skills as a generalist designer, with a focus on combat/encounter and systems design. I am proficient in using tools such as Unreal Engine 4, game design documentation, spreadsheets, source control, and blueprints. I also have experience in quest and level design.
Working collaboratively is important to me, and I thrive in a team environment. I am always looking to push myself and explore new ways to enhance the player experience.
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Please take a look at my portfolio, where I have showcased my main project that demonstrates my abilities as a combat/systems designer. Thank you for visiting my page, and I look forward to connecting with you."
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Incarnation: A God Reborn
Lead Game Designer
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Welcome to Incarnation, a 3rd-person single player, story-driven RPG. The game follows the journey of a character who must restore their lost memory to figure out their identity and why they exist in an alternate dimension.
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As the player progresses through quests related to the main story and side lore, they will collect items, fight different enemies, and experience a unique double progression system that blocks forward advancement to allow for proper pacing. The world also progresses alongside the player's achievements, unlocking new features and removing corruption.
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As the combat and system designer for Incarnation, I am developing a hybrid combat system that combines skill abilities and weapon types. Each weapon has its own attacks, damage outputs, and basic combos, paired with specific abilities the player unlocks through level, skill, and quest progression. The player can also progress their professions system by continually gathering materials around the world, which can be used to craft unique armor with stats that affect their attributes.
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With Incarnation, I am striving to create a unique gameplay experience that allows players to make meaningful choices and immerse themselves in an intriguing story.
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Combat Design
Incarnation: A God Reborn features a dynamic combat system centered around the affinity system. This unique design allows players to switch between weapons and abilities on the fly, while also facing enemies of different affinity types that can greatly affect the flow of the encounter. The following are the main design pillars that influence the combat and gameplay:
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Affinity System (refer to Systems design below for more details)
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Multiple weapon types and stances
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Ability/Skill point allocation
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Attribute/Weapons & Armor Stats
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Player level
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Enemy AI (Minions, Elites, Bosses)
These design pillars work together to create an engaging and challenging combat experience that encourages strategic thinking and experimentation. Players can customize their character's abilities and equipment to suit their playstyle and tackle encounters in unique ways. The affinity system in particular adds an extra layer of depth to the combat, as players must carefully consider the affinity of their enemies and adjust their approach accordingly.
Weapon/Affinity Switching
Contributions
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Developed a dynamic affinity system featuring 5 interchangeable classes, with a total of 100+ active, passive, and effect skills available for purchase on the Affinity skill trees.
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Created designated weapon groups that match with each affinity stance, allowing for unique playstyles for each stance.
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Improved the affinity system by introducing a method of stance switching to create a more streamlined use of affinities and emphasize the importance of player decisions.
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Produced comprehensive documentation, including game design documents and spreadsheets, to capture relevant information.
Systems Design
"Incarnation: A God Reborn offers a rich and immersive gameplay experience, built on a range of interrelated systems that enhance player interaction and agency. These include:
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Affinity and Ability System: featuring 5 interchangeable classes with over 100+ active, passive, and effect skills, and a method of streamlined stance switching to create unique playstyles.
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Crafting and Gathering Systems: allowing players to gather materials and craft different types of armor with stats that will affect their attributes, enabling unique choices throughout the game.
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Leveling and Progression Systems: including double progression that paces player advancement and unlocks new content, as well as a professions system for continuous material gathering.
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Questing Systems: encompassing Main, Side, and World quests, as well as side stories for lore telling, and a dynamic world progression that introduces new elements as the player progresses.
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Corruption System: affecting the world and gameplay in different ways, creating new challenges for the player.
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Together, these systems create a fun and engaging experience that puts the player in control and rewards their choices and actions."
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Affinity System
Contributions
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Created a robust affinity system with 5 interchangeable classes and over 100 active, passive, and effect skills available on Affinity skill trees.
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Developed designated weapon groups for each affinity stance, allowing for unique playstyles and combat experiences.
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Implemented positive and negative effects that affect combat and encounters when facing enemies with specific affinities.
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Documented game design and created spreadsheets to capture relevant information.
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Conducted spreadsheet balancing and translated data tables into Unreal Engine.
Crafting/Gathering System
Contributions
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Designed and documented the Gathering System which involves the use of various tools to collect wood, metal, and herb materials used in crafting. The system provides a rewarding experience to the player, as they explore and collect materials in the world.
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Designed and documented the Crafting System which uses a combination of materials and their rarity to increase or change the dynamic values of crafted items. This allows players to craft better and longer-lasting items that suit their playstyle and preferences.
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Conducted spreadsheet balancing and translated the data tables into Unreal Engine, ensuring that all aspects of the Gathering and Crafting Systems are balanced and functional in-game.
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Created visual effects and world locations that catch the player's attention, guiding them to gathering points and providing a seamless and enjoyable experience.
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Designed a Rarity Value System that considers the rarity of materials used in crafting to increase the value of stats on items crafted. This encourages players to engage in gathering and crafting activities to increase the value of their gear.
World Building and Level Design
The world of Incarnation is both expansive and intimate, with 5 distinct zones comprising 4 exploration quadrants that players can discover through quests or by exercising their freedom. Each zone features a unique biome that introduces new enemies, specific quests, landmarks, and references to Native American villages.
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To enhance the player's experience, the game world includes modularly designed ruined areas and dungeons. Dungeons, in particular, are home to memory shards and new enemies/bosses that players will encounter throughout their journey in the soul scape.
The game levels are designed using bubble diagrams, which are then converted into map diagrams to account for quests, enemies, landmarks, and player setups, ensuring the effective introduction, practice, and mastery of mechanics.
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The game's setting draws inspiration from Native American culture and is strictly fictional, allowing for the incorporation of fantastical elements in Adriel's story without deviating from real-life events or causing offense. As a result, Indigenous references are not direct one-to-one translations but are instead reinterpreted to create an immersive and respectful game world.
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World-building is woven throughout the game and includes elements such as asset construction and their relationship to the biome they reside in, NPC stories and quests, interactive lore tablets that provide insights into the game's backstory, and more.