Resume

Contact

Email: erikvaughn1@gmail.com

Skills

Design:

  • Open World Design

  • Level Design

  • Multiplayer Design

  • Ritual Play Design

  • Encounter Design

  • Systems Design

  • Game Balance

Scripting:

  • Proprietary Scripting Systems

  • Blueprint

  • Visual Scripting Systems

  • C#

  • Papyrus

Development:

  • JIRA

  • UGS

  • Agile Scrum

  • Confluence

  • Perforce

  • Rapid Prototyping

Engines:

  • Unreal Engine 5

  • Proprietary Engines

  • Creation Kit


Software:

  • Notepad++

  • Photoshop

  • Maya

  • Visual Studio

  • Microsoft Office

Professional Experience

Probably Monsters:

Unreleased Title - Senior Designer

July 2024 - Present

Contributions and Skills Learned

  • Joined a project at the ideation phase and led a team of 5 designers on an incubation team to deliver a prototype and pre-pro planning

  • Worked in Unreal Engine 5, leveraging tools like Blueprints and World Partition 

  • Level Designed early open world spaces and linear levels

  • Designed gameplay systems and 3 C’s

  • Maintained documentation for game systems, tools, and onboarding workflows 

  • Ran team-wide playtests, smoked playtest build candidates and acted as build manager for playtesting purposes 

  • Coordinated task assignments and sprint capacity in JIRA for a small design team 

 

Bungie:

Destiny 2: The Final Shape, Season of the Deep - Senior Designer

January 2023 - June 2024

Contributions and Skills Learned

  • Provided activity design support for Season of the Deep’s 6-player Salvage mode

  • Level designed and mission designed post-campaign mission “Home, Part 1” utilizing existing combat spaces in new ways and modifying them for use outside of their original mission

  • Designed and implemented linear activity content and open world activity content for The Final Shape from conception to shipping in a truncated time frame 

  • Designed and implemented open world activity content for the Final Shape

  • Helped design and implement several new systems and content for a new post-campaign activity type, The Pale Heart 

  • Took ownership of orphaned content and brought it to shipping quality

  • Co-Designed, scripted, and implemented seasonal systems-driven activity 

  • Integrated with design teams remotely across multiple time zones and internationally 

  • Designed and implemented secret missions in the Pale Heart which unlocked more abilities in the new Prismatic subclass introduced in The Final Shape 

  • Maintained up to date and accurate activity documentation and supporting information 

 

Bethesda Game Studios:

Starfield, Fallout 76 - Game Designer

October 2019 - December 2022

Contributions and Skills Learned

  • Skills Design and iteration on Starfield 

  • Took on Systems Design responsibilities and expanded my skills and capabilities after a key departure 

  • Designed and implemented Target Lock feature for space combat 

  • Managed massive file structures and complex data forms for all ship modules and their documentation in Confluence and Excel 

  • Balanced Spaceship combat to support narrative goals

  • Interfaced with many other disciplines to implement Spaceship content at high quality bar 

  • Maintained and balanced Fallout 76’s Battle Royale mode and implemented multiple seasonal and event-oriented updates 

  • Seasonal level design and decoration of Fallout 76’s battle Royale mode public spaces

  • Supported Fallout 76’s engine development team with usability testing 

  • Worked remotely with other studios across multiple time zones 

 

Bungie:

Destiny 2: Warmind, Destiny 2: Forsaken, Destiny 2: Season of the Undying - Designer

Destiny 2 - Associate Designer

January 2016 - October 2019

Contributions and Skills Learned

  • Level designed two new combat areas on the Titan destination 

  • Public Event and public ecosystem design 

  • Designed, scripted, and implemented open-world adventures from conception to completion 

  • Incorporated a variety of themes and gameplay, including boss fights, with a proprietary engine and text-based scripting language 

  • Designed events and long-term player investment systems design

  • Designed, scripted, and implemented nine new silent events in public spaces 

  • Designed and implemented end game content, bringing the Wanted bounty system to all pre-Forsaken destinations 

  • Assisted implementation of hidden content for the endgame raid Last Wish Wall of Wishes 

  • Created documentation on a proprietary engine, including tutorials and workaround solutions to problems found with engine development 

  • Repurposed and kitbashed assets to create new experiences with existing assets

 

Disney Interactive, Avalanche Software: Disney Infinity 3.0 - Level Architect Intern

Disney Interactive, January 2015 - December 2015

Contributions

  • Designed layout, scripting, implementation, and optimization of Hall of Heroes content

  • Level Designed Toy Box Hub levels “Heroes Ascension”, “Urban Brawler”, and “Paintball Monstrosity” from conception to completion 

  • Designed systems required for randomized platforming elements with more than a thousand unique combinations 

  • Prototyped and modularized new game play features and mechanics

Personal/Side Projects

Spacebar Pittsburgh, 2023

Experience, Unreal Engine 5.1

  • Created window to space set in a fictional spaceship utilizing Unreal Engine on custom built hardware

  • Cinematics, scripting, world design, blueprint editing

  • Iterated on content and systems with client feedback and extensive testing

  • Provided continuing support and new content drops

“Grimoire Rock“

Single Player Mission: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

  • Created unique floating island environment

  • Scripted enemies with unusual and exciting abilities

  • Created interesting and exciting elemental environment

2 months, 2012

 

“Licence to Drill"

Multiplayer Map (CTF) Unreal Tournament 3

  • Created a visually exciting and cohesive environment

  • Scripted environmental hazards and interactive elements

2 months, 2013

Midgard Saga

  • Isometric Tactics/Strategy Game

  • Made with UDK

  • Student Team of 15

Role: Level Designer/World Builder

  • Created visually distinct and interesting fantasy environments

  • Created and modified particle systems, materials, and meshes

  • Responsible for Lighting

  • Assisted in game conception/balance

  • Game balance/user testing

June 2013 – December 2013

 

Remnant

  • 1st Person Shooter

  • Made with UDK

  • Student Team of 10

Role: Level Designer/World Builder

  • Created visually distinct and interesting post-apocalyptic environments

  • Assisted in conception and creation of multiplayer map

  • Creatively used limited assets in unique ways

  • Lighting

  • Assisted in game conception/balance

  • User testing

January 2013 - May 2013

 

Untethered

  • 2D Sidescrolling Platformer

  • Made with GuildEd

  • Student Team of 5

Role: Level Designer

  • Designed puzzles and platforming environments

  • Concepted gravity mechanic/game theme

  • Concepted game trailer for exhibition

  • Game balance/user testing

September 2012 - December 2012

 

Education

Master of Interactive Technology

Concentration in Level Design

The Guildhall at SMU

Plano, TX

August 2012 - May 2014

 

Bachelor's of Science

Emergency Management

The University of North Texas

Denton, TX

August 2006 - May 2010