Hi I'm James Quigley,
Twitter: @quigjam2
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/ln/quigjam
Schell Games (2025- Present)
- Team Size: Studio
- Current Role: Advanced Technical Designer
Untitled LLM R&D Initative (2025)
- Leading technical design efforts collaboration with the engineering department to build Large Language Model in-editor development tools for rapid prototyping.
- Using dynamic markdown documentation to maintain quality from generative content through in extended token contexts.
- Conducting User Experience studies with naïve end-users with a focus on UGC game creation and accessing end-product quality assumptions
Iron Galaxy Studios (2022 - 2025)
- Team Size: Studio
- Current Role: Technical Designer
Untitled Multiplayer Action Adventure Game (2024)
- Owned implementation of a multiplayer, third-person melee combat system including enemy AI behavior, combat abilities, and encounter design inspired by Genshin Impact and Hyrule Warriors in a Lua based engine.
- Worked with QA and level design teams to implement combat encounters seamlessly into open-world locations including balancing enemy groups, reset timing, and tethering ranges to provide a balanced experience for 1 to 4 players.
- Coordinated with art teams to design visual feedback through attack animations and gameplay ability VFX while also adding impulse based hit-reactions to breath life into player combat.
- Addressed optimization issues including adding level-of-detail processing to enemy AI and zoning occlusion areas for open-world locations and encounter areas for remove issues with server-side combat performance.
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3+4 (2024)
- Worked with progression designer to categorize and label reward assets for branded cosmetics and achievements.
- Worked embedded on the QA team, owning testing of Foundary, Canada, Subrbia, Airport, Cruise Ship, Alcatraz, Water Park, and Shipyard Map well as exploring related game features in "Create a Park" sandbox mode.
- Improved development pipelines by working with QA and production to implement "testing spotlights" into sprint planning.
Untitled Survival Game (2024)
- Worked as a Technical Designer focused on creating game AI systems in Blueprints and C++.
- Researched how comparative games layout AI systems and presented findings to leads.
- Extended Unreal Engine's built-in AI classes to create new AI tools and an expanded AI architecture.
- Worked with Designers and Engineers to integrate AI architecture with gameplay and multiplayer systems.
- Overwrote Unreal Behavior Tree systems to create complex AI behavior.
Teamfight Tactics (2023)
- Worked as a Technical and Systems Designer embedded on a live balance team for Sets 8, 9, and 10.
- Collaborated with game designers, QA experts, and data analysts to test game balance and make changes on a regular patch schedule.
- Participated in the design, iteration, and implementation of new features including Set 8's Corrupted Carousels, Set 9's Legends and Portals
- Owned the design of a recommendation system focused on increasing approachability to new players.
- Pitched gameplay changes for problematic features after release and reworked features for improved game balance.
- Fixed bugs and implemented gameplay behavior using Lua-based scripting
Untitled Competitive Mobile Game (2022)
- Worked as a Technical UI Designer implementing player lobby menu elements using Figma, Photoshop, and a proprietary game engine.
Cold Blooded (2022)
Project Details
- Team Size: 9
- Role: Technical Designer, Enemy Designer
- Duration: 3 months
- Platform: Windows, Mac
- Genre: FPS, Action, Horror
An first-person shooter, action, horror game where you scavenge for supplies and fight a dangerous alien monster.
- Created custom editor tools to automate enemy path creation and art asset conversion. Interfaced with level designers and artists to improve content authoring workflows.
- Owned the design of the AI, creating enemy behaviors in C# to provide dynamic answers to player actions.
- Wrote design documentation with clear technical details and worked with programmers to ensure proper mechanic implementation.
- Pitched, designed, and prototyped game systems for secondary objectives, environment interaction, and un-guided tutorialization.
- Communicated with animators, technical artists, sound designers, and programmers to improve enemy implementation based on player feedback.
Afterworld (2021)
Project Details
- Team Size: 3
- Role: System Designer, Layout Artist, Producer
- Duration: 9 months
- Platform: Print
- Genre: Tabletop Roleplaying Game
Recognitions:
Kickstarter Zinequest 3 Participant
Received more than 5 times the initial funding goal
A light card-based tabletop roleplaying game, where the players can easily pick up the game and embark on weird post-apocalyptic adventures.
- Designed rules for conflict resolution, character creation, injury, and equipment. Communicated ruleset to players using clear examples and explanations when needed.
- Organized and ran playtesting sessions by writing briefs for participants and feedback questionnaires. Produced early print versions of the game and iterated on visual design and rule set based on playtester feedback.
- Pitched, designed, and prototyped the game's systems, experimenting with roll balancing, character options, and resources for running the game.
- Designed, crowd-funded, developed, published, and distributed a 55 page commercial zine game as digital and physical copies.
- Managed deliverable schedules and meetings using an agile scrum methods. Wrote and distributed press releases and communicated progress to customers.
Cardware (2021)
A card-based stealth strategy game, where the players eliminate robot enemies using a variety of abilities and use parts to upgrade their character in a human-less future.
- Owned the developed of tools for rapid level and card creation allowing level designers and artists to easily iterate and implement new levels and abilities.
- Scripted statistical tests using Excel to manage and identify potential problems with game balance.
- Developed reusable, scalable code for map creation, character behaviors, and combat systems.
- Produced a non-digital prototype of the game so level designers could iterate early in the development cycle.
- Pitched, designed, and prototyped potential game features and interactive level elements
The Borderline Effect (2020)
Project Details
- Team Size: 7
- Role: Technical Designer, Programmer, Producer
- Duration: 4 weeks
- Platform: Windows, Mac
- Genre: Puzzle
Recognitions:
MSU - Most Innovative Award, Most Fun Award Runner Up
A first-person physics-based puzzle game, where the players manipulate objects between different dimensions to solve a series of puzzles in a forgotten laboratory.
- Created interactive level elements for level designers to implement throughout the game's puzzles
- Owned core mechanic development of switching and manipulating objects between dimensions
- Developed audio queues to serve as guides for player progress throughout the game
- Communicated with level designers, programmers, and artists to create a united vision for the project
- Reviewed and refactored code from multiple different programmers and designers to maintain consistent development standards
Remedy (2020)
Project Details
- Team Size: 5
- Role: Designer, Programmer, Producer
- Duration: 5 weeks
- Platform: Windows, Mac
- Genre: Platformer
Recognitions:
MSU - Most Innovative Award
A 2D platformer game, where the players use a variety of abilities to navigate
- Pitched and Prototyped game systems related to combining platforming game elements with visual novel storytelling
- Worked with artists to implement all art and animations with gameplay behaviors
- Combined 6 different movement abilities and environmental obstacles to create unique levels with varying difficulty
- Organized and ran playtesting sessions by writing briefs for participants and feedback questionnaires.
Project Snapshots
A bit unfinished, a bit random. The following are select snapshot of projects that help show the range of my passion and experience
Fantasy in My Backyard (2026)
Using a city map and a deck of cards, players take turns finding and adding locations to fill out different roles in their community. Maybe it's the electronic store that helps connect to other worlds or the city's libraries working as a magical mail system. Each card helps reveal a new service, tradition, or character dynamic. As players build up the city, they will be able to use special actions expand their community's relationships and resources.
Itch.ioPREQUEL (2025)
Engage in a tactical fight against the Evil while simultaneously recalling your Heroes’ exploits through collaborative storytelling flashbacks. A Hero’s actions in the Final Fight determines how they recall parts of the Quest, and the current state of the Quest impacts the Hero’s effectiveness in the Final Fight.
Isotopolis (2021)
A game developed for the National Cyclotron Laboratory to educate primary school students about particles physics. I lead the development on the revision of the original release and a new, unannounced game title. Isotopolis is released on Android and IOS and actively used with MSU's science outreach curriculum.
Play IsotopolisDraft Diff (2021)
A tool developed using Unity that helps coaches draft for competitive League of Legends. The tool provides recommendations of for counters and synergies for different champions. Coaches can easily search by role, range, composition, or flip between their own premade drafts.
Itch.ioAbout Me
Hi I'm James, a game designers from Orlando, Florida. From my earliest memories, I have always been captivated with video games and the unique experiences they can convey. My favorite games have been those which pull the user in with thematic mechanics like Spiderman, Cyberpunk 2077, League of Legends and Dungeons and Dragons.
I've spent the last year at Iron Galaxy Studios on AAA live-service strategy game for 2 major seasonal releases. Working as an embedded designer in my client companies' live balance team, I've been able to apply my past esports and UX experience to help bring improvements to millions of players at all skill levels. In collaboration with the visuals team, I've led the design of UI features that help improve the new player experience by providing accessible strategic recommendations.
My background as a software engineer allows me to easily communicate technical concepts and understand code at a lower-level than most other designers. I believe great games are an active conversation between the player and developer. I decided to pursue a Master's degree Michigan State University in Interactive Media with a focus on serious games and accessibility design to learn how to create games everyone can enjoy. In my free time, I independently create content for the Tabletop Roleplaying Game community. I love Tabletop Roleplaying games because of how they allow players to embody new experiences and avatars with almost absolute freedom.
When I'm not tinkering away, you can find me out searching for new experiences. Whether hiking, scuba diving, or finding some weird and unknown place in my local area, I love exploring and discovering inspiration in unconventional places.
