I’m a Game Designer & Leader who excels at motivating and coordinating teams to build incredibly fun games. I’ve worked as a Programmer, Producer, and Game Designer. That experience has exposed me to virtually all aspects of game development. I've created military training simulators, educational games, Single Player AA games and AAA MMOs alike; with teams ranging in size from one to hundreds. In my career in gaming I've shipped 13 games, 2 DLCs, countless patches. I’ve played thousands of hours in online worlds, and competed across the country at the highest levels of gaming. I live, eat, and breath games.
When I’m not making games I love play: Minecraft with my kid, table-top war games (Check out my models), D&D, and online games to stay connected with my friends.
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidcraigrogers
Resume: Link
My Games
Unreleased MMO project - Amazon Games
Amazon Games announced in 2023 they’d develop a Lord of the Rings MMORPG in conjunction with Middle Earth Enterprises and Embracer Group.
L6 Gameplay Manager - Lead Progression Designer
I lead a team responsible for RPG progression systems, game loops, rewards & itemization, crafting, and non-combat gameplay. I was also a key driver in engine tool development and AI empowered workflow initiatives.
New World: Aeternum - Amazon Games - Released 2024
New World: Aeternum drops you into a mysterious island teeming with magic, monsters, and ancient secrets, where every battle shapes your destiny. Forge your legend solo or with allies in dynamic, classless combat and massive PvP wars. Gather, craft, and conquer in a living world that evolves with your every choice.
L6 Gameplay Manager - Lead Progression Designer
I assisted in shipping New World: Aeternum by building balancing tools and tuning their MSQ experience, as well as leading testing efforts leading up to its smooth launch on Xbox, Playstation, and PC.
Studio Director Rich Lawrence said of my work:
“David joined our studio with a specific goal of working on our next project, but at the time we had a significant hurdle to get over - releasing the existing game, New World, in a hugely revamped console version. Despite this being a step towards his ultimate goal, David showed absolutely commitment to his work on New World from the first day. He was assigned the daunting task of reworking the entire level progression experience. He built a data model, worked with both internal and external players, and played through himself - many times - to understand where things were uneven and just not as fun. Every play test David was there, and always enthusiastic about what he could make better for the players. The players loved his changes (and additions), proven both through new player retention data and returning players remarks.”
Clockwork Revolution - inXile Entertainment - Release date TBD
Clockwork Revolution is a time-bending steampunk first-person RPG. Travel to the past to change the present. Explore a vast open world where choices matter.
Feature Team Lead - emergent NPC AI & non-combat gameplay
President Chris Keenan said of my work at inXile:
”David is a top tier game designer and human being. I had the pleasure to work with David for almost 10 years at inXile. He has an infectious personality and does an excellent job communicating his vision to the various disciplines. Over my career, I've worked with many designers and one of the most important traits is the ability to get other people excited and bought in on your vision. David excels in this area. He is also quite thorough, producing great design documentation and feedback notes on areas he owns.”
Wasteland 3 - inXile Entertainment - Released 2020
Plus Battle of Steeltown & Cult of the Holy Detonation DLCs - Released 2021
A Classic RPG set in a post apocalyptic hell-scape. More than any other CRPG, the players actions shape the world and change the story in dramatic ways. It featured third person turn based combat and deep RPG progression.
Game Director - Lead Designer - Principle Systems, Economy, & Combat Designer
In addition to leading the design team and directing through our launch and DLCs, I was the designer principally responsible for tutorials, FTUE, rewards, itemization, economy, and RPG systems.
Studio Founder Brian Fargo said of my work at inXile:
”David is a great person to work with. He brings infectious energy to everything he does and genuinely loves tackling new challenges. People around the office always enjoyed working with him and were honestly sad when he moved on. He’s also a fantastic spokesperson for the company, his enthusiasm always shines through, whether he’s talking to the team or representing us publicly. David has the mix of being both technical and creative, which makes him a huge asset on any project. I’d happily work with him again anytime.”
The Bard’s Tale IV - inXile Entertainment - Released 2019
A modern day lover letter to the original RPG, the Bard’s Tale. Players explore a world of Scottish mythology, solving puzzles and engaging in tactical turn based RPG combat.
Creative Director - Lead Designer - Principle Combat & Systems Designer
In addition to being the creative director, I was principally responsible for RPG systems and our turn-based combat mechanics.
Mage’s Tale VR - inXile Entertainment - Released 2017
A magical VR dungeon crawler where the player can physically wield fireballs, ice javelins, and interdimensional toads. One of the very first feature length (10+ hours) VR game. A game designed to make you feel like a superpowered 20th level mage. We took care to hide bespoke secrets, puzzles, and interactions all through the world.
Lead designer - Principle Combat & Systems Designer
In addition to leading the design team, I was principally responsible for Crafting, Progression, and RPG systems.
Firefall - Red5 Studios - 2014(US)/2015(China)
A Sci-Fi MMO FPS that focused on fast paced combat and major zone wide events.
Lead Combat Designer - Team lead - Combat systems design - Player class design - Enemy design - Content design - Launched Firefall in China
My manager Scott Rudi, now Design Director at Respawn, said this about my performance as Lead Combat Designer:
“It was a pleasure working with David on Firefall. He has a great sense of combat & creature design, leading a team on the delivery of a great combat experience from concept to completion. David has a can-do attitude, tackling complex design issues without hesitation and working hard to find the fun. On a personal note, David was a lot of fun to work with and ‘talk shop’ about a genre we both love. I’d work with David again!“
Americas Army: Proving Grounds - Army Games Studio - Released 2013
A hyper realistic competitive FPS tactical shooter. This was a franchise I had grown up playing and had the pleasure of getting to work on the most recent edition.
Pre-production design - Progression systems design - Scoring systems design & engineering - Class design - Learn more about AA here.
The Development Lead at the Army Games Studio, Jay Olive, said this about my performance while working for him as a civilian contractor:
“I worked with David for four years. He is an extremely talented designer - he designed and produced a GSTEM mobile application for our group with outstanding results. He is always ready to dive into any subject matter and make a fun experience out of it. He is a great team player and can take critical feedback on a product and turn around a solution that makes all stakeholders happy.“
During my time at the Army Game Studio I received two challenge coins in recognition for my outstanding work.
Riftway Cataclysm - Self Published - Released 2024
Riftway Cataclysm is a miniature wargame, similar to Warhammer 40k. Unlike Warhammer, it’s miniature agnostic and uses innovative Diceless combat where players bluff and gamble resources instead of roll dice. This was a passion project I undertook in my free time, with the goal of releasing a miniature wargame at a quality level you’d expect to see on store shelves, as a solo developer. The game was recently featured on one of the largest battle report youtube channels, Games Night.
Experiential Learning Center - National Museum of the United States Army - 2014
Suite of five educational games in Unity, each focusing on one aspect of GSTEM education - Explore the exhibit here
Lead designer - Producer
T.R.I.C.T. Immersive Egress Trainer - Army Games Studio - 2013
An immersive simulator built for HMV teams to rehearse missions, including emergency roll-over egress. Read about the TRICT here
Gameplay Programmer - Unreal 3 Engine
TOW ITAS Collective Skills Trainer - Army Games Studio - 2012
A mobile HTM battalion training simulator. An entire 5 HMV convoy can train on a mission together, managed on the fly by a live instructor. Read about the TOW ITAS CST here.
Gameplay Programmer - Arma VBS2 Engine
