Towerborne

Lead Combat Designer – July 2022 – March 2025

Lead, managed, and mentored a team of combat designers of varying levels of seniority
Responsible for Live Team design endeavors, which includes Limited Time Events, Modes, and Activities
Established and maintained combat design best practices and standards that were used across the entire team
Designed and maintained all online-oriented combat systems with an eye towards game feel under latency; prioritizing compelling designs that feature low barriers to entry while allowing for highly skilled play
Owned end-to-end combat systems including player classes, enemies, bosses, class progression, and challenge modes
Collaborated closely with producers, designers, animators, engineers, VFX, and SFX artists to oversee production of all player and enemy designs
Facilitated daily playtests across multiple disciplines that lead to action items for the entire team
Defined team ownership boundaries and review standards
Conducted performance reviews and growth plans for combat and live designers
Led and contributed to the designer hiring process, which included reviewing resumes, crafting tests, and conducting screenings and interviews

Towerborne Devs Launch Stream Archive

Here is an archive of the Live Stream that I set up and hosted on February 25th, 2026

Character Classes

There are a total of four character classes in Towerborne: Sentinel, Pyroclast, Rockbreaker, and Shadowstriker. Each class starts off with unique basic abilities with more that unlock through leveling up and completing challenges. Throughout the project, I worked with VFX, SFX, Tech Design, and Engineering to bring these classes to life.

Towerborne – The Sentinel

Towerborne – The Pyroclast

Towerborne – The Rockbreaker

Towerborne – The Shadowstriker

Limited Time Modes

Throughout Early Access, I was in charge of making sure we had limited time modes. This was an effort made by a very small team while we were still making regular content.

In a very short period of time, we were able to release two modes: Time Trial and Boss Rush. Both of these modes would eventually be expanded on in the full release of the game with even more content and unlockables.

Courage’s Time Trial – Walkthrough

Towerborne Early Access | Krafft’s Gauntlet

Class Progression Early Design Documentation

An example of some preliminary design documentation for the Class Mastery System.
This design was inspired by Kingdom Hearts. I wanted to make sure that players were not punished by making choices. Instead, the game incentivizes you to try things out due to the easy equip/unequip system.

Designing The Final Boss

Check out my blog post where I go over what it took to make the Final Boss of Towerborne

Trailers