LORI HYRUP

Design Manager - Creative, WB GAMES (MONOLITH), San Francisco, CA                                                                                      2022 - Present

Senior leadership and core creative team for the development of the AAA game, Wonder Woman. Leading a department of 50+ designers across several disciplines.​

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Adjunct Instructor, ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY, San Francisco, CA                                                                                          2018 – Present

Instructed multiple courses in the School of Game Development, including: Narrative Design, Freemium and Monetization, Production and Entrepreneurship, Game Theory and Analysis, History of Gaming, and Prototyping. Developed a Story in Video Games curriculum for the school.

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Game Director, DECK NINE GAMES, Westminster, CO                                                                                                                   2020 – 2021

Led the vision, narrative, game design, and development for Life is Strange: Double Exposure.

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Sponsored Writer, FABLE LABS, San Francisco, CA                                                                                                                  2019 – 2021

Working as the sole creator, writer, and game designer of my own Interactive Graphic Novel, Aegis, which is being sponsored by FableLabs and the Tales Writer platform. Aegis went into beta on 4/17/2020.

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Game Design Lead, ENDLESS STUDIOS San Francisco, CA                                                                                                            2019 – 2020

Managed multiple external teams while overseeing game design and development of multiple games and our associated gaming platform, Terminal Two. All games on Terminal Two focus on fun while also providing and reinforcing kids (8-14) with the logic and principles of various aspects of programming. The games are on PC, Mac, Mobile, and Linux.

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Co-Founder/Creative Director / Producer, MADORIUM INC., San Francisco, CA                                                                                 2016 – 2019

Co-founded Madorium Inc., an indie studio focused on visually unique games for console, PC, VR, and mobile. Led for all creative, narrative, game design, and production across multiple titles, including The Puppet of Tersa, a narratively driven point-and-click adventure.

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Creative Director, KABAM INC., San Francisco, CA                                                                                                                        2014 – 2016

Liaised with Lucas Arts and Disney to deliver new canonized story experience for Star Wars: Uprising, directed the award-winning narrative design across multiple disciplines—writing, level design, content design, cinematics, audio, animation, environment art, VFX--and authored 40,000 words worth of content. Developed original IP and led creative and game design vision for “Project Embersoul” and “Project Flagship”. Collaborated with a strike-team of directors to plan the reorganization and structure of game teams in the San Francisco office.

 

Freelance Game Designer/Creative Director/Producer (Contract)                                                                                                   2011 – 2014

Contracted with mobile start-up companies to provide guidance and development for multiple games. Worked with multiple clients: (Zenfri) Lead game design Clandestine: Anomaly. (Tin Truck) Composed backstory, narrative, content, and core game design for Reflectoids.  Led design and UI/UX flow for Grem Legends 2. (Chocobots) Analyzed design, directed, and tested support for Battle Tails. (Funium): Directed event content for Family Village. (City State Entertainment) Designed and tested support for March on Oz and Oz Defender. (Second Star Interactive) Led vision, design, sprints and deliverables for Hero Town.

 

Studio Lead Designer/ Producer/ Project Manager, BIGPOINT INC., San Francisco, CA                                                                        2011 – 2012

Created and maintained game vision by collaborating with players and developers to define the game, identify target audience, and the intended type of gameplay. Monitored, planned, and developed monetization initiatives around performance analytics. Managed senior designers team. Screened, interviewed, and hired designer candidates. Spearheaded the studio’s greenlight process, inviting developers to submit concepts, vetting, and providing feedback. Employed approved concepts to develop future games. Wrote several feature designs and/or implemented features and content. Executed producer and project management functions for Battlestar Galactica

 

Key Achievements:

• Developed design department to provide each designer with career guidance and design feedback

• Significantly reduced implementation time and grew efficiency for game designers and live operations by spearheading tool design and development for Unity-based design tools.

 

EA / BIOWARE / MYTHIC ENTERTAINMENT, Fairfax, VA                                                                                                                  1996– 2010

Lead Designer / Producer [Dark Age of Camelot Franchise]     (2009– 2010)

Facilitated “green light” team. Drafted/planned all milestone goals and live game updates for Dark Age of Camelot. Headed and planned all design-related initiatives. Led team comprised of designers, artists, engineers, and producers.

Key Achievements:

• Specially selected for “green light” team, developing a proposal for the game that was extremely well received by senior management.

 

Lead Designer (2008– 2009) [Dark Age of Camelot & Warhammer Online]

Managed the UI team tasked with identifying and fixing UI bugs, re-designing game interface, and implementing new design. Lead 3rd party production for the Mac version of Warhammer Online. Directed development team for Dark Age of Camelot that delivered bi-monthly game updates, Live Op events, and expanded content

Key Achievements:

• Increased revenue for Dark Age of Camelot 20% through strategic game designs implementations, live events new content, and retention-focused game updates. Led to reversal in the decision to sunset the game.

• Raised subscriptions for first time in 5 years for Dark Age of Camelot, by initiating regular cycle of player-to-developer chat, developer diaries, and open communication. Ultimately prevented shutdown.

 

Creative Producer/ Design/Narrative Director (2007– 2008) [Dark Age of Camelot Franchise & Ultima Online]

Directed game expansions, managing two collaborative teams. Guided junior designers across multiple games.

 

Associate Producer II (2005– 2007) [Dark Age of Camelot, Ultima Online]

Content Director (2003– 2005) [Imperator Online]

Lead Content Designer - (1997– 2003) [Dark Age of Camelot, Darkness Falls]

Assistant Producer, Many Games/ Lead Game Designer (1997– 2001) [Dragon’s Gate]

Assistant Producer/ Lead Game Designer (1996– 1997)