CANDY CRUSH SAGA
ROLE
Level Design Outsourcing Manager
DESCRIPTION
The company King gained prominence after releasing the cross-platform title Candy Crush Saga in 2012 on PC and mobile. It is considered one of the most financially successful freemium game franchises, with the series surpassing 5 billion downloads. King was later acquired by Activision Blizzard in February 2016.
I joined King in 2019 and spent five years creating engaging experiences for over 250 million monthly active Candy Crush players!
TRAILER
HIGHLIGHTED ACHIEVEMENTS
NEW CONTENT
In 2023 I set a company record by becoming the one who has designed/created the highest amount of levels ever released in the game: over 700 levels! This has solidified my knowledge and skills for designing levels as an industry professional. I have also had plenty of opportunities to share this knowledge by teaching and mentoring other designers and teams, through workshops, presentations, and onbordings. Furthermore, my levels have also been widely appreciated by the game’s community, as evidenced by them being chosen as player favorites time and time again in our surveys. I also always make it a priority to stay updated on the competition, ensuring that I am always at the forefront of gaming innovation and best industry practices.
A personal highlight: In 2023, I was selected as one of two design representatives for the All Stars Candy Crush Competition in London, where we planned everything related to game design for the event. We had the privilege of designing, creating, and polishing the levels that the participants played in the competition. Additionally, we hosted a workshop on game and level design for the competitors, who were the top ten ranking players out of 20 million participants. During the livestreamed competition, we provided commentary and support as "judges and level experts". It was truly a memorable experience!
OUTSOURCING
I developed King’s highest performing and first fully successful level design outsourcing collaboration. This involved working with two new outsourcing teams, building the collaboration from the ground up by developing the outsourcing framework, teaching game design at a professional level, and structuring the entire area through mapping out and documenting all related processes and guidelines. My work now serves as the blueprint throughout the company for successful outsourcing collaboration. The outsourcing model has also been put to the test and proven successful ever since I introduced it to ‘Candy Crush Soda’s’ design team. Within only six month’s of adopting our workflows, processes etc, ‘Candy Crush Soda’ became the second highest performing design collaboration at King, just after Candy Crush Saga’s. The success resulted in the company establishing a new role called ”Outsourcing Manager”, which I assumed. The position was made possible thanks to the development and stability of the area, as well as the solidifying of all the responsibilities for the role that I have as an Outsourcing Manager. Currently two thirds of all levels released in Candy Crush Saga are developed through outsourcing, generating the bulk of the revenue for a game with over 20 billion dollars earned since launch.
END OF CONTENT
Before I started working with outsourcing, I led the 'End of Content' area for two years, and I was involved in it on a near-daily basis for an additional two years. Below are five key areas in which I have worked and gained extensive knowledge:
1. Monitoring trends, from short time spans to several years, in order to understand player behaviour and effect of design decisions, with the purpose of developing a successful business strategy for the longevity and growth of the game and the company.
2. Collaborating closely with the analytics department in tracking everything related to the player experience through metrics, data, playtests etc. And acting upon it through pitching new alterations and improvements in order to continuously balance and optimise the game and player experience. Examples of areas in which I have been tracking and working with are: engagement, gross bookings, AB-tests, AI implementation, meta progression, level performance, new mechanic side effects, in- game economy, different player bases and much more.
3. Pioneering the development of new tools and metrics through rigorous teamwork with our development team, including bringing our already existing tools and level editor to their highest potential by constantly iterating on them with new improvements as well as removing bugs and inconsistencies found.
4. Tweaking live content and releasing new updates/changes/ab-tests to the game including working with player support for live updates and feedback in order to consistently provide the player with the best gameplay experience possible.
5. Spearheading the continuous improvement of workflows and processes for the design team, while also ensuring transparency between departments. This also includes the recent implementation and development of AI in our workflows and processes. Resulting in both increased work efficiency and a more consistent, well-polished and fun game for the players.
