skate.
Game Design Intern
Project Overview
skate. is the new, live service rendition of the 3rd-person skateboarding game franchise of the same name. Learn new tricks, hit awesome lines, and unlock exciting rewards in the open world of San Vansterdam!
INFO:
GENRE: 3rd-person sports-action; skateboarding
TOOLS: Frostbite Engine, Visual Scripting
TIMELINE: May 2025 - August 2025
I was a Game Design Intern, where I:
Built and shipped 10 Challenges for Season 1
Prototyped a new Challenge criterion with Visual Scripting; collaborated with designers and engineers to complete the feature
Advocated for a new set of Challenge criteria (Ground Grab Distance) to be used in future Challenges
I took mentorship from Technical Designers to implement my new criterion, and worked in the Activities team to ship my 10 Challenges.
My Contributions: Challenges and Criteria
Season 1 Challenges Breakdown
Across Season 1 locations, I shipped these 10 Challenges:
3 Line Challenges, including:
"Speed Run", using the "Time to Complete" criterion I prototyped
"Death Spiral", using the "Coffin Distance" criterion I advocated for
3 Own the Spot Challenges, including:
"Invertebrated", my first Challenge
"Double Trouble", one of the hardest to complete in the game
3 Session Challenges; 1 Stunt Challenge
Challenges Design Process
Implemented a Challenge using Frostbite Engine
Using internal playtest feedback, balanced difficulty by adjusting criteria and improved UX by adding VFX and writing UI strings
Tested and polished until the Challenge was approved for completion
New Criteria Breakdown
Criterion I Implemented : Time to Complete
The new criteria I built is called "Time to Complete", in which the player must complete the Challenge under the specified time limit. Under the mentorship of Technical Designers, I:
Brainstormed potential new criteria and picked "Time to Complete"
Prototyped new criterion using Frostbite Visual Scripting
Refactored the script to work with the existing codebase
Wrote a stub UI string to display the criterion in Challenges
Built a Line Challenge called "Speed Run" around the new criterion
Criteria I Advocated For : Ground Grab Distance
The new criteria I advocated for is Ground Grab Distance, in which grab tricks performed on the ground add to a distance requirement. While implementing a Line Challenge called "Death Spiral", I realized the long spiral ramp was begging to be Coffin Grabbed on, which prompted me to push for this class of criteria to be implemented.