Hess Toy Truck Mobile Game

Key Takeaways

• Designing for an unfamiliar audience is one of the best ways to expand our thinking.

• Identifying core gameplay loops is a lot like diagramming how a user interacts with any computerized system.

• Prototypes don’t have to be polished to be effective.

Software & Skills

• Adobe Creative Suite, Android Development Studio, Maya

• Concept Illustration, Game Design, Creative Direction, User Research, Personas, User Centered Design, Hard Surface 3D Modeling, Texturing, Experience Design

Designing for a New Audience

When Hess contracted with Marxent to create a marketing and entertainment experience focused on their storied Hess Toy Truck toy, the task fell to me to design a gameplay experience that both kids and adults could enjoy.

After an exhaustive market research phase, we decided to create a free-form “runner” game a la Temple Run. I produced a creative brief that detailed the scope of the game and mapped out the primary gameplay loop and met with Hess leadership in New Jersey to pitch the final experience to key stakeholders.

Once we locked in our approach, I produced a collection of UI assets, in-game 3D models, and led game design as our product was built and evolved into our final offering.