Sean T. McCann
Senior Content Designer
Experienced in game, story, content, system, cinematic, and world design.
Key Skills
• T-shaped - Focus is in content, story, and game design, and to continue learning all other parts of design to strengthen skills.
• Simplicity - Keep the designs simple and elegant. Deliver impressive content with no "hacks" or confusing workarounds.
• Punctual - Design and produce content within a strict schedule and without overtime.
• Communication - Know how to work with a team, keep communication flowing, follow up on all tasks on a project, and support other designers.
• Clarity - Create content that is clear to the players, from clarity of story to clear mechanics. Goal is for depth through simplicity
• Quick Learner - Learn how to use new systems, master them, and then find ways to improve them for the team.
• Replay-ability - Create content that has high replay value without bloating a team's workload.
• Aware - Keep up with current gaming trends, learn from other games and improve upon design to create something new.
Work Experience
Blizzard Entertainment
World of Warcraft (PC) - Senior Content Designer
August 2019 - Present
Quest Designer - Shadowlands
- Helped design and implement Exile's Reach, the "New Player Experience" in World of Warcraft
- Worked with UI and User Research to create a smooth tutorial experience that blends teaching with classic World of Warcraft adventure.
- Helped with the groundwork on "level squish" for World of Warcraft, taking 120 levels and squishing them down to 60.
- Supported other zones with quest design support, as well as helping with the flow of several larger systems.
World of Warcraft (PC) - Content Designer
February 2017 - August 2019
Quest Designer - Battle for Azeroth
- Wrote and designed quests for Nazmir and the max level War Campaign storyline.
- Wrote and designed the introduction experience for Magni and the Heart of Azeroth.
- Designed several scenes with LUA scripting, including ambient and cut scenes.
Cryptic Studios
Neverwinter (PC, XBox One) - Senior Content Designer
February 2015 - Present
• Acted as the Content "Point" Person for the team, being the go-to resource for the entire Neverwinter team for any content-related questions.
• Helped launch and maintain several updates for PC and X-Box One
• Designed and implemented social gameplay, including a major raid for guilds, an overworld zone, and directed story content.
• Worked with animation to design and implement succinct story and boss cutscenes.
• Improved the QA test plan process with production team and QA.
• Helped outline the content goals for a major release.
Star Trek Online (PC) - Staff Content Designer
October 2012 - February 2015
• Shipped several updates to the game and the expansion, Legacy of Romulus
• Designed and implement the new player tutorial for Legacy of Romulus
• Created "Battlezones", persistent world content for up to fifteen players with scaling to work for solo players and teams.
• Worked on several content episodes including A Step Between Stars, a single player episode with randomization to encourage replay-ability.
• Assisted animation team with improving cutscenes in content.
Paragon Studios
City of Heroes (PC) - Content Designer
August 2009 - August 2012
• Shipped seven updates to the game and one expansion, Going Rogue.• Redesigned the game’s new player tutorial for the launch of City of Heroes: Freedom.
• Trained and cross-trained designers in various disciplines, including mission design, world design, systems design, and LUA scripting.
• Directed artists and programmers towards delivering high quality assets that fit the game’s storyline and tools to enable designers to make higher quality missions at a faster rate.
Mission/Story Design Experience
• Wrote and designed over 300 missions in City of Heroes that improved the overall quality of missions in the game from a design and story standpoint.
• Delivered content on a monthly basis for seven months for the game’s Signature Story Arc series, Who Will Die?, which kept players coming back every month to experience new content.
World Design Experience
• Created over two hundred unique mission maps using existing assets in City of Heroes, enhancing the player experience by instilling a sense of ‘wonder’ towards where they would go next.
• Created a new tutorial zone in City of Heroes which streamlined the tutorial and increased userbase retention.
Systems Designer
• Created numerous entities and powers in City of Heroes.
• Maintained Mission Architect, a tool for user generated content in City of Heroes.
Tools Designer
• Worked with programmers to enhance the tools used by designers.
• Created and maintained design tools using the scripting language, LUA, to make it easier for designers to create higher quality and bug free mission content.
• Maintained tools within Microsoft Excel to streamline the process for designing missions.
Scripting Experience
• Created scripts in LUA to aid designers in mission design. Scripts were written in a “plug and play” fashion, so that one script could be used in multiple different ways.
EDUCATION
Iona College, New Rochelle
Bachelor of Arts in English May 2008
COMPUTER SKILLS
• Proficient with Unreal 4, Finite State Machines, Game Editors, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
References and Portfolio available upon request
Senior Content Designer
Experienced in game, story, content, system, cinematic, and world design.
Key Skills
• T-shaped - Focus is in content, story, and game design, and to continue learning all other parts of design to strengthen skills.
• Simplicity - Keep the designs simple and elegant. Deliver impressive content with no "hacks" or confusing workarounds.
• Punctual - Design and produce content within a strict schedule and without overtime.
• Communication - Know how to work with a team, keep communication flowing, follow up on all tasks on a project, and support other designers.
• Clarity - Create content that is clear to the players, from clarity of story to clear mechanics. Goal is for depth through simplicity
• Quick Learner - Learn how to use new systems, master them, and then find ways to improve them for the team.
• Replay-ability - Create content that has high replay value without bloating a team's workload.
• Aware - Keep up with current gaming trends, learn from other games and improve upon design to create something new.
Work Experience
Blizzard Entertainment
World of Warcraft (PC) - Senior Content Designer
August 2019 - Present
Quest Designer - Shadowlands
- Helped design and implement Exile's Reach, the "New Player Experience" in World of Warcraft
- Worked with UI and User Research to create a smooth tutorial experience that blends teaching with classic World of Warcraft adventure.
- Helped with the groundwork on "level squish" for World of Warcraft, taking 120 levels and squishing them down to 60.
- Supported other zones with quest design support, as well as helping with the flow of several larger systems.
World of Warcraft (PC) - Content Designer
February 2017 - August 2019
Quest Designer - Battle for Azeroth
- Wrote and designed quests for Nazmir and the max level War Campaign storyline.
- Wrote and designed the introduction experience for Magni and the Heart of Azeroth.
- Designed several scenes with LUA scripting, including ambient and cut scenes.
Cryptic Studios
Neverwinter (PC, XBox One) - Senior Content Designer
February 2015 - Present
• Acted as the Content "Point" Person for the team, being the go-to resource for the entire Neverwinter team for any content-related questions.
• Helped launch and maintain several updates for PC and X-Box One
• Designed and implemented social gameplay, including a major raid for guilds, an overworld zone, and directed story content.
• Worked with animation to design and implement succinct story and boss cutscenes.
• Improved the QA test plan process with production team and QA.
• Helped outline the content goals for a major release.
Star Trek Online (PC) - Staff Content Designer
October 2012 - February 2015
• Shipped several updates to the game and the expansion, Legacy of Romulus
• Designed and implement the new player tutorial for Legacy of Romulus
• Created "Battlezones", persistent world content for up to fifteen players with scaling to work for solo players and teams.
• Worked on several content episodes including A Step Between Stars, a single player episode with randomization to encourage replay-ability.
• Assisted animation team with improving cutscenes in content.
Paragon Studios
City of Heroes (PC) - Content Designer
August 2009 - August 2012
• Shipped seven updates to the game and one expansion, Going Rogue.• Redesigned the game’s new player tutorial for the launch of City of Heroes: Freedom.
• Trained and cross-trained designers in various disciplines, including mission design, world design, systems design, and LUA scripting.
• Directed artists and programmers towards delivering high quality assets that fit the game’s storyline and tools to enable designers to make higher quality missions at a faster rate.
Mission/Story Design Experience
• Wrote and designed over 300 missions in City of Heroes that improved the overall quality of missions in the game from a design and story standpoint.
• Delivered content on a monthly basis for seven months for the game’s Signature Story Arc series, Who Will Die?, which kept players coming back every month to experience new content.
World Design Experience
• Created over two hundred unique mission maps using existing assets in City of Heroes, enhancing the player experience by instilling a sense of ‘wonder’ towards where they would go next.
• Created a new tutorial zone in City of Heroes which streamlined the tutorial and increased userbase retention.
Systems Designer
• Created numerous entities and powers in City of Heroes.
• Maintained Mission Architect, a tool for user generated content in City of Heroes.
Tools Designer
• Worked with programmers to enhance the tools used by designers.
• Created and maintained design tools using the scripting language, LUA, to make it easier for designers to create higher quality and bug free mission content.
• Maintained tools within Microsoft Excel to streamline the process for designing missions.
Scripting Experience
• Created scripts in LUA to aid designers in mission design. Scripts were written in a “plug and play” fashion, so that one script could be used in multiple different ways.
EDUCATION
Iona College, New Rochelle
Bachelor of Arts in English May 2008
COMPUTER SKILLS
• Proficient with Unreal 4, Finite State Machines, Game Editors, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
References and Portfolio available upon request