Welcome!
I'm Coulter Baker, a Game Designer with nearly a decade of experience in industry. I have designed interactive experiences, mobile game apps such as Fracter, worked as a Professor of Game Design at Sheridan College, and most recently, have worked on several acclaimed game projects, including the beat-em-up Clan O'Conall, and trading card game Skyweaver.
I value team environments and collaboration, but am also independent and self-driving, able to keep schedules and meet aggressive deadlines. I always strive to achieve a thorough understanding of key objectives before moving into development on any project.
On a personal level, I take particular interest in games that use complex and modular systems to engage players, with a particular focus on Roguelikes and Trading Card Games. I am interested in the unique narrative opportunities that games offer by their nature as an interactive medium. I also have my own independent art business, and have been producing custom artwork for clients around the world for 10+ years.
Professional Projects
Genre
Online Trading Card Game
Platform
WINDOWS, IOS, Android
Role
Lead Game Designer
Tools Used
Unity
Team Size
40+
Project Duration
5 Years
As Skyweaver's Lead Game Designer, I took charge of card, mechanic and gameplay design. This was an interdisciplinary role that required collaboration with Development, Art and QA teams to implement, test and iterate upon each new card and feature to produce a product that met Horizon's high quality standards.
I oversaw the development of Skyweaver's expansion sets, including the already released Clash of Inventors and Hexbound Invasion, defining their aesthetic direction and theme, as well as all associated cards and mechanics.
Genre
Beat-Em-Up
Platform
PC, MAC, Nintendo Switch
Role
Game and Level Designer
Tools Used
Unity
Visual Studio Code and C#
Team Size
8
Project Duration
6 Months
My work on Clan O' Conall was focused on the design of its mechanics and levels. The core mechanic was swapping between three characters with different skillsets. I met this design challenge though the development of mechanics and levels that emphasized the use of the characters' distinct abilities, both as a means to solve puzzles, and to combat unique enemies.
I was able to implement and test many levels and mechanics independently in Unity and C#, freeing up time for the development team. I also undertook QA testing for levels and mechanics, reporting larger issues while implementing solutions independently where possible.
.png){kind=logo}
Genre
Puzzle
Platform
IOS/Android
Role
Game and Level Designer
Tools Used
Unity
Team Size
7
Project Duration
1 Year
As the Game and Level Designer for Fracter, I designed the core light based puzzle mechanics and all the game's levels, prioritizing modular elements which could be recombined into a variety of puzzles and challenges, cutting down on the number of individual mechanics required, and streamlining the design and production process.
The game released to great reviews, reaching #1 in puzzle games on the UK, US and Canadian App Stores. It was later ported to Windows and Nintendo Switch.
Other Projects
Platform
IOS/Android
Role
Game and Level Designer
Tools Used
Unity
Team Size
7
Project Duration
11 Months
Disco is Dead was a cooperative Rhythm game featuring custom Slappable Zombie Head Controllers, which allowed players to physically slap away the threats on screen.
My focus was largely on level and game design, implementing many of the enemies and mechanics myself.
By far the largest challenge was the custom Slappable controllers, which we made from scratch. I personally worked on a lot of the troubleshooting with these, as we had to overcome numerous physical design challenges in order to achieve success.
About Me
I'm a Game Designer located in Toronto, Ontario.
I graduated top of my class in Sheridan College's Bachelor of Game Design Program. During this time, I also worked as a narrative designer on Experience It Inc.'s Infinity, an interactive leadership experience used by General Electric. Our capstone project was Disco is Dead, which went on to take multiple first place prizes at Toronto’s Level Up, and was featured at GDC 2018.
Following College, I worked with GURU Studio in Toronto, ON, on the acclaimed IOS/Android Puzzle Game, Fracter, released in 2018.
I worked as professor in Sheridan College's Bachelor of Game Design program, and worked as a designer on Hitgrab Studios' Clan O'Conall and the Crown of the Stag, which released to glowing reviews.
My most recent role is as Lead Game designer of Skyweaver, a digital Trading Card Game that has received critical acclaim.
Contact
Feel free to reach out to me at gamedesign@coulterbaker.com with any questions or to get in touch. I will respond as fast as I can! Or you can give me a call at 289-795-6637. You can also reach out to me on any of my socials below.