Claire Engvall

Hi! I'm Claire Engvall, game designer and explorer of philosophy in all forms of storytelling.

I've driven gameplay systems on multiple projects with a passion for how the psychology of game mechanics evoke player empathy and emergent narrative. I also have experience creating game content from outlining gameplay beats to writing for interactive and branching game narratives.

Currently, I work as a Systems Designer at KingsIsle Entertainment on the 17-year running MMO Wizard101 and their new project Ravenwood Academy. I have a B.S. in Games and a B.S. in English (Interactive Narrative) from the University of Utah.

GAME DESIGNER - SYSTEMS

Ravenwood Academy

GAME DESIGNER - SYSTEMS

Wizard101

• Design gameplay beats and systems for quest content including The Forbidden Library Gauntlet and The Marketplace of Ideas in Selenopolis

• Present ideas and concepts to stakeholders and lead communication in developing features such as Spell Card Inspect and combat Tutorials

• Adapted existing functionality to design a simulated behavior tree tool for enemies to evaluate board state, implemented first for the Krokosphinxes in Selenopolis and to be used in all future boss fights

  • A player's account on the impact to standard combat

• Collaborated with Systems team to reinvent the Shadow magic combat system as Shadow Pacts, developing and refining the experience in and outside of battle

• Led meetings with analytics, marketing, web, engineering, and design to streamline user acquisition features like Invite a Friend and improve the first-time user experience in early game content

MISSION DESIGNER

Heroes League (now Heroic Game Day)

GAMEPLAY DESIGNER

Natural Disaster

Art is made to build community.

From cooperative play to book clubs to fanart, art is the vehicle by which we share our emotional experiences with the world. I aim to add my piece to this cultural space using games, to build bridges that connect new people together and forge communities.

I aspire to share connections with others as I have seen in my favorite game communities; to not only bond with others over games, but to make the games that build these friendships. It is rare, it is beautiful, and I will become a part of it.

I want to make the kind of games you would study in a classroom. 

While pursuing a bachelor's degree in Games, I added a double major in English with an emphasis on interactive narrative to deepen my exploration of storytelling using game mechanics in comparison to literature and film. I am a systems designer because of my passion to evoke the narrative through gameplay and use player behavior to reveal themes in humanity and ourselves. Underneath each story told in dialogue and cut scenes is a deep philosophy supported through the very psychology of the game's systems. This is the depth I strive to achieve in my designs.