"Randy is a thoughtful, intelligent game designer who will work with you to find the best, most compelling designs for your game - his work has always impressed me." - Simon Carless (Founder, GameDiscoverCo.)

I want your game to be enticing, replayable, and complete!

I can help you understand more about why your game works or doesn’t. I’ve spent 15 years as a game designer, artist, programmer, and educator; on every platform under the sun. There are lessons I’ve learned, and opportunities I see, that often seem to go unnoticed. Player engagement and takeaways begin with the fundamental interactions of each game. I work on that, and I can help you.

I understand how players learn in a game

Games are about friction and opportunity. Should your avatar be able to run, walk, jump, talk, carry things? All of these, some, none of the above? My work is about understanding the buttons and switches to offer a player.

I design unique systems

I care about systems that mean something, not genres or standards. I want to find the right features and balance for your game, I don’t care whether it fits neatly in some box.

My work is known for its unique and engaging interaction.

I know how games get stuck in development

Sometimes you need someone to tell you where to focus your time and effort, based on what you’re making and what you’ve got!

<aside> 👋 I am Randy O’Connor. I’ve worked in every game medium, from XR to board games.

I’ve played senior and lead design roles in the video game and educational game spaces. I worked on several critically acclaimed indie games. I program games, publish them, and teach them. I started as an artist on pre-smartphone mobile games and worked on the web-based Pokemon Learning League.

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<aside> 🟢 AVAILABLE: I am available for consulting and contracting. Email: me (at) randyo.games

Reach out for a chat! The first hour is free.

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Distractions (iOS/Web, 2013)

“Randy O has helped many teams find success. He's a talented game designer and artist hybrid, a powerful combination, who was crucial to Tiger Style's games Waking Mars and Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor.  He's skilled, friendly, collaborative, and a good communicator.” - Randy Smith, renowned game designer, cofounder of Tiger Style (Worked together at several companies, 2009-2019)

How I can help you

• Review your production goals - Do you have commercial intent? Do you want to find a particular audience, or build for a particular platform? Do you want players to experience something more than fun?
• I can help identify your game’s pillars - What will your players likely care about and focus on based on what you’re currently building? What should you focus on if you want a different experience?
• I teach how games work - What makes a player stick around? Why do your players do what they do? What even is a game?
• Pitching, and prototyping of unique systems - I can help you come up with new or different pillars and systems that will help focus your development.

Costs

First hour is free! I am always down for a chat on pretty much anything.

After that, my costs range from $50-150/hour, depending on the scale and importance of your operation. The $50 is for real junior teams who want some advice, or foreign devs who work on a different currency scale. Most of the time I’m working $90-125/hr.

• Bring me on for a few hours of feedback here and there.
• Hire me part-time for a few months.
• Bring me on as a designer! Tell me about your project, and we can discuss if I might be of value getting more integrated and involved.

Caveats

• I have limited experience with large-scale AAA game development.
• I am not the one to help balance a multiplayer competitive game. I do not play games at an advanced competitive level. I help figure out why someone’s playing a game in the first place.
• I don’t love crypto or NFTs, and I’m wary of the unrealistic expectations of what AI can or should do.