Aaron Casillas
award winning game Designer and STORYTELLER
Aaron Casillas
(702) 904 0038
Actapatio2007@yahoo.com
http://www.aaroncasillas.com/
HIGHLIGHTS
Over 35 awards and nominations in various categories, 26 years of experience
Emmy Nominated/Story of the Year/BAFTA Nominated/ FB Best of Live/Best of E3, to name a few
Played a key role in the development of some of the industry's largest franchises
Creative Director experience in all phases of the development process, from preproduction to prototyping, release and live operations.
NFT and Web3 savvy
USC and UCLA Game Design Instructor
EXPERIENCE
March 2021 to Present, Fan Controlled Sports and Entertainment, Head of Product/Gamification
Head of all things Product, Design, UX...IRL Video game with Web 3.0
Multiple sports leagues with Web 3.0 integration with 3 patents pending
Creative Director for all gamification efforts
Breaking the boundaries between realities
March 2019 to March 2021, PokerGO, Head of Games
Creative Director and Head of production for all platforms, systems, features and ventures
3rd party developer relations and contract development
Roadmap direction based on KPIs
Designed and development for the “Netflix of Poker” and game platform
Feb 2017 to 2020, Last Bastion Studios, Co-Owner, EP, Creative Director
VR Casino, Interior Design prototypes, to an Unannounced IP for console.
Investor and Advisor, in depth counseling to financial institutions
Creative, Art, Design and Social Media direction. From Copy, Art and Video
Sold the company
Nov 2014 to Feb 2017 Zynga, Worldwide Franchise – Product Owner and Creative Director
Directed all game Design, Creative and Social Media efforts on the team
20% 2016 booking inc. 40% YoY growth, record 4m DAU, record Daily revenue $500-600K
Roadmap creation and direction
Zynga wide Live Streaming Operations, average 1.2m reach, 35k unique viewers
March 2013 to Nov 2014 Tell Tale Games, Lead Narrative Designer, Story Team
Lead Designer and Co-Story Creator, “Wolf Among Us” Episode 4
Game of the Year/Story of the Year and various other categories.
Co-Story Creator, “Tales of the Borderlands” Episode 2, high level design of Action Sequences.
Season Story developer
Jan 2012 to March 2013, Red Ronin Entertainment, Co-Founder, Creative Director, EP
Created "Amazing Flying Machines", an original IP available exclusively on the iOS
Top 10 Game in Japan.
Managed external team of contract engineers and artists
June 2011 to Jan 2012, Atari SA, Creative Director
Adapted and updated company's design strategies for mobile and social games. This involved leading new design initiatives, adjusting technology requirements, and R.F.P. creation
Publisher Design lead and liaison for Atari’s portfolio
Nov 2009 to June 2011, Petroglyph Games, Creative Director/Game Designer
Lead Creative for Award Winning E3 Design, End of Nations MMO RTS.
Back to Back Year Award Winning Awards and Nominations
Designed, built, and balanced maps, missions, and systemic content
Nov 2008 to May 2009, Big Huge Games, Sr. Lead Level Designer
Prototyped dungeons for Ken Rolston's RPG, Kingdoms of Alamur
High Level design for 150 dungeons, including layout, object placement, lighting, scripting, and enemy and FX placement
July 2007 to Feb 2008, Collision Studios, Contract Lead Designer/Bus Dev Design
Wrote proposals, created gameplay prototypes, and worked on experimental projects such as Warner Brother's Viral Video
Helped grow projects from proposals through final contract
July 2005 to July 2007, Trilogy Studios, Creative Director
Helped manage initial development of IP, company vision, and brainstorm non-traditional delivery concepts
Lead game designer for Daybreakers, an action-RPG hybrid similar to Borderlands
Pitched and designed Shrek Worlds, a children's MMO-lite for DreamWorks
2001 – 2005, Electronic Arts, Lead Level Designer
Medal of Honor: Lead Level Designer
Created and prototyped new IP proposals using in-house technology
Designed all phases of the acclaimed E3 "Pearl Harbor" level and its counterpart that shipped in the final product
Created scenarios that acted as foundational design blueprints for the rest of the game
2000-2001 Novalogic, Design Manager
Titled Design Dept. Manager charged with managing mission design and the day-to-day operation of the design department.
Co-Created Black Hawk Down original mission scenario which later became Black Hawk Down IP
Design real world military encounters for the military with “Secret” tier status
1999-2000 Black Ops Studios, AI/Level Designer
Implemented level design, managed texture memory and asset database
AI design and scripting
The World is Not Enough E3 Level
1996-1999 Activision, QA Console Sr. Manager- Tester
Co-Managed a department of more than 30 testers and 3 teams as Sr. Manager
Responsibilities included Budget management, Coordinating with Sr. VP, Producers and Marketing to ensure a timely ship of the product.
Co-Created 3rd party shipping standards for ATVI's console department.
EDUCATION
UCLA Graduate of School of Fine Art: Bachelor's degree/ 3.79 GPA
Adjunct instructor at USC’s #1 ranked Game’s School
Extension teacher at UCLA’s Game’s program
Misc. Credits
Fan Controlled Sports and Entertainment
PokerGO Game and SVOD
Zynga Poker
Wolf Among Us
Tales of the Borderlands
Walking Dead 400 Days
Amazing Flying Machines (Mobile)
Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes of Never Winter (FB)
Roller Coaster Tycoon 3d (3DS)
Deer Hunter Online (FB)
Super Bunny Breakout (Mobile)
Asteroids: Gunner (Mobile)
Breakout Mania (Mobile)
Centipede: Infestation (Wii)
Centipede: Infestation (3DS)
DnD: Heroes of Never-Winter (Social)
Putt Putt/Freddie Fish (Mobile)
Jumper: Griffin's Story (2008), Brash Entertainment, LLC.
Medal of Honor: European Assault (2005), Electronic Arts, Inc.
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun (2003), Electronic Arts, Inc.
Medal of Honor: Frontline Xbox Multiplayer
Delta Force: Urban Warfare (2002), NovaLogic, Inc.
Comanche 4 (2001), NovaLogic, Inc.
Delta Force: Land Warrior (2000), NovaLogic, Inc.
U.S. Govt. Tank Simulations (2000), NovaLogic, Inc
Star Trek: Armada (2000), Activision (UK) Limited
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (2000), Activision, Inc.
The World is Not Enough (2000), Electronic Arts, Inc.
Disney/Pixar A Bug's Life (1999), Activision Publishing, Inc.
Disney's Tarzan (1999), Activision, Inc.
Space Invaders (1999), Activision, Inc.
Star Trek: Hidden Evil (1999), Activision Publishing, Inc.
Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense (1999), Activision, Inc.
Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style (1999), Activision, Inc.
Asteroids (1998), Activision, Inc.
Quake 2 patches 3.14
Quake 2 Expansion Packs
Sony OEM
3dfx Mechwarrior Mercenaries
Dark Reign: Rise of the Shadowhand (1998), Activision, Inc.
Guardian's Crusade (1998), Tamsoft Corporation
Quake II Mission Pack: The Reckoning (1998), Activision, Inc.
Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (1998), Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), Inc.
Dark Reign: The Future of War (1997), Activision, Inc.
Heavy Gear (1997), Activision, Inc.
Interstate '76 (1997), Activision, Inc.
NetStorm: Islands at War (1997), Activision, Inc.
Mech-warrior PSX