I'm gonna let you kids in on a secret: I don't design bosses to win fights against the player. I design them to lose *very convincingly.*
It's like blackjack. I lose if I go way too far under, but I also lose if I go over.
After 13 of the best years of my life, I am a little heartbroken to announce that I have left Blizzard Entertainment.
I am also overwhelmingly excited to say that I have accepted a role at Amazon Game Studios in Irvine working as a Sr. Gameplay Designer on Lord of the Rings! ☺️
Ding! Title change today! I am now a Senior Manager at
@riotgames
. I'm still a game designer - but more like a Lead Game Designer. You just wait'n see - this girl's gonna be a Game Director some day. ☺️⭐️
It is with a heavy but hopeful heart that I announce: today is my last day
@amazongames
. Soon, I will be joining the ranks of fine folks
@Riotgames
as a Principal Game Designer! Words cannot adequately describe how lucky I feel, and how excited I am to begin this journey.
Secretly, every game dev just wants to make games that strike the perfect balance between art, entertainment, and satisfying mechanics. We want to do this while living on a farm with our 5-15 best friends and making just enough money to keep everyone safe and happy and employed.
It's with overwhelming joy and pride that I announce that I work on
@diablo
4. Come see my panel at 3:15 on Sat. I'll be at the portal pass lounge for a while after - but will also be bouncing around the Hilton and Marriott tonight and tomorrow
Happy Blizzcon and Hail Lilith! ❤️
I once worked on implementing a raid boss for 2 months. I put it on the PTR for the first time, hoping for good feedback on mechanics and combat feel.
Mostly people just talked about the fact that my boss didn't have nipples.
You better believe I check my bosses for nipples now
I made this boss in WoW who used to sweep the playspace from left to right and you'd have to dodge it in crafty ways.
One night i had a nightmare that it was broken and it was sweeping from all directions.
The next day I made the heroic version of that encounter do that.
-fin
I guess it was kind of obvious - but now it's official! I'm working with
@Ghostcrawler
@holinka
@Sapmagic_
and more on a new MMO! Can't wait to talk about it next week. ❤️☺️
Hello! 👋
We are Fantastic Pixel Castle, a new games studio making an epic AAA MMORPG codenamed Ghost.
To learn more about our studio and vision for Ghost, visit our website at .
1/3
Thank you all for coming to say hi and sharing your love and enthusiasm with me this weekend! I'm speechless. There's nothing more rewarding to a game developer than seeing people's eyes light up when they talk about the games you pour your heart in to. So, truly. Thank you.❤️☺️
Damn, WoW won me back hard. I immediately pinged my old guild to see if we could get the band back together again. Well done, WoW team!
I had quit after I left Blizz (after Shadowlands). Mostly bcuz I had complicated feels after pouring ~14 years of my life into making WoW.
A lot of people are asking me if there's blood in the water at Riot. You're worried about the mmo. Why are so many people "jumping ship?"
TLDR: Relax, this is normal.
Enjoy the thread:
-promoted twice
-divorced once 😉
-traveled to 10 new countries
-found my own happiness
-bought a condo by myself
-fell in love a couple times 💔
-size 12 ➡️ size 4 clothes
-shipped 6 WoW expansions
-found a home on Diablo 4
-lost a gallbladder
-gained a twitter and ilu all ☺️
Hi this is mom just checking in to tell you that you can play video games without bingeing processed snack foods. You're also an adult and can decide what you wanna eat
BUT i'll pack you some grapes and carrots with a napkin that reminds you that you're my lil champion if u need
1. My cat put her butt in my face
2. I verbally informed her that her butt stinks
3. My mic was open during that meeting
This is the content you follow me to hear, everybody.
During the AQ war, my guild would run people through Molten Core in exchange for war effort mats.
I'll never forget a gnome mage named "Sevan." On Baron Geddon, my mod whispered to her "YOU ARE THE BOMB!"
She replied "Thanks! 8) " as she wiped the raid. You can't even be mad.
@richtaur
May I also offer: "describe emotions and problems in favor of offering solutions." Solutions are helpful but they aren't descriptive enough.
ie: "lvl 2 was hard and I got frustrated on the 3rd wave of enemies! It made me quit"
instead of "reduce the amount of enemies in lvl 2"
7mo. ago I asked
@steak_umm
if I should accept a new professional challenge or stick to what I know. They responded with this thoughtful piece of advice
I love World of Warcraft and the ppl who make it, but Im happy to announce that I have moved to another Blizzard project 💖☺️
@candacerthomas
context is everything. if you consider yourself a master of what you know then it can be incredibly beneficial to try something new. you always have your expertise to fall back on. there's risk involved, but what's life without that? plan for the worst and take a chance
Have you ever fantasized about living on a huge farm with all your best friends? Like obv not living in the same house but close enough to have dinner at a different persons house every night and care for each other's animals/ kids and stuff?
Am I a communist? I blame Stardew
#girlsbehindthegames
Hi Twitter, I'm Candace and I have been in the game industry since 2007. I started in Quality Assurance at Blizzard, testing WoW, SC2, and Diablo 3. After about 2.5 years, I moved in to the design field. I am now a Senior Game Designer at Blizzard.
Riot has made me a better designer, no question about it. One thing I've learned is the value of dissent. Inviting people to challenge your ideas and actually loving the process can make your designs more bulletproof and flexible. As long as respect and courtesy are observed ofc.
Fellow Game Designers: do you ever feel like you don't deserve some of the art you get?
Like yeah I had some inane, cockamamie idea and then a real professional stepped up and made something overly incredible to sell it and now I feel like I need to do it justice with the design
Excited to announce that yesterday was my first day at
@supercell
- which is all I can say for now! Leaving Riot was the hardest decision I've ever made, and I miss the team dearly, but I know they will continue to do great things without me 😭🥹❤️👊🏻
inc some cool sh*t tho
A quick reminder that games are extremely hard to make and that any game that ships or even comes close is worthy of admiration and respect (even if you don't enjoy it). ❤️🙏🏻
New person joins team, has donuts on their desk. I don't want a whole donut but I'd take half, so I walk in there with a cutting utensil.
"Hi, I'm Candace and I'm approaching you with a knife."
10/10 first impression nailed it
I wish I could go back in time and explain to younger me that it's ok to ask for help at work. I was extremely reluctant to ask leadership to explain tasks or provide more context for my work. I was ashamed of my ignorance and was low-key afraid I'd be exposed as a fraud (1/2)
Tweeting about the game already in such an early stage *feels* like breaking NDA. It's so wild. But this is what we want to do as a studio!! It's a new muscle I have to build - and we are going to have to figure out how to make access to info fair, but damn this is refreshing.
So I think in the last hour or so, I have somewhat committed to 1) Just calling our game "the unannounced Riot MMO", 2) Having crustaceans, 3) Only having cat people as a playable race.
Narrator: Only number 2 turned out to be true.
My niece expressed the slightest interest in game development and I instantly bought her 5 different Udemy courses to gauge her interest in various disciplines.
I don't have any kids so this is a really proud moment for me 😌❤️
Not that my opinion matters, but for my own comfort - I'd like to scream into the void that this year has been a bloodbath for game devs.
Many of us are not going to be our best selves, and that may be reflected in the games we love (and love to make). It's part of being human.
People 30+: Do you remember taking math tests in middle school? And it was against the rules to use calculators? Your teachers would say snarky things like:
"Well, are you just gonna walk around with a calculator in your pocket for the rest of your life?"
... ACTUALLY YES 📲
A lot of people are asking about my weight loss! So here's the skinny:
140➡️120lbs(I'm 5'2)
I did it by counting calories/lifting weights 2x a week/a long hike on the weekends
I lost most of it in 2011 and kept it off through an active lifestyle and portioning
Before/afters:
I struggled with a decision at work this week, and my manager said something extraordinarily empathetic and empowering. It's worth repeating:
"Regardless of the outcome, I'm on your side."
Between work and my WoW hobby I have spent over 27,000 hours in Azeroth
That's like playing WoW nonstop for 3 years straight
(and this is assuming I'm only playing WoW 1/2 of the time I'm working which is a generous underestimate when you consider how long implementation takes)
What if I made an MMO that was also a dating app? You go on adventures designed for 2-5 people with extreme cooperative mechanics? You face moral dilemmas together that make sure your values are aligned?
You can use it to meet new people OR play with your SO(s)?
Would you play?
GameDev, the musical:
(to the tune of Frère Jacques)
My Test Dun-geon
Has No Mon-sters
What the fuck?
What the fuck?
Was this shit my fault or,
was this just a code change?
Who's to blame?
Who's to blame?
Shortly before I left Blizzard, I had applied to work on Overwatch 2. I didn't get the job, and as salt on the wound LinkedIn keeps emailing me about open positions on OW2. 🤯😖 💔💔💔
Congratulations to
@Warcraft
on the big reveal!
It's an odd feeling for me bcuz this is the first WoW expansion I haven't worked on in 15 years. Seeing it from an outsider's perspective is exciting and bittersweet all at once. It warms my heart to see the team still thriving ❤️
When Blizzard offered me a job, I initially said no. It was an entry level position and I had no car. I had already found a job at Geek Squad and they needed me
After I hung up the phone, I immediately called Blizzard back and said "I'm an idiot, may I please have an interview?"
For the holidays, I urge everyone to reflect on that fact that Brand social media accounts are run by living, breathing humans with beating hearts. Even if angry, remember that kindness is contagious
I’ll start: thank you
@steak_umm
for the years of humor, memes, and beef sheets
My partner spends maybe 5 minutes a week rearranging the drinking glasses under our bar according to size/shape - ensuring they're all flipped in the same direction.
Every once in a while I'll flip one over at random. He just caught me doing that for the first time.
Some people dread the "what do you want for dinner" conversation. I, on the other hand, cannot wait until that poor bastard says "whatever you want is fine" because that is a binding contract and maybe he's eating s'mores and a bottle of cocktail onions for dinner.
I know it's super early to say this, but Riot already feels like home. Thanks to everyone who reached out to make me feel welcome when I joined, those who check in to make sure I'm still happy, and a special thanks to
@Xenogenic
for treating me as if I had been here all along.
Shower Thought: When I first joined the encounter design team for World of Warcraft, I insisted that I design any boss that identified as a woman. I really liked identifying with these villains on a more human level.
Puts kind of a double entendre behind "Girl Bossing."
The stranger sitting next to me at SeaTac doesn’t have a working power outlet at his seat so I unplugged and let him use mine.
Few minutes later, he turns to me and asks: “Would you like a McChicken sandwich? I have an extra.”
What a wholesome, sweet, bizarre exchange. 💕
~*Creative jobs*~
Me: Brain, pls, I need ideas for work.
Brain: ....
Me, hours later: Welp guess I better lay down to sleep.
Brain: <infinite idea fountain> enjoy work tomorrow asshole, hope 3hrs of sleep is enough
People warned me that LA traffic is bonkers, but I don't think I fully understood. I have an event to attend on Friday that is 8 miles away from me, and google is estimating 1.5-2 hours to get there...
Him: Do we have plans Friday?
Me, exhausted:
Nope, what did you have in mind?
<internally screaming with dread>
Him: I was thinking we open a bottle of wine and play Stardew Valley in our pajamas all night. Maybe make some snacks.
@DiscipleGames
= soulmate material.
I wish I had the right words to explain to people that any game that ships is miraculous in its own way, and has a story to tell.
It's like that show Cutthroat Kitchen - the judges of the dish have no idea that the chef was missing 3 ingredients and had to stand in a ballpit.
I know I'm super late to the game, but I just finished Titanfall 2, and I have to give major props to
@Respawn
That game's controls are buttery smooth, the story is compelling, and the entire world reacts to your presence in almost cinematic detail. Highly recommend.
I know I'm super biased, but that Queen Azshara Warbringers piece was thoroughly chilling and wickedly delightful. It rivals The Old Soldier in storytelling and emotional tethering.
I felt like I couldn't even breathe while I watched it.
I am 35 years old and I just learned that vinegar removes the water specks on shower glass. I hope you all already knew this, but if you didn't - I'm sharing the wealth.
I have brown hair, so i tried a new "brown tinted" dry shampoo this morning. This was also the same day I tried charcoal toothpaste for the first time.
My fingers are black, my gums are black, my tongue is black, and I sweat brown.
Happy BFA day!
Senior Etiquette Tip:
When a junior dev asks you how to do something that sounds weird, your first instinct can be to ask "why?"
This undermines trust. Instead try to be transparent and give the benefit of the doubt: "That's strange, are you trying something new? I can help."
Should Game Developers Listen to Negative Feedback?
Spicy. It's obv YES to listen, but sometimes NO to react. Esp in long-tail progression games. Like a jenga tower, sometimes reacting too quickly/taking a piece from the bottom of the tower can cause it to collapse later 1/3
I’m petsitting for 2 friends right now and lucky me:
1. The animals like eachother
2. They are snuggle monsters
Borderlands can wait, I’ve got a fur and purr puddle goin on here ☺️🐈🐕💕🍀
There's a boss fight in Tiny Tina Wonderlands that has a lot of the same mechanics as the Tank Artifact Challenge that we made in Legion and it absolutely wrecked me. I'm flying off the platform thinking: "This is a taste of my own medicine. I deserve this"
I try not to take/post random selfies because I like to keep my vanity in check BUT I'm noticing that seeing random happy selfies lifts my mood while I'm in quarantine. Here's one of me WFH.
Snap me a selfie, you gorgeous human (or pet) 🤳☺️
I don't know who needs to hear this but - you know how you feel when you're having a cute day? And you're really feelin' yourself?
Your partner thinks you always look that way.
10 years ago, I set a goal for myself. I chased it fearlessly, recklessly, and with whole heart. My entire life changed in pursuit of that goal.
On Friday, I will fail at that goal. I wonder what life will be like on Saturday.