Jeffrey Bard
Jeffrey Bard is Lead Game Designer at Intrepid Studios.[1]
I’m the resident bard, a jack-of-all trades who wears a bunch of hats (even that one, sitting on your head, right now). I write lore and fix our internet when it needs fixing, troubleshoot the untroubleshootable, and make sure that our game actually runs when it doesn’t want to. But primarily, I’m working on making Ashes of Creation. I’ve been doing most of the scripting to get our core systems up and running, as well as carefully curating our lore and storylines. Game design is something I’ve been doing in one way or another since I was six, when I ran my first Dungeons and Dragons campaign. I’m all grown up now though, having worked on some amazing projects with some amazing people. That trend continues with Ashes of Creation and this group we have here at Intrepid Studios – the talent is off the charts, and I’m already amazed at everything we’ve built so far. I cannot wait to share this project with the world.
Insights on the development process
I usually work from the ‘big picture’ backwards. I establish what the goals in the design piece are, what the themes are, gameplay-wise and narrative-wise, and what kind of story is trying to be told. I think it’s really important to always make sure every part relates to and supports that overall big picture, so this stage is all about brainstorming hooks and different perspectives that relate back to that big picture.[2]
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