MICHAEL S. LICHT
7101 Playa Vista Dr. #115 Playa Vista, CA 90094 (310) 437-9446 michael@michaellicht.com http://www.michaellicht.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/michaellicht

SENIOR GAME DESIGNER

KEY QUALIFICATIONS
Over 10 years experience designing and producing AAA Titles (8 completed games.) Lead Level and System Designer on the Medal of Honor Series Diverse background in art, level design, game system design, and project management Extensive experience in games design as well as production processes Design lead and manager of design teams of various sizes Extensive knowledge of many popular game development tools such as UnrealED3, Radiant, Unity 3D, and many more as well as most 3D packages such as 3DSMax and Maya. Extensive experience with video game outsourcing and management of external teams Masters in Architecture from Virginia Tech

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Heavy Iron Studios June 2010 Principle Designer and Lead Level Designer I work directly with the design director on the overall game design systems while also working as the project lead level designer. I work hands on with the tools every day and with the team to find and maintain the high quality level we expect from our work. GameRonins Consulting, Los Angeles CA CEO I started a small video game consulting company where I traveled mostly to China working with Virtuos Games as they began their transition from just outsourcers to co-developers. I initially ran level design workshops, but eventually I started to work nightly with their teams on two current games as an external design director. I frequently traveled back and forth to China to work hands on with the team to maintain the level of connection necessary in any external development process and developed a great relationship with that studio. Besides design, I also worked directly with production on scheduling and working with their US counterparts. During that time I also worked with Remedy on Alan Wake, with MindArk on the Entropia project, Creative Kingdom on their Entropia World, and several other consulting gigs. It was an exciting time Electronic Arts, Los Angeles, CA

Unannounced Project

2003 2008
Lead Level Designer, Lead Gameplay Systems Designer, Design Producer Primary responsibilities included the design and prototyping of core gameplay systems as well as setting goals, tasking, tracking and working with the staff to get it done. Participate in daily tracking sessions with senior directors and producers to chart crossdepartment progress.

Medal of Honor: Airborne

Lead Designer (prototyping phase) & Lead Mission Designer
Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault
Primary responsibilities included the initial conception and documentation of core game mechanics, leadership of initial prototyping of game features and initial design and implementation of the prototype X level. Lead responsibilities included defining game flow, objectives, layout, and all aspects of level design. Managed several different team sizes from 13 designers at once to several smaller teams of 8-10 through different phases of development.
Cell Design Lead Responsible for defining high level goals of several game levels and managing small teams of junior designers to complete the work. Produced 2D maps, beat documents and 3D massing as core direction tools. LucasArts, San Rafael, CA
Star Wars: Republic Commando (Unreal 2004 PC / XBOX)

1999 2003

Senior Level Designer & Environment Artist Milestone point person: A lead role where responsibilities included scheduling, task delegation, follow-up, and overall coordination and execution of milestone. Working closely with the design director on core gameplay mechanics. Helped develop core level design standards and perpetuate them to the team. Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (PS2 & GameCube) Worked closely with a Level Artist, giving direction and critique. Marketing survey placed some of my levels as favorite level in the game. Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds (PC) Worked primarily as an environment modeler Designed, built and textured over 200 different buildings. Star Wars: Battle For Naboo (Nintendo 64) Designed several levels of the game as well as scripted gameplay Star Wars: Jedi Power Battles (Playstation 1) Designed several levels in the game Worked along side many other designers to help refine their levels. HOK Architects, San Francisco, CA Junior Architect Responsibilities included many aspects of commercial architectural design. Modeled several hi-res buildings for rendering purposes. 1996 1997

EDUCATION

Virginia Tech WAAC, Alexandria, VA Masters of Architecture First student in the university to replace my drafting table with a CAD station. Helped establish the first CAD lab. Graduate thesis focused on 3D modeling and the design process. Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL B.S. Architecture

1994 1996

1990 1994
Interviews, Articles, Lectures & Awards

- Gamasutra Article

- USC Kids Camp Lecture 1 - USC Kids Camp Lecture 2 - Prima Guide Airborne Interview
Gametactics Interview from ECritic Reviews of MOH:Airborne Level Design TechTV Bounty Hunter Level Design UC Berkeley Lecture on Level Design USC Interactive Board Advisor for FLOW Making of Video MOH:Airborne USC Game Design Workshop Advisor Game Design Lecturer for OTIS College Winner LucasArts Original Game Design Comp. Recipient Electronic Arts "Wings" Award
References available upon request

Scenario Editor > Bitmap Instruction Screens

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As you have probably noticed, in your scenarios, when you run them, there is a large blank spot above the instructions that you entered. In this area you can place an image, much like the scenarios that came with the game. Download this file (Bitmap, 155 kb). You can open this file with any image program. Once you have the file, you can place any graphics you would like on it. These can include a logo for the scenario, a map, visual instructions, etc. There are some limitations, however. The color palette that the game uses for the instruction bitmap is limited to shades of blue, and a few red shades. You must apply the game's palette to your image for it to work correctly in the game. Download the Palette (.PAL file, 2 kb, created by The Vampire Slayer) To load this palette onto your image, you need a program that is capable of applying palettes. Programs such as Photoshop, Coreldraw, and Paint Shop Pro can all do this. If you have none of these, you can download the evaluation version of Paint Shop Pro. You can get it here. (32 mb) In Paint Shop Pro, simply select Colors > Apply Palette, and select the palette I linked to earlier. For other programs, you must find out how to do it yourself. Usually, finding an option such as "Load Palette" will work. Your image should convert to shades of blue and red. There is no way past this limitation.
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Place your newly-created image in your main folder for SWGB. (Usually C:\Program Files\LucasArts\Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds\Game) Open SWGB and go to the scenario editor. Once there, load your scenario and click the Cinematics button along the top. The right-most option allows you to select your bitmap image. (Note that the instructions screen will not display if you use "Test" within the editor. You must run the scenario conventionally.) Good luck! If you have any problems, suggestions, or questions, please email me (aoerat@heavengames.com).
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