Brian Fricks
Principal Game Designer at Toys For Bob- Claim this Profile
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Topline Score
Bio
Mary Benitez
Fricks was the man I would visit at WGS if I wanted to get deep and talk about tactical gameplay. He could identify and understand even the most nuanced design decisions in my maps, and thus give PLENTY of focused and thoughtful feedback for me to chew on. He was the Metagame lead during the time that I worked there, but I looked to him as a level design mentor because, as a well-rounded industry vet, he’s extremely competent in every design discipline. He is great, and he’ll help make your team great.
Matt Hohl
Brian is truly a force of nature. As a veteran game designer and team lead he can deliver in many different areas which makes him an invaluable member for any type of creative project. He is capable of creating and managing incredibly complex systems. He is also a detailed strategist and planner which makes him an ideal team lead and partner for any project manager. Brian is an inspiring builder of talent. He is dedicated to the professional and creative growth of his team and is able to drive them to deliver above what they themselves thought they were capable of doing. If you have talent with potential, give them to Brian and watch them develop into rock stars.
Mary Benitez
Fricks was the man I would visit at WGS if I wanted to get deep and talk about tactical gameplay. He could identify and understand even the most nuanced design decisions in my maps, and thus give PLENTY of focused and thoughtful feedback for me to chew on. He was the Metagame lead during the time that I worked there, but I looked to him as a level design mentor because, as a well-rounded industry vet, he’s extremely competent in every design discipline. He is great, and he’ll help make your team great.
Matt Hohl
Brian is truly a force of nature. As a veteran game designer and team lead he can deliver in many different areas which makes him an invaluable member for any type of creative project. He is capable of creating and managing incredibly complex systems. He is also a detailed strategist and planner which makes him an ideal team lead and partner for any project manager. Brian is an inspiring builder of talent. He is dedicated to the professional and creative growth of his team and is able to drive them to deliver above what they themselves thought they were capable of doing. If you have talent with potential, give them to Brian and watch them develop into rock stars.
Mary Benitez
Fricks was the man I would visit at WGS if I wanted to get deep and talk about tactical gameplay. He could identify and understand even the most nuanced design decisions in my maps, and thus give PLENTY of focused and thoughtful feedback for me to chew on. He was the Metagame lead during the time that I worked there, but I looked to him as a level design mentor because, as a well-rounded industry vet, he’s extremely competent in every design discipline. He is great, and he’ll help make your team great.
Matt Hohl
Brian is truly a force of nature. As a veteran game designer and team lead he can deliver in many different areas which makes him an invaluable member for any type of creative project. He is capable of creating and managing incredibly complex systems. He is also a detailed strategist and planner which makes him an ideal team lead and partner for any project manager. Brian is an inspiring builder of talent. He is dedicated to the professional and creative growth of his team and is able to drive them to deliver above what they themselves thought they were capable of doing. If you have talent with potential, give them to Brian and watch them develop into rock stars.
Mary Benitez
Fricks was the man I would visit at WGS if I wanted to get deep and talk about tactical gameplay. He could identify and understand even the most nuanced design decisions in my maps, and thus give PLENTY of focused and thoughtful feedback for me to chew on. He was the Metagame lead during the time that I worked there, but I looked to him as a level design mentor because, as a well-rounded industry vet, he’s extremely competent in every design discipline. He is great, and he’ll help make your team great.
Matt Hohl
Brian is truly a force of nature. As a veteran game designer and team lead he can deliver in many different areas which makes him an invaluable member for any type of creative project. He is capable of creating and managing incredibly complex systems. He is also a detailed strategist and planner which makes him an ideal team lead and partner for any project manager. Brian is an inspiring builder of talent. He is dedicated to the professional and creative growth of his team and is able to drive them to deliver above what they themselves thought they were capable of doing. If you have talent with potential, give them to Brian and watch them develop into rock stars.
Experience
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Toys For Bob
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United States
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Computer Games
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1 - 100 Employee
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Principal Game Designer
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Sep 2018 - Present
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Wargaming
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Cyprus
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Computer Games
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700 & Above Employee
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Lead Metagame Designer
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2015 - 2018
Beginning with the third unannounced project at Wargaming Seattle, I pivoted towards the broader MMO experience and metagame design.I managed a small team and was responsible for all aspects of the game economy and progression. I was central to developing the entire out-of-match new player and social experiences. I was a primary author for all out-of-match system specs. And I led pre-planning for clan and competitive play development.
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Design Manager/ Lead Gameplay Designer
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2013 - 2015
As a founding member of the Wargaming Seattle team, I had a chance to initially focus on core gameplay and staffing our design team as we worked on two unannounced PC MMOs.My responsibilities included hiring management, team management, MMO planning, scheduling, and development. I also was very hands-on for content creation, systems design, and core gameplay.
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Lead Designer
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2010 - 2013
As Lead Designer for Chris Taylor's Kings and Castles, Age of Empires Online, and GPG's latest project, Wildman, I have managed and charted the course for a team of mission and systems designers through a wide range of RTS and RPG gameplay.Working on the Age of Empires franchise was a true pleasure and highly educational in shaping my views on the power of free-to-play games and the role of strategy gaming in our modern online world. There is still a lot of new territory to be covered and I am eager to be at the forefront of developing online strategy games.
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Lead Campaign Designer
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2008 - 2010
I filled the role of Lead Campaign Designer for Supreme Commander II. I shared and delegated a pool of tasks with three other campaign designers that included map design and creation, mission scripting, lua content engineering, and NIS camera scripting. I personally created the designs for all but a handful of the maps that were shipped with the game. I also was the primary author of many new lua systems that supported tuning, game balance, and faster mission scripting and NIS work.It took a massive effort from the whole team to deliver Supreme Commander II on time for both the PC and XBOX release. I am tremendously proud of all our hard work.
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Content Engineer
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2006 - 2008
I switched to Content Engineering for the development of Space Siege. During this time I learned C++, worked on a new AI system, a new NIS system, and was responsible for engineering the many behaviors required for enemy combatants, boss fights, cut-scenes, and player characters.I continued in the role of Content Engineer after Space Siege and developed prototypes for an unreleased ARPG.
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Level & Mission Designer
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2003 - 2008
My first projects as a level designer were Dungeon Siege II and Dungeon Siege II: Broken World. I was responsible for dozens of levels, custom scripting of encounters throughout each game, quest systems wiring, and cinematics.I also worked on Supreme Commander I as a mission designer. I learned lua scripting and was responsible for map development and mission wiring.
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Education
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1992 - 1997
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
BFA Studio Art Education, Sculpture Concentration
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