# John Slaydon > Senior Game Designer (Lucasfilm) Location: San Ramon, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/johnslaydon Respected Game Designer with a reputation for excellence in the video game industry, specializing in creating immersive, player-centric experiences across both narrative-driven single-player and fast-paced, competitive multiplayer environments. Designs intricate layouts, optimizing player flow, and collaborating across teams to craft memorable gameplay. Known for leading diverse design teams in global, remote settings. ## Work Experience ### Senior Game Designer @ Lucasfilm Jan 2025 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area ### Lead Level Designer @ Ubisoft Jan 2022 – Jan 2025 | San Francisco Bay Area -Led and managed a group of 10-level designers (from Associates to Principals) spread out over multiple continents/time zones for the F2P FPS XDefiant game, producing up to 40 individual maps containing at least 5 game modes each. -Coordinated schedules for maps in development and worked with Stakeholders and Directors to strategically plan 2 years of content allowing me to easily adjust workload to address the changing needs of the project. -Trained new hires, set best practices, created documentation, and organized daily playtests that became a team standard. -Reviewed maps in development by giving feedback and guidance on map layout flow, cover usage, spawning, and combat engagement areas, plus contributing to bug fixing and implementing new features/modes. -Looked to as the primary contact point for the Level Design department and led the charge to drive change and address workflow and process issues with production ### Senior Level Designer II @ Ubisoft Jan 2015 – Jan 2022 | San Francisco Bay Area -Using the Snowdrop Engine prototyped, designed, and implemented content for three released maps from start to finish for XDefiant (The Nudleplex map is considered a fan favorite among the XDefiant community). -Implemented every level location in the single-player RPG South Park game including gameplay assets, camera movement, transitions, and interactions. -Designed layout and helped lead the team of artists and designers tasked with creating the Sierra County Hospital level for Rainbow Six Extraction -Mentored a Woman in Games intern which led them to be hired to a full-time design position. -Recognized for the successful releases of: XDefiant (Levels: Nudleplex, Mykonos, and West End), Rainbow Six Extraction (Levels: Sierra County Hospital), and South Park: The Fractured but Whole. ### Senior Content Game Designer @ Ubisoft Jan 2010 – Jan 2015 | San Francisco Bay Area -Design expert for the Editorial Content team. -Contributed to core design concepts/documentation and gameplay review from preproduction through product release. -Working closely with 3rd Party studio's design, art, and engineering teams to realize and implement gameplay features. -Recognized for the successful releases of: Toy Soldiers: War Chest, South Park: Stick of Truth, Smurfs 2, and Petz Brands titles Beach & Countryside 3DS, Puppyz & Kittenz DS, Bunnies DS, and Nursery 2). ### Lead Multiplayer Designer @ Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEA) Jan 2006 – Jan 2008 | Bend, Oregon -Led the design and a team of 10 Designers, Scripters, Engineers, and Artists on Resistance Retribution and Combat Ops multiplayer titles. -Designed the Mission Modifier level editor for Combat Ops allowing players to arrange terrain shapes in unique map configurations, set spawn points, objective locations, and weapon placements, then upload their designs to the community. -Created and maintained design documentation for Map Layouts, Game Modes, User Interface, Weapons, Online Stats, Rewards, and fiction text. -Used 3DS Max 8 and proprietary World Placement Editor (WPE) to populate and organize multiplayer maps. -Recognized for the successful releases of: Resistance: Retribution, Syphon Filter: Combat Ops, and Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow. ### Lead Designer @ Red Storm Entertainment/UbiSoft Jan 2000 – Jan 2006 | Morrisville, NC -Led the design for Rainbow Six: Lockdown on the PS2, a single-player, first-person, tactical combat game. -Managed a team of 7 designers and scripters, tracked schedules and assigned duties, and worked closely with management to maintain the company's vision for titles. -Authored detailed documentation for Mission Layout and Flow, Artificial Intelligence, and Combat Model. -Designed layout and functionality for Menu Shell (Single & Multiplayer) and Ingame User Interface. -Wrote story overview and in-game dialogue quips. -Recognized for the successful releases of: Rainbow Six Lockdown (PS2 & PC), Sum of All Fears (GBA) and Freedom First Resistance. ### Product Design Manager @ Perpetual Motion Entertainment (PME) Jan 1998 – Jan 2000 | Cary, NC -Oversaw the daily needs of the production team and coordinated the requests and mandates of the publisher. -Wrote extensive gameplay documentation, and translated rules for bar games like darts, pool, ping pong, and table hockey into a video game experience. -Designed a 3D Dart throwing mechanic within a 2D-developed title. -Created mini-games, designed interaces/menus, and wrote dialogue for Game Show announcers (Mad Gab). -Managed the localization titles into 4 different Scandinavian languages. -Released Sierra Sports Pack, Play This Play That, Mad Gab, Elite Darts, and TriBond. ### Lead Game Designer @ Random Games Jan 1995 – Jan 1998 | Cary, NC -Lead the design of a single-player, turn-based, isometric military shooter (Soldiers At War). -Designed an isometric, tile-based, mission-editing tool that was used in the creation of two games published by SSI. -Scripted, built layouts, and designed Menu Shell and gameplay User Interfaces. -Wrote extensive documentation on game modes and Artificial Intelligence. Wrote game briefings, and in-game dialogue, and directed voice actors in recording sessions. ## Education ### Music Engineering & Technology Elizabeth City State University ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/johnslaydon --- Source: https://flows.cv/johnslaydon JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/johnslaydon/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13