PROJECTS
Throughout my career, I have worked on over 25 titles that were successfully published and even more prototypes and concepts. Here are three project highlights I would like to share with you.
For a fairly complete list of all of the games I worked on, check out Mobygames: http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,207891/
Noteworthy Projects
NBA Playgrounds Series (Saber Interactive)
NBA Playground brings back Arcade 2 vs. 2 basketball on playgrounds all around the world. It is a spiritual successor to NBA Jam, capturing the fast-paced arcade competition street courts are known for. I worked on this project as Senior Producer, overseeing the development, submission, release, and maintenance of this title, helping to establish the Playgrounds IP. NBA Playgrounds sold more than 1 million copies over all platforms. I also worked on the sequel, NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 which was published by 2K.
Drakensang Series (Radon Labs & Bigpoint)
For approximately 8 years, I worked on the RPG series Drakensang, which started out as an adaption of the German RPG system "The Dark Eye" in the form of a traditional Baldur's Gate in 3D CRPG. Later, under Bigpoint, a new universe for the Drakensang IP was developed and the game was redesigned as an MMO Action-RPG in Diablo 3 style, but running with 3D graphics in the browsers. I started to work on Drakensang as Game and Level Designer, designing the first item list and locations. Next, I oversaw and supported the production as an associate and subsequently assistant producer and finally returned to Level Design as a senior level designer for Drakensang Online, which has over 35 million registered accounts as of today and is one of Europe's most successful MMO.
The Game Narrative Toolbox (Focal Press)
Together with Toiya K. Finley, Ann Lemay, and Jennifer Hepler, I wrote this book on narrative design and how to develop and tell stories in video games. The book takes readers on a journey, walking them through the typical development process of a video game and encourages them via exercises and samples to try the discussed techniques. In August 2023 we published the second edition of this book.
The book is available on the publisher's website, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Narrative-Toolbox-Focal-Design-Workshops/dp/1032438967)
Click here for a review of the book: https://careergamers.com/the-10-best-game-narrative-books-we-recommend#4_The_Game_Narrative_Toolbox
The Advanced Game Narrative Toolbox (CRC Press)
The Advance Game Narrative Toolbox continues where readers left off after the Game Narrative Toolbox. In 14 chapters, expert narrative designers and writers share their insights on various narrative design topics. I wrote two chapters for this book and served as the main editor. As the editor, I was responsible for the concept and execution of the project, as well as managing all contributors and providing feedback on their contributions.
The book is available on the publisher's website, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Narrative-Toolbox-Focal-Design-Workshops/dp/1138787086)
Click here for a review of the book: https://careergamers.com/the-10-best-game-narrative-books-we-recommend#5_The_Advanced_Game_Narrative_Toolbox
Testimonials
“Tobias is very detail oriented and organized. He is very reliable and has a great personality. For Radon Labs he was a very valuable employee, working on and contributing directly to our most important and successful projects.”
André Blechschmidt, former CEO Radonlabs
“Tobias is a level and game designer with a deep knowledge of games and the industry. He is able to create beautiful and well thought-out levels and has a powerful knowledge about quest design and storytelling. He is extremely high skilled in creating levels, self-organized worker and he is always reliable in completing his tasks. He is very helpful to his colleagues wherever he can to solve problems in administrative and in creative things. I really enjoy it to work with him”
Benny Kayser, Senior Level Designer Bigpoint