Projects

Legacy Steel and Sorcery
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Combat Designer - Contract
Notorious Studios: Legacy Steel and Sorcery
Delivering iconic combat identity for an adrenaline-fueled 3rd person action PvPvE Extraction RPG.
Platforms: PC - Steam
May. '24 - Present
Notorious Logo
Combat preview
Hunter Player Class
Combat preview
Early combat prototype screenshot
  • Implemented and iterated third-person action combat in Unreal Engine (including accessible FPS and Elden Ring–style melee) using Gameplay Ability System and Blueprints.
  • Refined combat and player experience by implementing camera shakes, adjusting animation timings, collaborating on VFX/audio cues, rule consistency, and overall feedback loops.
  • Designed, pitched, implemented, and iterated weapons, abilities, combat mechanics, AI behaviors, and world systems in a networked live-service environment.
  • Led AI/NPC development from concept to implementation, adjusting designs based on player feedback.
  • Served as DRI for enemy AI/NPC development and balance, creating more responsive, challenging, and immersive combat encounters.
  • Built, iterated, and shipped 50+ mobs and a boss fight, each with unique movesets and behaviors for diverse player skill requirement.
    • Combat Animation
    Warrior Player Class
Odyssey
Combat Designer & Gameplay Scripter
Activision Blizzard: Unannounced Survival Game - Odyssey
Developing industry-leading moment-to-moment gameplay.
Platforms: Canceled Console & PC
Nov. '22 - Apr. '24
Blizzard Logo
  • Collaborated with Directors, Product Owners, and team members to elevate overall player feel.
  • Engineered a modular, designer-friendly weapon authoring system and shipped 30+ weapons, including advanced behaviors (controllable rockets, God of War–style axe).
  • Documented hundreds of consumable items and weapons, and partnered with Engineering to build a flexible consumable item pipeline (supporting hunger/thirst, throwables, channelables, deployables, etc.).
  • Owned and maintained weapon and consumable pipelines, creating and updating combat balancing sheets to identify weaknesses and power spikes.
  • Led dozens of playtests with stakeholders to iteratively refine game feel and maintain balanced combat.
Bladework Games
Game Designer & Programmer
Bladework Games: Unannounced Action Combat Game
Prototyping and implementing the core game loop and cutting-edge moment-to-moment action combat.
Platform: Unreleased Console & PC
Mar. '21 - Nov. '22
Bladework Logo
  • Implemented and iterated core systems in Unreal 4 (C++ & Blueprints) and Unity (C#), including advanced player movement (vaulting, climbing, dashing, double jumping), projectile physics, melee combat, networked player states, and interactive elements.
  • Prototyped and shipped features for a strictly server-authoritative, networked environment.
  • Created functional prototypes for executives and product owners, with documentation detailing cross-departmental requirements.
  • Organized and led stakeholder playtests to refine gameplay and align design goals.
Detour Bus
Lead Game Designer & Gameplay Scripter
Detour Bus: Detour Bus
Take on the challenges of a nostalgic and wacky VR road trip!
Platforms: PC - Steam VR, Meta Quest
Apr. '20 - Mar. '21
Detour Bus Logo
Detour Bus Carnival
Carnival Minigames!
Detour Bus Volcano
Lava Level!
  • Documented experience goals, core loops, level design, and player feedback requirements.
  • Concepted, implemented, and iterated accessible VR movement/interaction mechanics based on playtest insights.
  • Created 8 in-game event sequences, 4 levels, 8 carnival mini-games, and a boss fight, incorporating goal communication, particle effects, and a cohesive puzzle vibe.
Beasts of Maravilla Island
Lead Producer & Unity Developer
Banana Bird Studios: Beasts of Maravilla Island
Discover the wonder of Maravilla Island in this magical wildlife photography game.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Xbox, Playstation, Steam
Aug. '19 - Sep. '20
Banana Bird Studios Logo
Beach
Beach Area
  • Tracked and managed more than 3000 hours of tasks from early game conception to release.
  • Reviewed and critiqued art, design, and engineering deliverables to ensure experience goals were met within a feasible roadmap.
  • Organized and led team sync-ups to maintain productivity—especially during remote transitions.
  • Worked in-engine to develop and maintain the visual style of Beasts environments.
  • Implemented, tested, and iterated on core and extraneous gameplay systems and features.
  • Led outreach for a successful Kickstarter campaign, raising over $25k in total.
  • Built and maintained scene management and performance optimization systems; helped squash critical bugs.
  • And much more!
Jungle 1
Dense Jungle
Jungle 2
Jungle Temple
Jungle Gif 1
Jungle Exploration
Jungle Gif 2
Note Book
Jungle 5
In The Banyan Trees
Temple
Mountain Top Temple
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Game Designer & Gameplay Scripter - Intern
Treyarch: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
AAA Design Documentation, Collaboration, Prototyping, and Implementation using proprietary software and programming languages learned as needed.
Platforms: PC, Xbox, PS4
May '19 - Aug. '19
Treyarch Logo
Treyarch Interns E3
Treyarch Interns E3
Treyarch Interns
Treyarch Interns
  • Collaborated with level design interns to develop and iterate multiple ship-ready maps using the proprietary engine, code base, and scripting language.
  • Designed, documented, and iterated 9 features aligned with studio gameplay goals; pitched 2 finalized features to studio leads.
  • Concepted, documented, and iterated a new battle royale game mode experience.
  • Prototyped a custom map game mode by repurposing existing assets and systems to achieve design document goals.
  • Worked across departments to streamline AI encounter implementation and pushed changes to the code base after code review.
  • Implemented and iterated on unique encounter designs for a gameplay prototype reflecting the design leads’ vision.
  • Supported a prototype game mode with map setup, spawn placement, playtests, and iterative feedback in Radiant.
  • Connected with team members from all disciplines to learn workflows, philosophies, tools, and professional insights.
Plasticity
3D Environment Artist & Unity Developer
Plasticity: Plasticity
Responsible for background level art throughout 70% of the game and assisted the development of 2 minor scripted sequences.
Platforms: PC - Steam
Jan. '19 - Aug. '19
  • Served as the 3D artist responsible for both environment and character art, shaping the visual identity of the game.
  • Contributed assets and polish across the game to support its emotional and narrative goals around environmental awareness.
  • Helped deliver a cohesive visual message supporting the game’s social commentary on pollution and ecological neglect.
Plasticity City
Polluted City
Plasticity Suburb
Tortured Suburbs
Plasticity Beach
Final Beach Sequence

About

Skylar Kelley

Skylar Kelley

Combat Designer / Game Designer / CEO

Skylar Kelley, also known as Sky, is a passionate Game Designer and Developer in his mid-20s with a broad range of interests — from psychology and engineering to art, history, and beyond. As a Combat Designer, Sky's mission is to deliver memorable, impactful, and industry-leading moment-to-moment experiences that resonate with players.

Sky thrives at the intersection of technical design, feel-driven gameplay systems, and cross-discipline collaboration — working alongside top-tier engineers, designers, and artists to build unforgettable combat.

Skylar’s design philosophy is rooted in rapid prototyping in engine, using his programming experience to find and follow fun fast. He believes in testing early, iterating with player feedback, and staying relentlessly focused on player experience to achieve tight, responsive, and satisfying gameplay.

Education

Aug ’17 – May ’21

University of Southern California: Los Angeles, CA

Princeton Review’s #1 rated game design program

BA: Interactive Media & Games Design – School of Cinematic Arts
Overall GPA: 3.52
Applied Work GPA: 3.93

  • Design Implementation & Theory, Documentation, Communication
  • Pitching, Critique, Iteration, Collaboration
  • Theme Park Design, Cinematography, Film Theory

Minor: Video Game Programming

  • C++, C#, Java, Algorithm Design, Vector Math, Physics, Data Management

Resume

Download Resume (PDF)

Contact

Phone: (949)-701-7209

Email: SkylarKelley@gmail.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/skylarkelley

Studio Email: SDKMediaContact@gmail.com

Currently Located in: Southern California

Demo

This section is currently a work in progress. Stay tuned for future updates showcasing live combat and gameplay samples.

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