ANT WORKSHOP   |   BLAZING GRIFFIN   |   CG SPECTRUM   |   UK GAMES FUND  |   MICROSOFT   |   OTHER

Hey, I'm Michael Cameron


In here, you’ll find a collection of my work and projects, documenting the things I’ve achieved over the course of my career. I’ve been creating games for well over a decade now, while also dipping into various complementary roles including education, journalism, tech evangelism, web development, marketing, and funding acquisition.

I’m currently based in Edinburgh, Scotland, most recently making things as the Lead Game Designer at Hyper Luminal Games. In addition to this, I also offer design-focused consultancy work, and to top it off, teach Game Design at CG Spectrum College of Digital Art and Animation.

I have played pivotal roles in driving the development and success of various games, including two BAFTA award-winning titles. I am results-driven and my focus is, and has always been, on creating immersive, dynamic and – most importantly – fun gaming experiences.

If this sounds like someone that could be useful to you, your team, project, or company, then I’d love to hear from you.

           




Ant Workshop is a small indie games studio that has worked on a diverse range of titles, both from their own internally created IP, and co-development with external IP holders. In my years there, I was able to witness the studio grow into the wonderful hive of creativity that it is now. My role in the company centred on driving the overall design and direction of the studio’s projects from concept to release.

PROJECTS
Dungeon Golf - PC
Golf your way through lava, traps, and monsters! Compete with your friends in online and local multiplayer or play solo to win trophies and climb to the top. I played a pivotal role in shaping the overall design direction of the game and outlined the majority of the core game from characters, abilities, enemies, levels and their deadly contents. 



Mind Scanners - PC / Console
A retro-futuristic simulation game in which you diagnose patients with the titular Mindscanner. Ant Workshop performed the porting work to bring it to console. I led the UI/UX and design side of things, taking into consideration its dozen or so unique mind-scanning mini-games, each with their own very distinct (and very unusual) interactive controls.



Dead End Job - PC / Console
A Ren and Stimpy-esque world filled to the brim with weird ghosts, procedural levels, and awesome twin-stick shooting that straps a vacuum pack to your back and puts a plasma blaster in your hand. As part of the Warped Reality update, I outlined new items and features that would be included.



Additional Projects - Various
Worked on several prototypes and pitches to determine the studio’s next project, including unreleased internal projects Untitled Cat Game and The Price of Magic, plus a handful of exciting external IP opportunities.

Additionally, as part of the studio’s work-for-hire efforts, I had the opportunity to work on a variety of smaller consultation projects, including the indie hit Loop Hero.




Blazing Griffin is a digital entertainment company covering game development, film and TV production and end-to-end post-production. I was part of the company from very early on, and saw it grow from a handful of people to the large cross-media company it is today. I primarily worked with the games team on a variety of projects over the course of several years, often taking the reins as the project’s design lead.

PROJECTS
Hercule Poirot: The First Cases - PC / Console
A clever reimagining of the youthful detective, Hercule Poirot in his very first case. I was primarily involved in the early stages of the projects concept and ideation, then pursuing the completion of the game’s vertical slice. It would later go on to be published by Microids, and win the  BAFTA Scotland Best Game Award 2022.



Murderous Pursuits - PC / iOS / Android
Victorian kill-or-be-killed online multiplayer stealth-em-up for 1-8 players. Seen as the spiritual successor to The Ship, the game surpassed 2.4 million players on PC and
was shortlisted for a TIGA 2018 Visual Design Award. I outlined the core concept and gameplay elements, leading their implementation to completion, alongside the game’s distinct levels. It was later published on iOS and Android by NetEase, reaching 1 million downloads in its first week.



The Ship: Remasted - PC / Mac / Linux
A remake of the cult classic The Ship: Murder Party, an online multiplayer murder-mystery hunting game that takes place on a series of luxury 1920s cruise ships. The game was ported from Source Engine to Unity and launched into early access. The game was entirely rebuilt from the ground up, and my time was focused on level and UI/UX modernizations to bring the game in line with modern player expectations. 



Distant Star: Revenant Fleet - PC / Mac / Linux / Console
Fleet-based real-time-strategy game meets rogue-lite. I oversaw, designed, and implemented the vast majority of the game’s core gameplay. Including; strategic combat, procedural level generation, and a complex branching narrative. Distant Star went on to win the Scottish BAFTA Best Game Award 2015, and was shortlisted for Original Game and Audio Design in the 2015 TIGA Awards.



Dino Tribes - Windows Phone / iOS / Android
Free to play match-3 puzzle game featured on Windows Phone. I successfully pitched the game to the AppCampus accelerator program, which was run by Microsoft, Nokia, and Aalto University, and was awarded funding to develop it. On Dino Tribes release, it won the Microsoft Beautiful Game Competition and it was shortlisted for Visual Design and Audio Design in the 2014 TIGA Awards.



Additional Projects - Various
I provided post-release design consultation or upfront planning and ideation for a variety of projects including:
Murder Mystery Machine, Nightmare Cooperative, Gentlemen!, APB Retribution, The Ship Murder Party, Distant Star: Classic, and dozens of unreleased prototype projects which leant on the IP strengths of Blazing Griffin, and the external IP they had gathered over the years.




As a Game Design Mentor at CG Spectrum, a prestigious online school for Animation, VFX, and Game Design, I have the privilege of inspiring and preparing the next generation of game designers. In this role, I play a vital part in guiding and supporting aspiring game designers as they embark on their creative journeys. I assess students' work on CG Spectrum's industry-approved game design course and provide comprehensive lessons, valuable guidance, and career advice tailored to their studies and professional aspirations. By sharing my expertise and passion for game design, I empower students to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive in the dynamic and competitive field of game design.



Acting as a reviewer and providing support for both the UK Games Fund and the Tranzfuser competition. The role involved reviewing and writing application feedback for those applying to the funds. In addition to this, I provided mentorship to the teams and regularly attended the live event at EGX for several years to assist in judging the Tranzfuser competition.




With a focus on gaming with Windows 8, Windows Phone and Xbox platforms, I assisted in driving developer’s adoption of those platforms by running educational workshops, developer sessions and other events. I also frequented similar events as a speaker, giving talks on the platform and games development in general to a wide range of audiences. I was featured in Develop Magazine for my work with Microsoft.



OTHER
Some items that don’t quite fit under the above but are achievements that I feel are worth mentioning.

  • I have multiple qualifications in game related subjects:  CertHE in Computer Games Technology, HNC Computer Games Development, HNC Interactive Media Design, and NQ Media Production.

           

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