http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/productdevelopment daily 0.75 2023-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1423318356964-20SITW32STS5N5RPBE3N/image-asset.png Product Development I had the fun challenge of developing the brand as well as being embedded within the product development team for the iOS game, “Age of Booty: Tactics.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420908623162-E23IOADX3IWJ41RNZG4T/AobAppStore.png Product Development With our promotional plan and my persistent romancing of Apple about the game (some might call it stalking, but I wouldn't), Age of Booty: Tactics launched on the #3 slot for Best New Games (see above) on the App Store home page. This gave us the invaluable front-page placement on the App Store. In addition to being on the Best New Games list, we also netted a spot on the Best Games released in July list. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420911263542-OZJKXX050HCOSRENBWKJ/image-asset.png Product Development Once a potential user had been driven to the app store by our promotions, it was my responsibility to create a store presence compelling enough to convert them to install the game using some of our beautiful imagery and best game reviews to lead the copy. · 148Apps, "Overall though, Age of Booty: Tactics is a pretty fantastic game. Its pirate theme is appealing and its strategy mechanics are rock solid, even when free players are facing those that have spent money for a ship with a chainsaw on it." · Video Game Writers, "Age of Booty: Tactics is not just a great mobile game, but one of the most involving and addictive strategy titles I’ve played in a long time." · Cult of Mac, "If you’re looking for a fun, thinking person’s game (aside from the bodacious female captain) with charming visuals and a deep strategic current running through it, Age of Booty: Tactics is a likely port of call for your iOS device." · iOSnoops, "Our verdict: Great!" · AppsMeNow, "A new, fun, addictive entertainment/board game for your smartphone and tablet..." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420463068428-V4P06GS1BBHFVZV1XHQK/ships.jpeg Product Development As fun of a game and project that it was to work upon, the challenges were numerous. Since this was Certain Affinity’s first foray into the mobile space, as well as self-publishing a game, the investment to promote this product was extremely modest. As I heard many times on the project, “Just make something out of nothing.” OK then, let’s do this. Here is what I made out of nothing: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420462401537-JH0QQ3PEQ6OM4EM10AA3/image-asset.png Product Development As I mentioned above, “the slap” became so popular that we worked it into Jack’s character in the game. The release of Jack’s character saw the best conversion rate of installs to monetization for the game. In addition to releasing a new Rooster Teeth Captain pack every other week for 12 weeks, to keep the game on the radar and the audience engaged—leading up to each Captain release, we put the Captain’s name up for a vote on roosterteeth.com. Each of these periods for character naming averaged 10,000 votes and pages upon pages of comments. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421669131554-GLGAHR93V5JZIBHJI3LB/image-asset.png Product Development As stated above, with thousands of games launching each week on the app store, the mobile game space is extremely cluttered. It is a true challenge to break through that noise and be recognized on the store, but the same could be said with the mobile games’ press. But we needed to extend our reach, so to get the press' attention we made pirate-themed press kits—treasure chests!—and sent them out. While I would have liked a better conversion rate on the press picking up the story, having major gaming publication Joystiq’s content editor—Alexander Sliwinski— spend a half hour opening the chest on Joystiq's Twitch.tv livestream (pic above) was good, low-cost exposure for the game. Cult of Mac and 148apps also picked up the story from the chest mailers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1422733613211-58BMEE833IMOSF2NOZUM/image-asset.png Product Development From Halo creator, Alex Seropian, comes the premier, first-person shooter designed exclusively for mobile—Midnight Star. Industrial Toys reached out to me to work on the games UI/UX. It was great to work with one of the biggest auteur’s in gaming as well to tackle such an interesting challenge—making all of these systems and feature-set of a AAA-console game work together seamlessly and elegantly on mobile devices. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1414497022086-NVOLR9Y28ECYHPU2DO5M/image-asset.jpeg Product Development In addition to getting the UI/UX to flow intuitively for all of the systems “surrounding the game” (inventory systems, skill progression upgrades, asynchronous multiplayer challenges, trophies that transfer between players, etc.), getting all of the realtime gameplay interactions and player feedback on a typical monitor would be an accomplishment. Getting it to work on a mobile device was a feat of UI/UX strength! OK, that’s a tad dramatic, but it was an interesting challenge to be sure. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411644588491-VACC5IX9N66ZGXL28UJZ/image-asset.jpeg Product Development While the challenge was formidable, the hard work on nights and weekends paid off. The UX flows well, the gameplay is intuitive, the UI elegant, and the public is excited to get their hands on the game. "A hugely ambitious project, Midnight Star is a first person shooter designed specifically for touchscreens. Created by big name talents who have spent time at Bungie, Marvel, and DC, it boasts a distinctive universe and art style, and encompasses not just games but graphic novels too. It's been in soft-launch for a while as Industrial Toys continues to tweak and adapt the gameplay, and already has come to the attention of Pocket Gamer, AppSpy, and 148Apps." —pocketgamer.biz https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420921521928-A7SMWO37GCFJ8I3QR9EF/image-asset.png Product Development When the mode work was over, I was wrapping up some of my 2D art responsibilities for the game and transitioning to my role as Senior Brand Manager. I guess that I got started on my new role before my last one was over (pssst. That's the Certain Affinity logo). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420219281470-TRDK529K2LBTBFZWPUHQ/image-asset.png Product Development After working on Crimson Alliance, I got a chance to cross something off of my bucket list—be a part of the Halo development team! I worked on Halo 4 as a UI/UX designer and 2D artist for two of the new game modes—Dominion and Extraction. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420464368996-JD50OEGJHD2E08YS2TCP/ships.jpeg Product Development Dominion was an instant fan-favorite as a game mode and learning how to create and alter Dominion in Forge is still one of Certain Affinity’s most successful YouTube tutorials. “A sexy sandwich of chaos and calculation” —totalxbox.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420471155715-TIJ1NP5KI6D06M757XWO/image-asset.png Product Development n addition to elegant in-game UI systems, I also needed to design the games front end UI as well as all the 4-player co-op matchmaking screens and systems to ensure a healthy multiplayer community. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420470371790-C0QH5ZW4B68LXFDBZQ1D/CrimsonAllianceWorldMappng Product Development If you can't chart your progress through something in a meaningful way, then chances are you will quit. Therefore, another mission that I had for the game was to build a system that communicated how far, and how well, the person had progressed through the game . https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420500643720-4QMVX1W3Y66Y5RHWLQHU/CrimsonAllianceVengeance.jpg Product Development After Crimson Alliance's launch, the fans wanted more. The challenge in designing DLC was to create a unique Crimson Alliance experience without the ability to add much in terms of new game mechanics and assets due to technical restrictions. So what did we give them? LAVA and lots of it. The fans got their, "VENGEANCE," a DLC set in all new levels, one of them titled, "Inferno." My concept for Inferno provided an experience that hadn't been given to players yet in Crimson Alliance, an omnipresent environmental threat (the lava) rising all round them as the players needed to fight their way up and out of the dungeon while being slowed down all-the-way by enemies. That's hot. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420471090618-1OJD0UHC9FQBIKUPUYBH/image-asset.png Product Development In addition to designing Crimson Alliance's UX and UI systems, I also wrote all tutorial copy and handled the localization process for every last word in the game. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421760156484-LKY6URX7Q0HAXQ8LFEKP/Penny.Arcade.Crimson.Alliance-600x300.jpg Product Development Lastly, our in-game microtransactions in a console game (first ever on Xbox) made it on to the radar of the good folks at Penny Arcade. The comic does poke a little fun at it, but the supporting article applauded the choice that it afforded the user: old fashioned elbow grease vs. time-saving, efficient perks. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420470887850-YUEMSP6UHQ098QLJ6AMU/CrimsonAllianceInventory.png Product Development How do you communicate to 4 different players, each potentially in a different language, while they are intently focused upon smiting enemies and do not want to be bothered with trivial information like their gold count, multiplier, inventory, and... I know there is something I am forgetting... oh yeah--HEALTH!!!? The answer is that you put the player first and design the system very carefully and thoughtfully. The player wants to know these things, but the challenge was to not interrupt their experience while they are saving the world. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420461208614-MA39UX2LINRNRQX0RS84/image-asset.png Product Development Set in the mystical world of the Crimson Empire, Crimson Alliance is an action-RPG game released on the XBox LIVE Arcade platform and published by Microsoft Game Studios. Choose to play as the powerful wizard, the battle-hardened mercenary, or as the mysterious assassin. Play Crimson Alliance solo or cooperatively with up to 4 players on the same console or over Xbox LIVE. • 1Up's Top 10 Sleepers of E3 2011 • Game Informer: Best of E3 Nominee https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420466417812-M8V5UPAXHNAE8HFCZMNO/image-asset.png Product Development Working on the design team, it was one of my many missions to grab the players' attention right out of the gates as the loading, starting, and main menu screens would be the first part of players' experience. On top of that, the characters in Crimson Alliance are strangers with different backgrounds traveling to three different, disparate locales. With so many different looks and themes colliding, it was one of my responsibilities to give the game a brand that united all of these differences. I accomplished this by creating a "Rome is Burning!" look and feel that ties in the game's narrative beginning, and is permeated throughout the elements that populate and package the game. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420484715918-4Q8VZ6F3OV925AE0AZOY/image-asset.png Product Development If you are creative you have a lot of, "What if?" moments. That is exactly how The Continuum started. What if we were to take miniature's gameplay, combine it with the development system of an RPG, facilitate multiplayer internet gaming to get a game in whenever you want to play, make the game free to play, and create a digital goods economy for gamers who wanted buy, trade, and/or create epic scale battles? "...THE CONTINUUM is anything but traditional, as it combines the worlds of both strategy video games and table-top RPGs to provide an experience that truly is one of a kind." -grrlgamer.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420478695204-21EADGP0F75T4JOHBV86/image-asset.png Product Development The Continuum has the depth of the Marianas Trench. There are so many different things to see, do, and digest. My task was to keep that depth while making it as simple to use as an iPhone*. "If I had to describe it in one word, it would be DEEP... for something so complicated, it is remarkably intuitive and easy to navigate....The lobby for finding matches is very well designed....The combat process and resolution is, like much else in the game, intuitive. This really takes the edge off the complexity when put into practice." -Multiplayer Online Games Directory *Apologies to all out there that find using an iPhone difficult. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420484091015-50Y9DD0M0T1WK9ICW763/tc_content3.jpg Product Development The Continuum team was comprised of 8 individuals working on different aspects of the experience. As Chief Creative Officer, it was my charge to create, oversee, and maintain consistent art, copy, audio, and code throughout the game, site, comics, merchandise and music (below). Continuum Soundtrack Disruption (Continuum Theme) War is Imminent A Measure of Stillness Shoulder to Shoulder, Face to Face Blood and Steel Beaten, Unbroken "I demoed the game... and man-oh-man, am I sold. This game is going to get me in a lot of trouble, I can tell." -popmatters.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420478281855-296ZZJM4R3LUV2I11KX8/image-asset.png Product Development To establish The Continuum's backstory, I wrote and art directed three full-length comic books (issue #1,#2, and #3) distributed at "The Four Best Days in Gaming—GenCon" as well as digitally at thecontinuum.com. The comic series became so popular that role-playing forums were created on thecontinuum.com to give the fans an environment to play out The Continuum's narrative in their own way. When the site came down in 2010, there were over 3,500 posts in the Role-playing forum. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421414429209-S5N1EG1QY74DE9QLE03L/image-asset.png Product Development Lastly, we needed a destination that ran parallel to the game for The Continuum's ecommerce store, a player's account management, news updates, leaderboards, forums, comics, etc. TheContinuum.com became the starting point for a player's continuum experience. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411647189429-TMPGUNW2028BYYAGABAH/image-asset.jpeg Product Development I was put in charge of the localization (LOC) process for Halo Waypoint. LOC is the act of translating and displaying text within the application into multiple languages dictated by user region or preference. This is a Herculean process of combing through pages and pages of code to make sure that every language is displaying properly, not breaking the design, and lastly is displaying the correct text in the correct place. As the global village gets smaller and smaller, this process will become a standard practice for almost any piece of content being produced. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411647088045-CNFVEAKN50KCVY65MWTX/image-asset.jpeg Product Development Halo has a deserved reputation for being one of the best-looking, most accessible franchises of all time. Working on the User Experience and Visual Design for a Halo project was a dream come true and an experience I’ll never forget. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411647130792-00P2HAZJBXUP2P5M5EV9/image-asset.jpeg Product Development If you haven't enlisted in Waypoint yet, your Halo experience is not complete. I had the extremely fun task of developing a new meta-challenge for Halo gamers with the Waypoint Career system. The Career system charts a player's in-game accomplishments across multiple Halo games to unify the franchise, reward, and incentivize players for “comprehensive” Halo play. In addition to the Career meta-game, new Halo-branded Avatar gear (see above) was made available to players via unlocks for completing different Halo Waypoint challenges. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411647233760-W4UXTVMGS94HXTDGF9FE/image-asset.jpeg Product Development After designing Halo Waypoint's meta-game, the Career system, I then had to provide information about them within the "About Halo Waypoint" and "About Career" sections as well as write copy for all of Waypoint's dialogue windows. Now millions of players in the Halo universe have nearly every question imaginable answered about their favorite franchise. Mission Accomplished. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1423318606923-97PUCZ2M1FY60OXRAGBN/image-asset.png Product Development Halo Waypoint is the definitive community destination on Xbox LIVE for Halo fans around the world. · 600K downloads the day of launch · Loaded and installed on every newly manufactured Xbox (post-launch) · Creation of new Halo Meta-Game to unify the different titles of the franchise https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411647537484-29M34M3RVKCFU7R8QGCS/image-asset.gif Product Development Corporate Bloodbath was developed under duress. The company was out of money and the game needed to be done as fast as possible. To make sure we could get it done before the team scattered, hard choices had to be made to balance out staying true to the game's concept and realistically getting the game done. It was my job as creative lead to make choices ensuring that this balance was kept. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411647657100-9ZNY431ASR0186HNNEAH/image-asset.gif Product Development Corporate Bloodbath was designed to be accessible to a mass audience, to be ported to mobile handsets, to be played in 2-3 minutes, and then to be played again, and again, and again, and... you get my drift. It's "fighting system" is a take on rock, paper, scissors where players use different brains, charm, and stones tactics to lower one of their opponents stats to zero. As you knock opponents out, you earn money to buy things like an MBA at the store and rise up the corporate ladder. If you are ever in a bind you can always compromise your integrity (a score multiplier) to get additional tactics. Each career path has a certain amount of steps to retirement. When the game turns expire the game ends. Your job position combined with your integrity determines your score. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411647759169-UAO28ESJG6OSO0JH7UDG/image-asset.jpeg Product Development My partners were frantically working the phones to Silicon Valley for Venture Capital money to keep our company afloat. Our team was reading the writing on the wall and starting to check out mentally. I had to twist, sing, dance and in general use a lot of self-deprecation to keep motivation up and focus on finishing the game. To my partners' credit they gave everything they had and fought the good fight to the end, but unfortunately could not secure funding in the worst economic climate since the Great Depression (VC funding was down 80% compared to the previous year). To the team's credit, they finished like they started--strong--and a solid game was launched. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411647622316-7037WGCI856BUYJ6YHT4/image-asset.gif Product Development The development of the aesthetic and feel of Corporate Bloodbath was inspired by noticing the doodles made by myself and co-workers sitting through what seemed like a billion meetings and conference calls. Some of the doodles were pretty harmless. A flower, a rainbow, or the Bat signal whereas others were of the more gallows humor sort-- the client pulling out the still beating heart of the drawer a la Temple of Doom, charts showing the inverse correlation of the drawer's job performance to their integrity, and the classic note shown to other co-workers of, "BORING!" True. A lot of the meetings were quite boring but the art created during these meetings was sheer genius. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411647475546-G91O5SBX7ZRNM71HFQFC/image-asset.gif Product Development "My strongly worded argument smashes your meeting request," was heard in the Seven Lights offices one day. The remark was followed by peanut gallery laughter. A duel of office-isms ensued. No one remembered what we were supposed to be meeting about because Corporate Bloodbath was born. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411647717745-G3FBK26Y0WVX9TC55PRA/image-asset.gif Product Development Similar to The Continuum, the ActionScript needed to develop this game in AS3 was a taller order than my flash scripting could handle, but all animations and asset creation for flash was my responsibility. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411647801244-9WOXCWXTBCSHCAHUZKTX/image-asset.gif Product Development Shakespeare I am not, but I did write everything you read for Corporate Bloodbath. I hope you like it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1573415839627-27Y459GXKA7NR33V7ERX/NoizLogo.png Product Development I was fortunate to get connected to the Silicon Valley startup, NOIZ, during 2018 while they were in the early stages of developing their business model. Being fluent in marketing, product design, and game development, I was able to help mature their business model as well as lead product and visual design, in addition to helping market the launch of the product. What is NOIZ? NOIZ creates experiences for passionate game streamers (Twitch.tv, Google Games, Mixr) to play the games that they are passionate about—before the games release—and EARN MONEY while doing it. Conversely, NOIZ also creates teaser marketing and influencer campaigns for game developers/publishers targeted at the passionate video game playing and streaming audiences. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1573418293446-RFXW00ERHVB8X843BBZG/NoizGamesList.png Product Development Upon launching, the NOIZ platform has risen in prominence in gaming world to attract industry gold standards like the Call of Duty and WarHammer franchises to their platform. LET’S MAKE SOME NOIZ! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1573418450805-XR2WN87OHH3N1NT89TGT/NoizQuestSystem.png Product Development https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1573418884075-3VHJ5KJE4599F3B7R2NU/NoizCardLogo.png Product Development https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421758987620-DOUYU6VXBU8NU8YDNFXV/AobThumbnail.jpg Product Development https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1412161724907-4I6QO5ASN4SA1W0KU1NS/CrimsonAllianceSubnav.png Product Development https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1412163366828-5GZ6C7469I557ALZSL5L/halo4dominion-2.jpg Product Development https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1412246402200-QJD1Z8Y9SPJ00O91B9ZO/ContinuumSubNav.png Product Development https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1412246892571-11WBPEQYVOTHCXM2X6YZ/HaloWaypointSubNav.png Product Development https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1412248694837-2ZWQXUYI55Z97A7HS49N/CorporateBloodbathSubNav.png Product Development https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1414497775963-VN3D60C4O0NIWFQWNQDC/MidnightStarSubnav.png Product Development http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/photographs daily 0.75 2018-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1516296981921-H2TT81NPPP4S7E9BO7FF/CarouselRWS02.png Main Page Carousel https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1516296981921-H2TT81NPPP4S7E9BO7FF/CarouselRWS02.png Main Page Carousel https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1474227369466-NNKLU7DNKPGG8B9684UL/CarouselBlueMoon.png Main Page Carousel https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1474230907496-FZJIIGMCK27874OJRYF1/GushersCarousel.png Main Page Carousel https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421002700334-VSUI3KMY4XE5B5UFARN0/CorouselUnicef.png Main Page Carousel - Unicef Tap Project The UNICEF Tap Project is a nationwide campaign that provides clean water and adequate sanitation to children around the world. Currently, UNICEF works in more than 100 countries around the world to improve access to safe water and sanitation facilities in schools and communities and to promote safe hygiene practices. Projects include urgent care in the Philippines where UNICEF so far has provided water kits, water treatment products, portable toilets, and hygiene kits to hundreds of thousands of people in need. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421002614179-6FXRAW3DI6GTEMJ3J8B4/CorouselAgeofBooty.png Main Page Carousel - Age of Booty: Tactics Age of Booty: Tactics invites you to a world where the cannon balls fly, the rum flows, and swashbuckling Pirates on the high(-larious) seas engage in light-hearted battle for the world’s most coveted booty. The highly accessible, turn-based gameplay is easy to pick up but impossible to put down, and a true challenge to master. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421002787839-ZOVHEP75MQ9VH67MIBN5/CorouselCadillacVSeries.png Main Page Carousel - The Cadillac V-Series Collection | Cadillac Elite Program While I was the Creative Director at Play, Cadillac approached us to address their brand perception issues they had with males 18-34. To that demographic, Cadillac meant their grandparent's old boat that got gallons to the mile and looked more like a hearse than a cool car. Solution: Make the Cadillac's V-Series cars (0-50 in under 5) free downloadable content for the XBox 360's premier racing game, Project Gotham Racing 3, to go head-to-head with the best cars on the planet. Then create a competition for gamers using the cars to get exclusive badges distinguishing themselves from other gamers. DOWNLOAD, RACE, WIN https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421002822044-V607N3HQ1S87PVAHELLK/CorouselPVNFF4.png Main Page Carousel - Pontiac Virtual NCAA® Final 4® As Creative Director at Play we created the first ever virtual/actual event of it's kind, The Pontiac Virtual NCAA Final 4 (PVNF4). Including qualifying rounds, the PVNF4 had over 10,000 games played, 2,048 qualifiers, and was 70% accurate in determining real-world game outcomes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421002867803-EZYE4EMSSS0NXUA0WMRT/CorouselGoArmy.png Main Page Carousel - U.S. Army While Senior Art Director at chemistri (now Arc World Wide), my concepts and strategy for the Army's new digital presence landed me the role of lead designer for the re-branded “AN ARMY OF ONE” goarmy.com site as well as creative lead for all online advertising from 2000-03. http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/brandindex daily 0.75 2022-12-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420041626114-UPF51BMCAU3AYX7DT7R4/UnicefLogo08.png Brands The UNICEF Tap Project is a nationwide campaign that provides clean water and adequate sanitation to children around the world. Currently, UNICEF works in more than 100 countries around the world to improve access to safe water and sanitation facilities in schools and communities and to promote safe hygiene practices. The agency behind the Unicef Tap Project, Droga 5 (Ad Age’s 2014 Agency of the Year), developed a concept that challenged people to go without something thought to be vital, the all-powerful smartphone, as a way to educate them about the problem as well as give them a way to contribute to the solution. The concept and strategy were sound, but being fluent in brands, product development, and games—they contacted me to assist this all-important project. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411835713769-ASDSD43EM7N77554M707/UnicefScreens01.png Brands ...while the concept was creative, the visual design solid, and the intent of the app appealed to a user's good will; the app was having difficulty holding users' interest and it was definitely not compelling enough to retain users for repeat sessions. It was something that you could easily start but just as easily forget about in our very fragmented world. That was a problem. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411836533916-JW3DYI2GKFDWB3BCQXIE/UnicefScreens02.png Brands The main issue was that in it's current state the game was merely an endurance test without any feedback about progress towards the goal, no fanfare for achieving certain milestones, and no charting of your progress against other people taking the challenge. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420496308485-WQRZPFSKP53BQ9ADVIKL/image-asset.png Brands The results (above) speak for themselves. It was a pleasure working with Droga5 on this project and extremely rewarding to help children in need. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411836578982-C29J5WTTM55UW6NOKPBW/UnicefScreens02.png Brands OK, then. Let's do this! To address the issues we added: · More fanfare to reinforce to the user the good that they were doing · A daily goal to strive towards · A "Local Roll Call" and "Best State" status communicating how many others in their state were participating at the time. · This also was a way for users to recruit their fellow statesman to start contributing to their state's success · A solid summary letting the user know the good that they have done with a call to action to get more involved https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420041894831-G1KL27ISYXJIN91ZXX63/CaddyLogo09.png Brands While I was the Creative Director at Play (a division of Denuo which was then absorbed by Razorfish) , Cadillac approached us to address their brand perception issues they had with males 18-34. To that demographic, Cadillac meant their grandparent's old boat that got gallons to the mile and looked more like a hearse than a cool car. Solution: DOWNLOAD, RACE, WIN. Make the Cadillac's V-Series cars (0-50 in under 5) free downloadable content for the XBox 360's premier racing game, Project Gotham Racing 3, to go head-to-head with the best cars on the planet. Then create a competition for gamers using the cars to get exclusive badges distinguishing themselves from other gamers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1414960348773-9IR24ZAT7EWOQDB8VY35/CaddyPrintAd03jpg Brands Nobody reads anymore, but when they actually do, it needs to be on point. All copy on this project? This guy. DOWNLOAD. RACE. WIN. EXPERIENCE VEHICULAR EUPHORIA THE CARS ARE VIRTUAL, THE RUSH IS REAL 3 DIFFERENT SERVINGS OF AUTOMOTIVE ADRENALINE 'nuff said. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411851905083-FZWF19NLCCNT5VO7HSYV/CaddyXboxBladeMarketplace.jpg Brands So what was the competition that I was referring to? Glad you asked. It was called CADILLAC ELITE. Use any of the three V-Series Collection cars on the Nurburgring race track and get a top 100 time to become one of the prestigious few Cadillac Elite players. When a gamer attained this, they were presented with a pop-up alerting them to this achievement as well as an exclusive Cadillac gamerrpic—social currency for this competitive environment. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1422730168202-36L6DXHCB0QFPV5QAZMJ/CaddyCustomPaintJob.jpg Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1419100219901-6K8X87BE583Z4JWQ3BRT/goarmy_content1b.jpg Brands · 2001 Cannes Bronze Cyber Lion · One Show: Best of the Digital Decade Nominee · One Show Interactive Silver Pencil · Comm Arts Site of the Week · Effie Award Winner · Best and most efficient source of recruitment (75% increase in online leads) · 40K Unique Users/Day Average (130% increase in site traffic) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420041663028-RAFBA7E7HZL5SYI35BJ7/image-asset.png Brands While Senior Art Director at chemistri (now Arc World Wide), my concepts and strategy for the Army's new digital presence landed me the role of lead designer for the re-branded “AN ARMY OF ONE” goarmy.com site as well as creative lead for all online advertising from 2000-03. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1415015214417-NUMV1UE7YAB1T2ZWO76C/image-asset.png Brands Strangely enough, the biggest impediment to joining the Army for the target market at the time was the unknown and fearing loss of identity. To the target market the Army was a black box that if they ventured into would make them a mindless automaton. This was a big misconception. So then, how about we clear it up? Put the Soldiers up front and center. Have them tell all of their stories. Prior to joining, through Basic Training, their day-to-day life, and the positive ways that the Army impacted their lives as well as how they have been able to be a positive influence on the lives' of others. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1415017367362-41H3CRH1HRLX0ROG9AMG/sf_alphateam2.png Brands After establishing goarmy.com, I created specialized sites for more targeted missions, most notably—The Special Forces aka The Green Berets. I led a team to help the Green Berets achieve their recruiting goals by creating a site that educated potential recruits, stood up to their high standards, and faithfully told of their legend. The site included faux video transmissions from the field, Easter egg military map symbols and terms, schematics of SF gear, and a breakdown of each member of an SF Alpha-detachment team. The Army used the site as a model for all specialized sites going forward. More importantly to me though--the Green Beret's liked it and thought it accomplished the goal of accurately depicting who they are and what they do. HOOAH! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1419285920699-C2BXHIQJ524Z180R8BB1/GoarmyDomino.png Brands When the sites were done, it was time to start driving traffic via online media. Remember now, this is 2000-03, online video was not making it's way into online advertising yet and placements were of the 12-25K variety versus today's placements. With this unavoidable technical constraint, I moved the Army in a direction that used this restriction to make an aesthetic choice. This approach emphasized style, employing a more retro 2-color look, with rotoscoped, vectorized animations. It worked. The traffic came in droves (40K unique users/day). The ads performed (one had a 20% CTR!), and the approach netted me a One Show Interactive Silver Pencil. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411470764941-B7TSMWP0J5BBS4XJ8LTJ/image-asset.jpeg Brands In addition to designing the Army's websites, it was my responsibility to translate the brand to the digital space and create a set of standards for all of the Army's digital communications. During that time, I also got the opportunity to go on location and direct a number of photo and video shoots. These ranged from one-on-one interviews with a Soldier to coordinating with a platoon-sized force for still shots. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411991274411-3MI13FKBHKYX6MZPZ4HA/PontiacWallpaper.png Brands If you love March Madness, the first few days are non-stop hoops bliss. As the tournament wears on, the gaps between games gets longer and longer and the melodramatic human-interest pieces on TV get sappier and sappier. Pontiac approached us to come up with a way to leverage their NCAA sponsorship, help them become more relevant to a younger demographic, and come up with a new "institution" for the NCAA Tournament. The concept we came up with was to, “Live the Tournament.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420045163615-HRH4NY6RWFDMQMNSOB9J/PVNF4Logo.png Brands As Creative Director at Play we created the first ever virtual/actual event of its kind, The Pontiac Virtual NCAA Final 4 (PVNF4). Including qualifying rounds, the PVNF4 had over 235,000 games played on PlayStation and Xbox consoles, with 6,300 qualifiers, and was 70% accurate in determining real-world game outcomes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411993671019-QQBW7OLQV353DMSA7I4K/image-asset.jpeg Brands I had the pleasure of working with 2K Sports to create the User Experience and flow of the PVNF4. The toughest part of the whole process—explaining how online consoles worked to the folks at GM. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1412076005484-9YYWOZHZX2OLWS58LA15/PontiacPrintAd.png Brands Every single word about the PVNF4 that was in TV, print, online, or out of Greg Gumbel's pie hole—all me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411993818263-A3D5XOVYRJ4I93YAQRD4/studio_pontiac_02.jpg Brands The PVNF4 followed every game of the tournament. Every participant got one “slot” in each of the four regions of the tournament. The slot was determined by pre-tournament qualifications and team preferences. If you won a game, then you had an active slot in the next round of the tournament. A new team was assigned to each round to mirror the events of the real-world tourney. This mirroring provided Pontiac, who then provided it to Hoops fans, with 70%-accurate predictor data as gamers were “Living the Tournament.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411557274645-G08U5H87KPAK6Q87T1A2/image-asset.jpeg Brands The PVNF4 culminated with the top four gamers being flown in to play out the Final 4 match-ups in front of a roaring crowd the night before the actual event was to take place. The coordination between the NCAA, 2K Sports, CBS, GM, Jack Morton Associates, Leo Burnett Detroit, Digitas and the good people at Hoop City took diplomatic skills not seen since the signing of the Treaty of Versailles... thats a tad melodramatic but you get my drift. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421174263192-GOPTHROZ7UCX0QWEDPAU/image-asset.png Brands I acted as a creative consultant for the development of a new IP partnership between DC Comics and GM—Rush City—a six-issue comic book limited series intended to be the brand's next Smokey and the Bandit or Knight Rider. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1412079087418-KB5W8DUQYLLGOT3YCP4M/image-asset.png Brands The real trick of this project was managing the client’s inner desire to be a comic mogul. He was great at his job, but Stan Lee he was not. Thus, getting all parties to play to their strengths was a daily guiding principal on this project. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1412076687833-3NM1WIDE73LM38SJTVGR/pontiac_content2b.jpg Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421153410008-M2PHH1KREC8YV26H4111/image-asset.png Brands The RTX event definitely helped our exposure, but we needed more scale and the game's launch provide another beat to get our name out there. To do this, we worked with a PR firm that I had used in the past to secure interviews about Certain Affinity to major publications (Gameindustry.biz, Polygon, and IGN to name a few). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420045659807-2U4714H5WLWPDG41GP2C/HaloLogo.png Brands Working to promote one of the biggest and most revered IP’s on the planet—one that I personally loved as well as worked to develop in Halo 4—was a dream come true. With its multibillion-dollar value and legions of adoring fans, helping to promote a new Halo game by a new studio had to be done just right. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421237296454-5AQA4O1YEH0MNAIYGEU9/CAImage01.png Brands While working as a UI designer on Crimson Alliance and Halo Waypoint, I continually lobbied about the need for a brand re-boot, then a website overhaul, and lastly a sizzle reel. When Halo 4 wrapped, I got the opportunity. While the results are far from the best work of my career, the work done moved the company light years from what they had been doing. It wasn’t rocket surgery. Create a brand built around the white-hot passion of the game development team, overhaul the website to showcase some the the amazing work that the company had done, and then finally put the brand and work showcase in front of people. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1412597404079-WSCNHRRX57897QC8RA2Q/image-asset.png Brands The AAA-game development business has a lot of ebb and flow periods of communication. As a game gets close to release, there is a frenzy of communication about it to engage fans. However, for large blocks of time while a game is in development, all external communication about it is under embargo. During those long communication draughts, my strategy to keep fans engaged with Certain Affinity was based around industry thought leadership (panels/speaking engagements) and social media interaction. One of the staples of our interaction has been a weekly contest designed to keep fans engaged with the company that is, “Kicking Ass and Making Games.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1420048144020-2T7VI3P3Z2L2MNOYHXJR/image-asset.png Brands When I got to Certain Affinity, the world-class potential of the company was clear. After all, they played key roles in developing some of the biggest names in gaming. Halo, Call of Duty, Left 4 Dead? All huge titles, and the work that Certain Affinity did upon them was stellar. Certain Affinity didn’t have a product problem. Everyone loved their product. The problem that they had was that no one knew it was their product. In addition to the recognition problem, saying that their “brand” left a lot to be desired was a huge understatement. There were two different logos—no, not a logo and an alt, but rather two separate logos that didn’t resemble each other at all. To add to that, both logos violated almost every principle of good logo design. In addition to that, the website was a glorified job board that didn’t showcase any of their amazing work. All of the beautiful HD video footage and screenshots from these games? Posted almost everywhere on the Internet except on certainaffinity.com. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421237330789-JUFP9B9N5HXCXA6CBCKC/image-asset.png Brands Although Certain Affinity did have some fans, the company had no way to message or interact with them. They had no social media presence at all. But isn’t 1/7th of the world on Facebook? Yes. Yes they are. Through contests, posting of game content, thought leadership, and good old-fashioned interaction—Certain Affinity now boasts 16,000+ likes, 4,000+ twitter followers, and 4,100+ YouTube subscribers. All of those numbers are meaningless unless you are doing something with that community though…. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1573414434255-T14YM07I2836RFAQCG6M/13388623_295747427432879_1201738669_n.jpg Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1573414114587-WD3GQQK2HXQL0C0XQ541/14156393_1057032854393535_28752246_n.jpg Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1573414113690-SIAHSA0ZQDV351AZ3SVV/15337325_349843905398831_7246443498684022784_n.jpg Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1573414113074-1SDB807PAWAEHK4XJR85/15535371_1010072495805765_2155123406977105920_n-1.jpg Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1573414112718-B5TGXBGBGUWBYN80Y0TK/16584018_1824912087775594_901845477488590848_n.jpg Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1573414114815-RQ092JIV3KNUYCHEPCDP/13437297_870741639722334_1880637191_n.jpg Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1474214580812-HMXSUX9L29PYL82VDIVT/image-asset.jpeg Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1474213935289-M2ETZ46EF2HT0YU01NOB/UnicefScreens01.png Brands To "break the news" to their current drinkers, we started seeding sketches and in-process videos (see Instagram video below) of different design work that led to the finished design. This look behind the current reveal also aligns with the brand's experimental and creative spirit. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1474213639126-AE1DYZ9JXYM0S9EOS0P7/image-asset.png Brands BLUE MOON BREWING COMPANY has been credited with starting the craft beer movement in the 90’s. But even with a solid fan base and after 20 years of sustained growth, it was time for a new look. While everyone loved the new look internally, it was our task to introduce it to the social world. We needed to ensure current drinkers that the same beer that they know and love wasn’t changing as well as to reach out to new drinkers and give them a reason to try this flavorful beer. In just three months prior to the launch of paid support or ATL activity in the market, we were able to significantly grow Blue Moon’s reach, awareness and virality: • Facebook: Achieved organic reach 200% higher than 2015 average • Instagram: Increased engagement per post by over 90% compared to 2015 average • Twitter: Grew engagement rate by nearly 40% over 2015 average • Best social ROI of any brand at MillerCoors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1474225747868-INSGMW38WO2N3HN91O70/CaddyXboxBladeMarketplace.jpg Brands Next up? Snapchat! Coinciding with the start of the school year, we created a Fortune Teller concept leveraging influencer talent. The influencer announced on their channels that they would be live on Snapchat's channel reading "Gusher Fortunes." Here is how it worked: • Users snapped a handful of their pack to the Gusher's channel • Influencer "read" their Gusher formation and Snapped back a response to the user Did Fortune Teller resonate with the target? We couldn't keep up with the demand, receiving Snaps in the 8-figures during each Fortune Teller hour. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1474226043778-U7FVOQUWC4A1TSI6H8WI/CaddyLogo09.png Brands GUSHERS! The explosive fruit snack of the 90’s wanted back in the game and tapped us to make that happen. While Gushers had a fun brand, they had absolutely no social presence and it was up to us to solve that. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1474222433909-FNJKYFXWCQABTG6AO7O5/image-asset.png Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1516635678578-M31RIXBQ9NV9NMK52HAN/RWStories.png Brands MINING GOLD? In 2016, I had developed a campaign and content hub for Red Wing asking workers how, despite difficulties and differences on the worksite, that they kept America Working and to submit a picture of their boots “on the job.” We got some great shots of workers’ boots climbing dizzying heights and trudging through hellacious muck, and, that was good. However, we also got epic, heartfelt tomes of grit, harrowing stories of near death and dismemberment, and most of all, a common theme of working through adversity every day to provide for family. Through it all, their Red Wings helped them get the job done right, and, were not viewed as just another tool but as more of a trusted partner. For some, over many years, their boots had become a part of them. Reading accounts of workers, "retiring" a pair of boots after many years of service was as if they were giving a speech at a good friend's wake. I'm not doing it justice. You just have to read them. More importantly, Millennial tradesmen needed to have this wisdom passed down to them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1516555299229-8PCBSFW2WFSIJZRSB7TA/RWSLogo.png Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1516556584588-3HQW9OYDCN22O14FIROI/DanaBoots.png Brands OK, so Red Wing owned countless stories of experienced tradesman who had been through hell and back in their boots and how their boots helped them get the job done every day? They did. And, young and inexperienced workers new to the trades needed guidance, experience and advice? Yes, they definitely needed it, but more importantly they wanted it but were unsure how to get it. AND! HERE IS THE THING—UNCERTAINTY CRAVES AUTHENTICITY ("The highest value on the Millennial scorecard is authenticity" —The Boston Globe). And there is nothing more authentic than the accounts from real, experienced workers and the stories that their boots can tell. With all of that as a foundation, I developed a concept to venerate and distribute the stories that we had on hand, as well as to collect and preserve new stories, in a monument dedicated to the American worker—THE RED WING WALL of HONOR. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1516560010784-DBGM7OIUY7JPL0Q91QVI/RWSMedia.png Brands The first year of the campaign (given its success, Red Wing has indicated that this is something that they intend to make a yearly part of their company) will culminate in an "inaugural class" of thirty-three men and women's epic stories and boots to be venerated at Red Wing’s flagship store on the Red Wing Wall of Honor, as well as have a digital wall for global distribution via the web. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1474214754923-7Z2OVG95Q1MIN0WKDGJC/BlueMoonBrandSubnav.png Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1474220985587-S6VKWLN01IE5Q3DIVILG/GushersBrandSubnav.png Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1516308936119-MFFS19DLP4D2YSTCBYRK/RWSBrandSubnav02.png Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411231616620-QY5DR676UDHAL55H36LE/CaddyMainPageImage.jpg Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1411557487090-COKF4KDT6SJH7FRO9C4O/PontiacVideoThumb.png Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1412160089832-AUZDQ9EOUAS9M374QS3M/PontiacRushCitySubnav.png Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1412161026828-W4WZXZTH9743COV3EZSB/HaloBrandSubnav.png Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1413648185857-NQQNRQE84D86BFZAFUWL/CAImage01.png Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1413657689927-8G6O64WK30OEDVZY9E3A/UnicefVideoThumb.png Brands https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1413889917171-WW6Q6RRNT0V60TK809B1/goarmy_content1b.jpg Brands http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/blog-montauk daily 0.75 2025-05-12 http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/blog-montauk/2012/6/11/latest-article-9whcy monthly 0.5 2014-03-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1349717091828-N3MQEWVPQ98083DLA721/ships.jpg Blog - Latest Article http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/blog-montauk/2012/6/11/commodo-condimentum-6gmc9 monthly 0.5 2012-10-07 http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/blog-montauk/2012/6/11/tellus-bibendum-tortor-2ynfh monthly 0.5 2012-10-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1350072189990-VDIBBLKEGENHWO6OAI1C/1349722490596.jpeg Blog - Tellus Bibendum Tortor http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/blog-montauk/category/Press monthly 0.5 http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/welcome daily 0.75 2014-08-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1409428604218-AZCUBL5WHW12KC9URI0Q/aob.png Overview http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/home daily 1.0 2020-11-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1474211816342-MOIH0ICZWJ3Q1AIHUR1N/BrandsGrid Homepage https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1516296981921-H2TT81NPPP4S7E9BO7FF/CarouselRWS02.png Homepage https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1474227369466-NNKLU7DNKPGG8B9684UL/CarouselBlueMoon.png Homepage https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1474230907496-FZJIIGMCK27874OJRYF1/GushersCarousel.png Homepage https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421002700334-VSUI3KMY4XE5B5UFARN0/CorouselUnicef.png Homepage - Unicef Tap Project The UNICEF Tap Project is a nationwide campaign that provides clean water and adequate sanitation to children around the world. Currently, UNICEF works in more than 100 countries around the world to improve access to safe water and sanitation facilities in schools and communities and to promote safe hygiene practices. Projects include urgent care in the Philippines where UNICEF so far has provided water kits, water treatment products, portable toilets, and hygiene kits to hundreds of thousands of people in need. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421002614179-6FXRAW3DI6GTEMJ3J8B4/CorouselAgeofBooty.png Homepage - Age of Booty: Tactics Age of Booty: Tactics invites you to a world where the cannon balls fly, the rum flows, and swashbuckling Pirates on the high(-larious) seas engage in light-hearted battle for the world’s most coveted booty. The highly accessible, turn-based gameplay is easy to pick up but impossible to put down, and a true challenge to master. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421002787839-ZOVHEP75MQ9VH67MIBN5/CorouselCadillacVSeries.png Homepage - The Cadillac V-Series Collection | Cadillac Elite Program While I was the Creative Director at Play, Cadillac approached us to address their brand perception issues they had with males 18-34. To that demographic, Cadillac meant their grandparent's old boat that got gallons to the mile and looked more like a hearse than a cool car. Solution: Make the Cadillac's V-Series cars (0-50 in under 5) free downloadable content for the XBox 360's premier racing game, Project Gotham Racing 3, to go head-to-head with the best cars on the planet. Then create a competition for gamers using the cars to get exclusive badges distinguishing themselves from other gamers. DOWNLOAD, RACE, WIN https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421002822044-V607N3HQ1S87PVAHELLK/CorouselPVNFF4.png Homepage - Pontiac Virtual NCAA® Final 4® As Creative Director at Play we created the first ever virtual/actual event of it's kind, The Pontiac Virtual NCAA Final 4 (PVNF4). Including qualifying rounds, the PVNF4 had over 10,000 games played, 2,048 qualifiers, and was 70% accurate in determining real-world game outcomes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421002867803-EZYE4EMSSS0NXUA0WMRT/CorouselGoArmy.png Homepage - U.S. Army While Senior Art Director at chemistri (now Arc World Wide), my concepts and strategy for the Army's new digital presence landed me the role of lead designer for the re-branded “AN ARMY OF ONE” goarmy.com site as well as creative lead for all online advertising from 2000-03. http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/contact daily 0.75 2020-11-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1421845749957-K9IYTDQJHINP6G9T5J5H/image-asset.png Contact Me at the Cliffs of Moher, Liscannor Co. Clare Ireland. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1349817862394-TX3STM31V0TM7UILO6ID/1349812992530.png Contact - Transient http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/rw-old daily 0.75 2019-04-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1474219669644-SG84ZM0I1247MJ1HQ0S7/image-asset.png Red Wing Shoes Lastly, to highlight one of its most technologically advanced boots, we created a carousel ad to emphasize the unique product attributes of this hi-tech product. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1474219642303-FOTW2H91NMN127D8494U/image-asset.png Red Wing Shoes To leverage the user behavior occurring on social of users snapping pics of their work boots while on site, we created a Red Wing Content Hub to collect all of these Red Wing stories in one place and to encourage that users share their own. In addition to this UGC content, a podcast series was also created taking users deeper into the Red Wing experience. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1556549995282-LX5LTGRJZ7LFSF1GYJZN/EmailSegment.png Red Wing Shoes https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1474216213670-Z7F9LILIAGFCGDEAB0Z3/CaddyLogo09.png Red Wing Shoes https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1474418275012-5DY60XTBDCL1TP2A56F6/image-asset.png Red Wing Shoes Regardless of what side of the aisle you’re on, underlying the current presidential campaigns is an unprecedented frustration in our political climate and government’s inability to work together and get things done. In the “real world” we can’t miss deadlines or close down because we’re too busy arguing. In the “real world” people are working together every day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1516308936119-MFFS19DLP4D2YSTCBYRK/RWSBrandSubnav02.png Red Wing Shoes http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/certain-affinity-1 daily 0.75 2019-11-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1573419499311-X0N79GRZEGKHBKD5FI63/AffinityAnswersLogo.png Affinity Answers Brand look and feel. Marketing materials. Online campaigns. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1573419666797-Y91BG8JYNVGA0V86O9HO/LucidInfoGraphicAffinityAnswers.jpg Affinity Answers While working as a UI designer on Crimson Alliance and Halo Waypoint, I continually lobbied about the need for a brand re-boot, then a website overhaul, and lastly a sizzle reel. When Halo 4 wrapped, I got the opportunity. While the results are far from the best work of my career, the work done moved the company light years from what they had been doing. It wasn’t rocket surgery. Create a brand built around the white-hot passion of the game development team, overhaul the website to showcase some the the amazing work that the company had done, and then finally put the brand and work showcase in front of people. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1573419802235-5CJTE77OVKW3B1DB9LIG/LoyaltyBlogHeader-1.png Affinity Answers The AAA-game development business has a lot of ebb and flow periods of communication. As a game gets close to release, there is a frenzy of communication about it to engage fans. However, for large blocks of time while a game is in development, all external communication about it is under embargo. During those long communication draughts, my strategy to keep fans engaged with Certain Affinity was based around industry thought leadership (panels/speaking engagements) and social media interaction. One of the staples of our interaction has been a weekly contest designed to keep fans engaged with the company that is, “Kicking Ass and Making Games.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54020539e4b0a8b36827e0f1/1413648185857-NQQNRQE84D86BFZAFUWL/CAImage01.png Affinity Answers http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/read-me-montauk daily 0.75 2025-05-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1377096507573-1MU42OOOOGIM9URAJ9D9/515c4225e4b0afec1218b21e.png Read Me https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1377096775448-0L7B4Q54H1VLOGFF1DPR/synthetica+%2820130821%29.jpg Read Me https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1377097104716-HDI53XJVV0DKZ24A3T68/51e453dee4b06abd3403c22e.png Read Me http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/shop-montauk daily 0.75 2025-05-12 http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/shop-montauk/vintage-leather-flask-ptzr9 monthly 0.5 2014-06-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1360787059357-67ADGFDK579YA5H763QT/20411201000--ogr_leather_stainless_steel_flask_back.jpg Shop - Vintage Leather Flask http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/shop-montauk/vintage-wwii-swiss-army-knife-npnhd monthly 0.5 2014-06-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1360262463683-Q9OGOTW91CPOHX3I6LOD/vintage_knife_11.jpg Shop - Vintage WWII Swiss Army Knife http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/shop-montauk/vintage-style-straight-edge-blade-d2xzb monthly 0.5 2014-06-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1360787846017-GE5VQ9SSBZ36Z9T7DN5Q/il_fullxfull.367199470_2wp6.jpg Shop - Vintage Style Straight Edge Blade http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/shop-montauk/vintage-camera-strap-zn39j monthly 0.5 2014-06-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1360260156424-RIKCD2TI2MS3AK6N7D1O/pce123962.jpg Shop - Vintage Camera Strap http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/shop-montauk/antique-shaving-strap-8kpsf monthly 0.5 2014-06-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1360259589130-TSYRL0PSTDZIA32SSE46/il_fullxfull.201567943.jpg Shop - Antique Shaving Strap http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/shop-montauk/vintage-binoculars-w-case-s23rh monthly 0.5 2014-06-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1360259043118-8VSI4QCZU9IY91196UEO/il_fullxfull.294850337.jpg Shop - Vintage Binoculars w/ Case http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/shop-montauk/vintage-style-cigar-cutter-wcjad monthly 0.5 2014-06-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1360258722599-QQE2KNP9M7QO2GB3JIVU/CC-17SCISSOR-1200__87838_zoom.jpg Shop - Vintage Style Cigar Cutter http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/shop-montauk/vintage-aviator-sunglasses-ha662 monthly 0.5 2014-06-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1360258748783-NGCQJIG8Q903K5OIP0EJ/r10200-yellow.jpg Shop - Vintage Aviator Sunglasses http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/shop-montauk/vintage-pocket-watch-n85xt monthly 0.5 2014-06-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1360256962071-BJ8HOLMPQDMBC1CYLO8C/228101_10150255409177629_602582628_9098572_4007655_n.jpg Shop - Vintage Pocket Watch http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/shop-montauk/antique-tackle-box-gfj8b monthly 0.5 2014-06-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1360255527727-5VIH6LNU56HTTSOG4B6F/nfc_1620.jpg Shop - Antique Tackle Box http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/shop-montauk/vintage-fly-fishing-reel-c2dj8 monthly 0.5 2014-06-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1360256052338-S80CXFGH4ID326QK459Q/Vintage+fly+fishing+Bogdan+reel.jpg Shop - Vintage Fly Fishing Reel http://www.obi1mccarthy.com/shop-montauk/fishing-lure-n35wb monthly 0.5 2014-06-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1360255608311-GEVP4WBTTNW8TTQKPWKS/fishinglure-615530.jpeg Shop - Fishing Lure