March 2021 - June 2021

Daniel Tiger’s Nature Walk

Project Director, Designer

Client: PBS, Fred Rogers Company

Platform: Web, PBS Kids App

Team Size: 6 (remote)

Duration: 13 weeks

Link: PBS Kids Website

Overview

Walk with Dad Tiger to visit the Beach and the Woods

An image of Daniel Tiger walking on the beach with his dad. There are butterflies, a shell, and a piece of seaweed on the beach.
An image of Daniel Tiger walking in the woods with his dad. There is a branch, an anthill, and an acorn on the path.

Or walk with Mom Tiger to see the Bridge and the Enchanted Garden.

An image of Daniel Tiger walking across a bridge with his mom. There is a leaf on the brigde ahead of them.
An image of Daniel TIger and his mom in the Enchanted Garden. There is fruit on the trees, and two colorful birds play in a fountain nearby.

Responsibilities

As the Project Director and Designer for this game, I:

  • Worked closely with Fred Rogers Company and PBS to create an engaging, age-appropriate game that models spending time with family for young kids.

    • In particular, we developed the game during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, so we aimed to create a game that would be relevant regardless of the state of the pandemic when the game released.

  • Led a small team of artists, programmers, and a sound designer to create the game from concept through QA over the course of several months.

  • Collaborated with Fred Rogers Company to write the dialogue for the game, ensuring that it both served gameplay purposes and maintained the tone of the show.

  • Conducted extensive playtesting with our target age group to make sure the game was accessible and entertaining.

A flowchart expressing the possible paths through the game

Example Documentation

A screenshot of a flow chart showing which game steps occur at which in-game location, and in what order.

A diagram explaining how movement would work in the game

A screenshot titled "Explore Locations" with a diagram showing how the camera should follow Daniel and Dad Tiger as they move across a scene.

Storyboards I created to show how players would choose which parents to walk with

A screenshot titled "Choose Companion" showing sketched storyboards of the player selecting which parent to go on a walk with.

A diagram showing how many items should be in each area and where I would place them.

A slide titled "Item Density (Approx.)" showing Daniel and Dad Tiger in the woods with shapes to represent collectible and interactible items.

The spreadsheet I used to write and review dialogue with the client, as well as track its implementation status.

A screenshot of a spreadsheet with dialogue lines for Daniel and Mom Tiger