William Beacham
Design Director @Square Enix
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WORK HISTORY
Design Director @Square Enix
London, GB
DESIGN DIRECTOR at Square Enix External Studios responsible for the \'Life is Strange\',\'Just Cause\' and \'Outriders\' franchises.Working with internal senior leadership team to define studio strategy, manage multi-million-dollar development budgets, perform due diligence on potential partners & acquisition opportunities, and evangelize products to Square Enix leadership & platform holders. Managing relationships with creative & studio leads at external development studios. Guiding work on all aspects of game design, narrative, UX, worldbuilding & character design. Providing informed and actionable advice, constructive criticism, identifying and troubleshooting problems, project sizing and feature prioritization to fit within project timelines and budgets without sacrificing quality.Managing a specialist team of game & narrative design specialists to provide day-to-day support for Square Enix’s chosen 3rd party developers. PORTFOLIO-\'Life is Strange: Reunion\'(Deck Nine, 2026)- PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5-\'Life is Strange: Double Exposure\'(Deck Nine, 2024)- PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch-\'Outriders Worldslayer\'(People Can Fly, 2022)- PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Stadia-\'Life is Strange: True Colors\'(Deck Nine, 2021)- PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Stadia-\'Outriders\'(People Can Fly, 2021)- PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Stadia- ‘Just Cause 4’ (Avalanche Studios, 2018) – PC, Xbox One, PS4-\'Life is Strange 2\'(Dontnod Entertainment, 2018) – PC, Xbox One, PS4-\'The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit\'(Dontnod Entertainment, 2018) – PC, Xbox One, PS4- ‘Life is Strange: Before the Storm’ (Deck Nine Games, 2017) – PC, Xbox One, PS4- ‘Just Cause 3’ (Avalanche Studios, 2015) – PC, Xbox One, PS4- ‘Life is Strange’ (Dontnod Entertainment, 2015) – PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3- ‘Nosgoth’ (Psyonix / Square Enix Montreal, 2014) – PC
EDUCATION
University of Nottingham
BA (Hons), Philosophy
ABOUT WILLIAM BEACHAM
I am a veteran Design Director with 30 years of experience in developing and publishing video games, involving some of the biggest IPs in film, comics and gaming, which have won countless awards, been enjoyed by tens of millions of players and generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. I love creating immersive experiences where every part of the creative content is dedicated to delivering a particular gameplay fantasy. I have shipped games where you could be the world’s most famous secret agent, tomb raider or crime-fighting billionaire. I successfully pitched the original Life is Strange game to senior leadership, and then grew it into a BAFTA-winning seven-title franchise in 12 years. I specialize in providing clear, informed and actionable editorial feedback to creative leads at internal and external development studios throughout the world, including co-development and outsource partners. My expertise is in seeing the potential of a concept and steering it to fruition, which means a careful blend of due diligence, creative ideation, constructive criticism, difficult conversations, and impassioned discussions on bringing a theoretical vision to life on the screen. I excel at problem-solving, communication, and collaboration, all essential for my chosen role working with development partners to refine, realize and deliver their vision. I always ensure we understand our players’ expectations by working closely with user research and community teams, and work with design, production, art, and tech specialists to deliver for them.I have managed full development teams and mentored close-knit groups of game and narrative design specialists. I have worked with 3-person teams and with those measuring in the 100’s, all united by a passion to make great games. After a long period in publishing at Square Enix, I am now thinking about what comes next. I am looking for original and exciting opportunities, so if you have something interesting that would benefit from my have a huge wealth of specialized experience, knowledge and passion, do please get in touch.
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