Bernard Yee

Bernard Yee Email and Phone Number

CEO, Executive Producer and Product Manager @ Windup Minds
Seattle, WA, US
Bernard Yee's Location
Seattle, Washington, United States, United States
Bernard Yee's Contact Details
About Bernard Yee

Production, design, and strategic planning for VR, AR, iOS, Android, and console.Senior production responsibilities on several industry-changing games and genres, including building two of the most powerful VR demos to the public, launching the biggest iOS App Store month 1 launch of all time, bringing one of the most successful casual game franchises, Plants vs Zombies, into the free-to-play design and business model, PS3 prototype game development, MMOGs (EverQuest) and music games (Rock Band).

Bernard Yee's Current Company Details
Windup Minds

Windup Minds

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CEO, Executive Producer and Product Manager
Seattle, WA, US
Website:
windupminds.com
Employees:
19
Bernard Yee Work Experience Details
  • Windup Minds
    Ceo, Executive Producer And Product Manager
    Windup Minds
    Seattle, Wa, Us
  • Windup Minds
    Ceo, Executive Producer/Product Manager
    Windup Minds Jan 2023 - Present
    Reimagining our imaginary friends in XR!
  • Meta
    Tpm, Ar Product, Orion
    Meta May 2021 - Nov 2022
    Menlo Park, Ca, Us
    Consumer and games TPM on Orion in AR Product org. Shipped consumer VR as lead TPM on our first social VR proofs and lighthouse playable experiences across multiple hardware launches.Defined and executed seminal user experiences at the launch of consumer VR, setting design patterns and quality bar for the entire mediumFounded, hired and managed Oculus REX team, prototyping and productizing designs and interactions that set vision for social VR at company leadership levelSoftware validation of hardware bring up and design feedback for▪ Outside-in tracked 6DOF VR HMD (Crescent Bay)▪ 6DOF tracked controllers (Touch)▪ SLAM tracking stand-alone VR HMD (Santa Cruz/Quest)▪ Performance optimization for inside-out tracked 6DOF controllers (Santa Cruz/Quest) End-user application validation for novel software technologies in XR:▪ Computer vision and electromyography hand-tracking▪ Gestural UI taxonomies▪ Plane and semantic understanding for MR and AR▪ Novel rendering architectures required for AR▪ User Experience Research testing with complex interaction models and product market fit use cases for VR and AR Direct point of contact for cross-functional relationships and managed team of engineers, designers, technical and 3D artists, TPMs, vendors and contractors▪ Total in-house team size of 50▪ Cross functional collaboration across entire breath of teams required to bring a product to market: research, PM, TPM, Engineering, Design, UXR, Art, Audio, QA, PMM, across hardware, platform and developer technologies teamsDevelopment collaboration with external technology providers and 2P developers▪ Team wrote, and Epic merged, a forward renderer for Unreal Engine 4.0 optimized for VR▪ Contributed to building a self-sustaining 2P/3P ecosystem by guiding development Demeo, the first successful strategy game in VR (2P project funded by Meta)
  • Oculus Vr
    Executive Producer (Oculus Rift, Touch And Quest)
    Oculus Vr Jul 2014 - May 2021
    Menlo Park, Ca, Us
    Production lead for advanced content development in the Oculus REX studio. Shipping software built on pre-production hardware, SDKs, driver and tools, while also delivering experiences with no commercial precedent, while building a team, on hardware release schedules is the most challenging role I've had in my entire career. Our team worked in conjunction with the hardware team to build experiences that showcase the interaction promise of VR using the combination novel interactions and AAA game development tools.Dreamdeck: showcased production-ready VR hardware at Oculus Connect, delivering commercial-grade VR experiences and 'presence' to the public for the first time for HMDs, code-named 'Crescent Bay' delivered significantly better optics and tracking than the DK2 and set the bar for consumer-ready VR. Toybox:: delivering the power of hand presence, object manipulation and social interaction in VR, built in conjunction with the early feature prototype controllers that eventually were announced as the Oculus Touch. Mark Zuckerberg refers to Toybox as critical to his vision of social presence in VR.Farlands: an internally developed VR game at the Rift launch, and it's been received as the most polished, best example of comfortable VR at launch by the New York Times and Time Magazine.First Contact: a rich exploration of hand presence shipping with the Oculus Touch controllers. Bogo: a proof of experience bringing a deeply reactive creature into VR to show off the tetherless potential of the Santa Cruz HMD, which became the Quest.First Steps was an exploration into tetherless VR, shipping with Quest, one of the most polished, innovative experiences on the device. The last three remain among the highest rated experiences on the Store today (free apps) on Quest 2, even when written for Quest.
  • Popcap
    Senior Producer
    Popcap Aug 2012 - Jul 2014
    Seattle, Wa -- Washington, Us
    Peggle 2I came on to another beloved PopCap franchise, but this time post launch. While I didn't contribute to the release of the game, I helped bring direction and focus to a team hit hard by personnel churn and lack of visibility at the executive level.New feature development and additional DLC content production. Pitched and secured ongoing development for this console title while studio is moving to focus solely on mobile/F2P genre by helping team clarify its vision and presenting financial forecasts to justify continued resourcing.Helped reconstitute core tech team, managed team resources, worked with various parts of EA publishing organization. Drove visibility with PopCap senior management group by instituting regular exec review meetings - which became the standard procedure across all teams.Plants vs Zombies 22014 DICE Casual GOTY, Mobile GOTYPvZ2 required rebooting one of the most valuable and beloved franchises in the games industry - played by casual and core gamers, during a transitional time in the studio and industry. We shipped the highest rated F2P from Edge (9/10), the most technically ambitious game PopCap has ever shipped, balancing feature set against schedule commitments under an intense spotlight:PvZ2 was the biggest launch in Apple AppStore history.- evangelized and implemented Agile production process and pushed team accountability- feature roadmap planning with fluid external requirements- managed integration of high risk architecture while deep in production- drove visibility up and out at PopCap- facilitated collaboration and trust among discipline leads- championed important features that came late during production (like UX and monetization design)- produced all disciplines- led strike teams to attack high risk issues
  • Bungie
    Senior Producer
    Bungie Aug 2011 - Aug 2012
    Bellevue, Wa, Us
    Turning Bungie's attention to, and managing projects in, the non-retail box games space. Managing Aerospace mobile/web portfolio, produce Bungie.net and mobile internal product development.After Bungie moved away from new mobile development, I worked on the Destiny Companion app, focusing on social systems and the technical challenges of a mobile client interacting with the game's complex content package.I helped evangelize the social design with key stakeholders across the studio, to the head of studio. The social systems began as somewhat overlooked, but emerged to be a true pillar of the game.
  • Episode Technologies
    Principal
    Episode Technologies Jan 2004 - Aug 2011
    Episode is currently the entity that serves as a conduit for my consulting work, but it started as a startup game development venture.Developed games prototype for IBM utilizing Cell CPU-based, next-generation PlayStation 3 technology with core tech team of Atman Binstock & Jon Blow (creator of Braid). We were one of the first teams in the world to have access to the first PS3 prototype hardware, and the only independent team to have such access. Developed multiple concepts for massively multiplayer, RPG and next-gen console games with partner Doug Church and lead game designer Austin Grossman (game designer and author).Consulted with Viacom on company-wide games strategy and M&A (Harmonix acquisition), other clients include: EA, Hearst, Lehman Brothers, 4mm Games, Arkadium, Funtank, Take2 and various private equity groups.
  • Columbia University
    Adjunct Professor Game Production And Design, Department Of Computer Science
    Columbia University Sep 2002 - May 2011
    New York, Ny, Us
    I teach two classes in video game design and production in the Computer Science department - an introductory level class and an advanced projects seminar. Our focus is on replicating asymmetric group projects that reflect real world game development teams as well as teaching formal analysis of game design principles.
  • The Electric Sheep Company
    Head Of Game Development And Executive Producer
    The Electric Sheep Company Oct 2008 - Oct 2009
    Us
    Game development, production, design in virtual worlds and casual MMOGs. Business development, creative pitches and presentation, project management, business model generation.
  • Iac
    Vp, Business Development
    Iac Oct 2007 - Oct 2008
    New York, Ny, Us
    Casual MMOG development and virtual worlds.
  • Harmonix Music Systems
    Vp International Business Development
    Harmonix Music Systems Dec 2006 - Sep 2007
    Boston, Ma, Us
    Worked on free to play/freemium and Asia development for Rock Band franchise.
  • Atari
    Vp Game Assessment & Direction
    Atari Oct 2005 - Mar 2006
    New York, Us
    Responsible for technology, design and creative review, approval and audit of all Atari game concepts, proposals and product development.
  • Espn
    Director Of Interactive Games
    Espn Aug 2004 - Jul 2005
    Bristol, Ct, Us
    Managed license relationship of award-winning 2K sports developers with the ESPN organization, including pricing strategy, integration of network assets, and utilization of ESPN outlets for promotion. Developed gaming strategy across all ESPN units including casual and subscription-based games for ESPN360, ESPN’s broadband service. Created organization and operational plan for long term relationship with Electronic Arts.
  • En-Tranz Entertainment
    Vice President
    En-Tranz Entertainment Jan 2002 - Jan 2004
    Manage development and localization of massively multiplayer online games and services from Western development teams for the Asian market in this startup with games industry veterans; responsible for rollout of online games and acquisition of new licenses. Initiate internal development projects for online and console games.
  • Sony Online Entertainment
    Director/Vp Of Programming
    Sony Online Entertainment Aug 1998 - Sep 2000
    San Diego, Ca, Us
    Managed acquisition, development, production, testing, design, launch and ongoing maintenance of online-only games like EverQuest and communities for The Station @ Sony.com.

Bernard Yee Skills

Game Development Video Games Social Games Casual Games Mobile Devices Online Gaming Product Management User Experience Mobile Games Strategic Planning Strategy Mobile Applications Mmo Start Ups Computer Games Digital Media Strategic Partnerships Ps3 Monetization Content Strategy Agile Methodologies Multiplayer Gameplay Creative Direction Iphone Video Game Production Gaming Xbox 360 Game Mechanics Mobile Ios Development Ios Virtual Worlds Interactive Entertainment Production Game Design

Bernard Yee Education Details

  • Columbia University
    Columbia University
    Political Science
  • Duke University
    Duke University
    Law

Frequently Asked Questions about Bernard Yee

What company does Bernard Yee work for?

Bernard Yee works for Windup Minds

What is Bernard Yee's role at the current company?

Bernard Yee's current role is CEO, Executive Producer and Product Manager.

What is Bernard Yee's email address?

Bernard Yee's email address is be****@****svr.com

What schools did Bernard Yee attend?

Bernard Yee attended Columbia University, Duke University.

What skills is Bernard Yee known for?

Bernard Yee has skills like Game Development, Video Games, Social Games, Casual Games, Mobile Devices, Online Gaming, Product Management, User Experience, Mobile Games, Strategic Planning, Strategy, Mobile Applications.

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