James Johnston Email & Phone Number

Boston, Ma, Us

Directed and designed a 15+ hour adventure game with a team of 6 core members and additional contractors. Co-wrote and edited the game's 80,000 word narrative. Directed interactive live-action music video ending. Secured game publisher and coordinated Nintendo Switch development and relations. Also wrote marketing and trailer strategy for Nintendo Switch port of the studio's previous party game.Game Design ContractorWorks closely with development studio Skymap Games to create world-building and design documents for experimental VR games, an upcoming premium/paid mod for an existing popular PC title, licensed mobile games, and narrative-driven third-person action games for PC/consoles.VR, PC premium mod, and mobile games: As sole designer, delivers timely, detailed development documents with accompanying visual diagrams to explain more complex game concepts. Works with stakeholders and leadership on design iterations. Provides additional concise, pitch-ready slide decks for publisher presentations.Larger, third-person action games: Led two-person team with a focus on creating game loops and character dynamics that would lead to interesting gameplay scenarios and narrative. Worked with producer and artist to concisely explain core gameplay loops in pitch presentations. Created internal glossary and reference documents to inform the full development team.

Boston, Ma, Us

Drove organizational changes through process improvements and implementation of new tools, with a focus on Salesforce development and administration. Coordinated and executed cost-saving plans across partnerships with multiple third-party organizations.Major Salesforce projects: Rolled out organization's full 2FA policy, led email warming/porting into company's Salesforce Marketing Cloud adoption, created custom Lightning app for Customer Care team with external CTI call center and live chat integration, implemented and maintained various 3rd party services (Chargebee, DocuSign, etc.), created system of Einstein AI-powered chat bots tailored for multiple customer bases (with migration plan into Salesforce's modern Messaging platform) across web and Invaluable's mobile app, used Salesforce Scheduler to create appointment service for multiple on-site locations, and led initiative to port and future-proof outdated workflow rules due for sunsetting into the modern Salesforce Flows system.Additional operations projects: Ported and restructured a telecommunications service for 70+ domestic and international employees, assisted marketing and engineering teams in completing an email service provider migration, executed a company-wide user security audit and compliant cybersecurity training program, and provided additional security training and general employee safety notices in a fully remote working environment.

Boston, Ma, Us

Managed email program for company's dual customer subscriber lists, fulfilling advertising requests for 200+ auction houses as well as high-level branding messages. Produced up to 100+ unique email campaigns per week. Oversaw a remote team of 3 production assistants and co-managed a remote team of 4 graphic designers. Worked with an international sales team of 10+ members to create and approve email packages for clients such as Sotheby's and Phillips. Maintained email deliverability program. Implemented a new personalized email program to boost customer engagement and streamline production processes.

Boston, Ma, Us

Boston, Ma, Us

Boston, Ma, Us

Taught GAME 2500: Foundations of Game Design to a class of 16 undergraduate students. Mentored first-time game designers as they created a puzzle game, a roleplaying game, a card and dice game, and a final project of their choosing. Led class discussions and facilitated group playtesting sessions. Held office hours to guide students through the challenges of game development and marketing.

Boston, Massachusetts, Us

Wrote game narratives, marketing copy, and video content. Developed the studio’s voice and brand. Pioneered and maintained company newsletter, social media pages, and presence in the gaming press. Managed 5-person team at multiple nationwide gaming conventions. Launched 4 titles across PC, PlayStation 4, and mobile. Generated over $100,000 in revenue and drove over 10 million views on YouTube through press coverage, content creators, and PlayStation’s media channels.

Boston, Ma, Us

Managed email mailing lists with 5+ million customers for lifestyle and B2B brands. Highly collaborative role, including developing month-to-month strategies with brand analysts and delivering weekly reporting to stakeholders. Iterated on mailing strategies across multiple brands. Fostered communication between marketing retention team and engineering/CSS team. Facilitated transition of B2B email program from Pardot to internal proprietary software and trained multiple employees on new email software.

Cambridge, Massachusetts, Us

Reviewed consumer technology products. Recommendations additionally published online at USA Today and quoted on national TV news programs. Technologies included televisions, video games, streaming devices, and home electronic appliances. Covered the International CES 2013-2016, producing product reviews and interviews with key exhibitors while representing USA Today as a member of the press.