Disney’s City Girl is a social life-sim from Disney Interactive’s social games group. Players create a 3D avatar, decorate an apartment, build skills, and pursue story-based careers like fashion designer and chef, while friends vote on each other’s daily look.

Its story draws on the classic “country girl makes it in the big city” genre, told through a positive, modern lens.

My Role

I was design lead on City Girl, part of my work as head of game design for the Eugene studio.

I designed the game’s core loops and economy: needs, energy and timed engagement systems, jobs, and purchases in both soft and hard currency. I built story into all of those core systems, working with writers and other designers to craft a world around the fantasy of moving to the big city and succeeding despite the odds.

For long-term engagement, I designed time-limited quests and seasonal side-games like the Venice Vacation arc. Throughout, I worked closely with creative director David Rohrl to fine-tune the design and storytelling.

With consulting designer Martha Sapeta, I talked about the game’s design at GDC 2013 in our session “Making a Better Girl Game.”