Amazon Game Studios

David McKenzie | World & Systems Designer

David McKenzie

Lead World Designer — Amazon Game Studios

Designing large-scale, systems-rich experiences from concept to live release. Blending encounter design, narrative integration, and player flow with hands-on implementation across world-building, scripting, and content systems.

David McKenzie created
 Sandwurm

Summary

  • Lead World Designer & Product Lead on New World expansions including Brimstone Sands (2022), Rise of the Angry Earth (2023), and Nighthaven (2025) which has reached top 10 steam charts for most concurrent users and most purchased/played games
  • Directed multi-disciplinary production from concept through live launch including world design, encounter design, environmental storytelling, and systemic integration across all teams
  • Concepted and implemented flagship content initiatives: two largest expansion zones, the Sandwurm open-world event, Soul Trials game mode, Console FTUE, and multiple zone reworks
  • Collaborated crossteam with Audio, Engineering, Art, Narrative, AI, Marketing, and Server Tech to deliver large-scale, performance-conscious worlds
  • Designed and introduced major game-defining mechanics and systems: Day/night spawning, glyph chests, jumping puzzles, and Map UI polish standards
  • Recognized internally for redefining New World’s world-building standards and delivering player-acclaimed zones under aggressive timelines
  • Championed production efficiency and creative iteration, mentoring new designers and establishing reusable documentation pipelines for live content
  • Consistently exceeded Amazon’s internal high bar through performance reviews and peer accolades

Nighthaven (2025)

Led end-to-end world and encounter design for New World’s most ambitious expansion, tying verticality, systemic exploration, and dark gothic horror into a cohesive endgame zone.

Partnered with art, audio, engineering, and server tech to keep the space readable, performant, and visually distinct at peak concurrency.

World Design · Encounter Flow · Environment Storytelling · Systemic Integration · Release Planning
MMORPG.com GOTY 2025 - Most Improved MMO MMORPG.com GOTY 2025 - MMO Expansion of the Year
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Console FTUE (2024)

Owned the First-Time User Experience for New World’s console launch, redesigning onboarding, tutorial beats, and input flows for controller-first play.

Partnered with UI engineering, UX, and narrative to align messaging, pacing, and accessibility while keeping key systems discoverable for returning players.

UX Design · Tutorial Systems · Console Onboarding · Accessibility · Cross-Discipline Integration
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Rise of the Angry Earth (2023)

Served as Product Lead and Lead World Designer for the expansion introducing mounts, a corrupted biome, and reworked quest flow to support a sharper narrative spine.

Drove coordination with engineering and live ops to stage rollout, avoid regression in legacy regions, and keep systems extendable for future seasons.

Product Leadership · World Design · Narrative Systems · Biome Design · Live Ops Integration
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Soul Trials (2022–2025)

Designed a new MSQ pillar: instanced solo boss fights built for focused, high-intensity duels with readable arenas, deliberate pacing loops, and creature-identity mechanics.

Scaled the mode through technical standards, implementation templates, and documentation that enabled internal teams and vendors to ship more trials per season without sacrificing quality.

Game Mode Design · Boss Encounters · MSQ Pacing · Standards & Documentation · Vendor Enablement
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Brimstone Sands (2022)

Built traversal, encounter flow, and event scripting for New World’s first mega-expansion zone, anchored by the Sandwurm open-world event.

Balanced spectacle, enemy density, and network constraints while supporting marketing beats, trailer capture, and live launch tuning.

Encounter Design · Technical Implementation · Event Systems · Marketing Collaboration
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New World Launch (2021)

Contributed world and encounter design across launch territories, focusing on elite chest runs, open-world POIs, and landmark encounters that defined the early endgame.

Collaborated with narrative and audio to align space naming, POI tooltips, and environmental storytelling with the tone of Aeternum at release.

Launch Content · Elite Chest Runs · POI Design · Encounter Layout · Environment Storytelling
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Additional Shipped Work

Reekwater Rework (2025) Zone Uplevel & ECR Rework
Role: Lead World Designer / Product Lead
  • Led design and implementation for Elite Chest Run revamps and overhaul of both Siren’s Stand and Eternal Pool ECR POIs with new encounter pacing, traversal paths, and elite enemy groupings to revitalize Elite Chest Runs game mode
  • Led design and implementation for collectibles systems that introduced new lore entries and exploration rewards to encourage replayability and narrative discovery
  • Led initiative for upleveling by onboarding 2 new level designers to raise Reekwater’s overall zone difficulty and progression target from 60 to level 75, integrating new enemy behaviors and reward tables
  • Collaborated with quest, economy, creatures, and gameplay teams to deliver a robust, efficient reworked zone that revitalized a core gameplay loop like ECRs and incentivized collection and other long-term gameplay goals
Crucible (2020)
Role: Sole Level Designer (Prototype & Encounter Design)
  • Supported encounter pacing, combat readability, and traversal clarity across multiple prototypes
  • Partnered with combat & engineering on spatial metrics and silhouette readability
  • Shipped an overhaul of main game mode from wave-based events to control point system within 6-months of hire date and before Launch; during height of COVID transition to work-from-home
  • Transitioned encounter tooling and philosophies into New World production