Jon Neill
Jon Neill
transformed a wild biography into a playful mobile game
transformed a wild biography into a playful mobile game
Oyaji is a casual hidden-object mobile game we created at CARNEVALE to explore how a simple, dreamlike experience could introduce players to the eccentric lore surrounding Soichiro Honda. The challenge was to design a lightweight, accessible game that felt fresh and replayable without overwhelming non-gamers. I led the design from early ideation through planning, level structure, and defining game objects and mechanics, collaborating closely with an illustrator and developers. The result was an illustration-driven mobile game with five playable levels, and original music.
Responsibilities:
Led end-to-end game design from initial concept through shipped release
Defined core narrative, game progression, and mechanics
Created and documented game objects, interactions, and level structure
Collaborated with illustrators to translate mechanics into clear, readable scenes
Partnered with developers to scope features, refine interactions, and optimize performance
Designed UI flows, menus, and in-game prompts to keep players oriented and engaged
Composed original music for each level to reinforce mood, pacing, and narrative tone
Oyaji is a casual hidden-object mobile game we created at CARNEVALE to explore how a simple, dreamlike experience could introduce players to the eccentric lore surrounding Soichiro Honda. The challenge was to design a lightweight, accessible game that felt fresh and replayable without overwhelming non-gamers. I led the design from early ideation through planning, level structure, and defining game objects and mechanics, collaborating closely with an illustrator and developers. The result was an illustration-driven mobile game with five playable levels, and original music.
jon@palmerneill.com | LinkedIn
Responsibilities:
Led end-to-end game design from initial concept through shipped release
Defined core narrative, game progression, and mechanics
Created and documented game objects, interactions, and level structure
Collaborated with illustrators to translate mechanics into clear, readable scenes
Partnered with developers to scope features, refine interactions, and optimize performance
Designed UI flows, menus, and in-game prompts to keep players oriented and engaged
Composed original music for each level to reinforce mood, pacing, and narrative tone