Creative Director - Games, BUCK
Michael Highland, Creative Director - Games, BUCK
Biography
Michael Highland is BUCK’s Creative Director for games and has been pivotal in expanding the games offering at BUCK since 2020. His leadership culminated in the release of BUCK's first original game, Let's! Revolution! in 2023. The game received universal praise from critics (88 on Metacritic), was nominated for an Annie Award and received an Excellence in Audio Honorable Mention from the Independent Game Festival.
Highland began his career at thatgamecompany, where he initially served as a Feel Engineer before becoming Lead Designer on Sky: Children of the Light. The game, celebrated for its pro-social multiplayer gameplay, became a global hit with over 250 million downloads. Michael then joined Bad Robot Games as an early employee in the role of Design Director. He led the prototyping of an experimental narrative game and gained valuable insights into the challenges that established creative companies face when transitioning into the gaming sector.
These insights have been essential at BUCK, where Highland has helped build an internal games team, transforming the studio into a burgeoning games industry player. His approach emphasizes fostering positive team dynamics and collaborative processes, while maintaining an environment where diverse perspectives are encouraged through the medium of games.
Michael graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Digital Media Design. His latest obsession is Dungeon Crawler Carl, a book series that feels more like playing an RPG.
Highland began his career at thatgamecompany, where he initially served as a Feel Engineer before becoming Lead Designer on Sky: Children of the Light. The game, celebrated for its pro-social multiplayer gameplay, became a global hit with over 250 million downloads. Michael then joined Bad Robot Games as an early employee in the role of Design Director. He led the prototyping of an experimental narrative game and gained valuable insights into the challenges that established creative companies face when transitioning into the gaming sector.
These insights have been essential at BUCK, where Highland has helped build an internal games team, transforming the studio into a burgeoning games industry player. His approach emphasizes fostering positive team dynamics and collaborative processes, while maintaining an environment where diverse perspectives are encouraged through the medium of games.
Michael graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Digital Media Design. His latest obsession is Dungeon Crawler Carl, a book series that feels more like playing an RPG.
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