Game Direction & Design
Forrest
Dowling
Twenty years shipping worlds — from the floating city of Columbia to a raft ride through a flooded American south. Game designer, studio founder, game director.
Twenty years shipping worlds — from the floating city of Columbia to a raft ride through a flooded American south. Game designer, studio founder, game director.
Making games since 2000 — first as a mod maker, professionally since 2006. Level designer, lead designer, studio founder, and game director along the way.
I believe the best games are made by great teams who are empowered, valued, and supported in their work — from a AAA shooter with hundreds of collaborators to a six-person studio building something strange and small. That's shaped how I lead, who I hire, and the projects I choose to spend years of my life on.
Lead Level Designer. Owned the game's opening hours — the Welcome Center through Monument Island — and led design on the Clash in the Clouds DLC.
Read the case study →Lead Designer & Founder. A pared-down survival game about a girl and her dog travelling a flooded, post-societal American south. Built in 21 months for under $500,000, with IGF nominations for art and original soundtrack.
Case study coming soon
Lead Systems Designer. Joined late in dev, and focused on difficulty and balance in campaign and Endgame Operations.
Game Director. Pitched and led a multiplayer concept in The Witcher universe, growing the team from 11 to over 60 across North America and Europe.
Studio Director & Game Director. Co-op village-builder — conceived the concept, secured funding and a Game Pass deal, and grew the team from 3 to 11.
Lead Multiplayer Level Designer. Oversaw every shipping multiplayer map plus DLC, and helped design core gameplay systems.
Level Designer. Responsible for the first, second, and final campaign missions.
An independent studio founded in 2014 by myself and five other Irrational Games alums. We made The Flame in the Flood, Drake Hollow, and Project Sirius. We operated until 2025, when we were integrated into CD Projekt Red.
Twenty years of credits, roles, and shipped titles — Frontlines through Call of Duty.
Read the résumé