There are 20 members of the Heroes League--a company of superheroes that each specialize in a critical life skill. Each hero sends the player off on missions that teach subtopics of their skill through fun and engaging gameplay.

Chanchito's skill is Leadership. His missions teach children what it means to be a leader and how to set a positive example for others.

Mission designers have a master document with mission topics decided by the Subject Matter Experts. The SMEs break the hero's skill down into subtopics and choose the order at which they should be taught for the child to progress in learning the skill.

I begin by claiming a mission and create a new document to develop the topic and objectives.

I begin brainstorming ways to address that educational topic in mission format. Flagship missions typically culminate in a mini game that reinforces the mission's lesson through gameplay. The mission's narrative and gameplay are heavily intertwined and this brainstorm often encompasses both.

I take the extra time at this step to archive the surface-level options and dig for gameplay ideas that require the player to physically perform the skill as the solution to the mission. For example, two gameplay ideas for the current "What is a leader?" mission:

• The player must fetch Chanchito's megaphone so he can address and inspire his wrestling team.
• The player must choose between encouraging and commanding dialogue options to cheer on the wrestling team themselves.

The first is narratively sound and achieves the objectives. However, the second is much more engaging and effective. The player must embody the leadership role themselves. In doing so, they are more likely to walk away with an understanding of the skill and come back for more. The second option is not more complicated to develop than the first. While ideas like the first are easy to come by, I strive to achieve the second with all of my missions.

When I have several different ideas that are ready for evaluation, I meet with the Creative Director and pitch each idea. We discuss and settle on the situation that moves forward.

With a situation selected I write an outline for the flow of the mission. This includes where the mission begins, how the situation is introduced, gameplay that the player performs, and how the mission concludes.

When finished, I give the outline to the Creative Director who will provide comments for any revisions needed. Revisions at this stage usually pertain to the environments involved or the new assets that would be required. We prioritize using existing levels, assets, and gameplay functionality to reduce the time spent developing the mission and are able to release it to the public sooner.

I then write the first draft of the script in Google Docs. The script format utilizes similar headers that will determine frames in the Miro stage for efficient transfer.

After writing the draft, I review and edit it for clarification on gameplay sections and for dialogue simplification. Designers are encouraged to limit their writing to no more than two frames of dialogue in a row or having a single dialogue frame that contains more than fifteen words, given the short attention span of young children and the evidence that they won't retain any more information given at one time.

When the script is complete, the Creative Director provides another round of feedback. He comments on places where the dialogue can be briefer, where the gameplay could be described clearer, and opportunities to add more of the hero's personality in their dialogue. I then revise the script from these comments.

After the Google Doc script is approved, I transfer it into a new format in Miro. Each line of dialogue or gameplay action is given its own frame. The frames are arranged in order to show the flow of the mission while reading left to right. If player choice can result in multiple branches, the frames are lined up vertically and arrows depict how the sequence splits.
 

These are three frames from the mission as a sample. Each frame from the mission template is customized with the necessary information to perform that function.

From the examples, "Description" describes how this frame begins. In Popup Dialogues, "Rules" describe what trigger signals the popup dialogue to close from view.

Each mission must undergo an educational review after it is designed and written. These reviews ensure the objectives of the mission are met and the language and vocabulary in the dialogue is of the appropriate reading level for the audience.

After transferring a mission to Miro, I assign skill points to each frame depending on the subject and challenge level of that frame. I total all skill points awarded in the mission and enter this data into a spreadsheet with the skill data of every mission. This data is used to ensure the game is meeting the educational standards determined by several frameworks and required by the state of Ohio.

I then meet with Educational Director for the educational review. We look frame-by-frame to simplify the vocabulary when needed and to ensure the gameplay is fulfilling its educational objectives.

The last step before the mission can be passed off to other internal and external teams is to create design documents and diagrams that describe the gameplay. If a level exists for the mission's location, I will go in engine and take screenshots, then annotate the screenshot with the mission information. If the required environment has not yet been built, I will create a mockup of the space in a diagram and do similar annotations.

In this stage, I also make an asset list of all 2D, 3D, and VFX assets required. This involves searching through the asset library to find existing assets that fulfill the mission's needs, and writing descriptions for any new assets that need to be created for the mission by the external art team. The asset request list is sent to the art team while an engineer is paired with the mission to begin building it out.

When the initial mission build is complete, the engineer or the Creative Director will contact me to say that the mission is ready for feedback. The mission exists in a cloned scene in engine that is not published to players or connected to the full game. I log into the engine and review the mission from the cloned scene.

I play the mission several times and take notes on any bugs or revisions for mission clarity. Seeing it in the new format can bring to light gaps in understanding that were missed in the script review stage.

After my review of the mission, I write up my notes to share with the engineer. This is in a Google Doc, using headers to count each necessary revision along with a description of the change needed and annotated screenshots to help convey the point.

A mission build may require multiple rounds of revision between me and the engineer before it is ready for release. The executives aim to declare missions ready for release when they are functioning at 90%, leaving room for adjustments after seeing player reception.

After the engineer and I have completed these revisions, the mission is ready to go live! The marketing team will launch the mission with associated announcements to notify players of a new mission to play.

Given the mission's release at 90%, its development journey is not quite over. After the initial group of players try the mission, we receive feedback through the portal that may require changes. The Heroes League mission team also performs weekly "stress tests" to search for any bugs that might arise in each mission when the game experiences a high server population.