Beyblade Burst

Summary of Contributions

  • I led the design and production of entire app.

  • I wrote the initial design documentation, pitch deck and RFP.

  • I worked with multiple vendors, eventually picked RED Interactive as the best vendor to work with, and it paid off.

  • I designed and created all of the Image Recognition codes used to scan the physical toys into the digital world.

  • I was the main point of contact for all licensing developments between our developer RED and our licensee Takara Tomy.

Making a “Sports” Beyblade App

  • Beyblade is one of the most visceral and exciting physical toys that has ever been invented, and from the start of coming up with the idea for the app - I always kept that in mind.

  • I wanted the app to really represent the physicalness and over-the-top action that Beyblade produces, so I made sure from the very first design document that it was a pillar.

  • When pitching the game to our 3 vendors, I wanted to make sure that who we picked would give me the ESPN-style broadcast package that could make the app feel bigger than anything Hasbro had done before, and RED nailed their RFP.

Playtesting and Patents

  • In playtesting, and we did a lot of playtesting, we found that the user would get bored in the middle of the match if there wasn’t a lot of action happening - so we added “energy balls” to the arena, that they could collect to increase their power ranking.

  • To get around the Ganz patent (typing in a physical code and unlocking a digital version of that product), I did a 2-step authentication system where the user would scan in code from the back of the Energy Layer and then play a un-losable mini-game. This 2-step system perfectly got around the patent, and users could scan in their products into the app!

  • Overall the game turned out fantastic, and is without question the biggest game I have ever worked on with over 10 million people playing the app over the past 7 years.

What I did: Wrote and pitched the game concept internally to get greenlit and developed by external studio. Wrote all of the initial game design documents and pitch decks. Was the lead designer & producer of the app and oversaw all of the development. Created an image recognition tool for users to scan in their toys and play with them in the app. Was the main point of contact between the Licensor Takara Tomy and Hasbro for all app related developments.

Studio: Hasbro, Red Interactive & Takara Tomy

Platforms: iOS & Android

Critical reception: 4.3/5 (600k reviews) & over 10+ Million Downloads

Team size: 30+

Project length: 1.5 years

Engine and tools: Unity, Adobe Suite, Google Docs

Design Pillars

  • The idea was simple - the user can customize their beyblade by choosing between different tops, middles and bottoms aka the Energy Layer (Layer), the Forge Disc (Disc), and the Performance Tip (Driver).

  • Each of parts would have its own attributes, letting the user make their very own Beyblade by mixing parts from various Beys.

  • I also made sure that the action happening within the game matched what the anime had already produced. The anime for Beyblade Burst had already been playing in Japan, so we used that as reference for the main gameplay loop.