Michael Knowles

Experience

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  Infinite Games

  Mar 2005 - Dec 2005

  Environment Artist
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  Electronic Arts

  Jun 2008 - Feb 2011

  Development Support - Compliance and Online Lead

  Titles: NFS: The Run, NBA Elite, NHL 11, Skate 3, NHL 10, FIFA Ultimate Team, NFS: Undercover, Fight Night 4, and NHL 09

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  Slant Six Games

  Feb 2011 - May 2012

  Senior Development Support – Studio Compliance Lead and Submission Specialist

  Title: Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

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  Loud Crow Interactive Inc.

  May 2012 - Aug 2012

  Assistant Producer
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  Capcom Game Studio Vancouver

  Sept 2012 - Jun 2014

  Senior Development Support

  Title: Dead Rising 3

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  Electronic Arts (EA)

  Jun 2014 - Dec 2014

  Development Manager (Maternity Leave Contract)

  Team: IGNITE Sports Game Engine – WebSDK and OSDK/ODT• Collaborated closely with senior management and team leads to prioritize deliverables and establish alignment with the game team's milestones.• Oversaw the successful execution of deliverables for 13 software engineers spread across two teams.• Organized and MCed the program demo, presenting progress to over 80 stakeholders and driving alignment across teams.

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  Kabam

  Jan 2015 - Mar 2015

  Associate Producer (Contract)

  Title: Fast & Furious Legacy• Successfully delivered localization for nine languages.• Constructed a new localization workflow, reducing effort to update in-game localization by 90%.

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  Capcom Game Studio Vancouver

  Apr 2015 - Feb 2016

  Project Manager

  Title: Dead Rising 4• Drove the cinematic development process to maintain seamless integration and parallel development.• Strategically planned the full scope of cinematic deliverables, effectively reducing rework and overtime.• Negotiated contracts and hired directors, actors, and recording studios.• Stage managed performance capture sessions; oversaw talent and facilitated timely completion.

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  Double Negative

  Jul 2016 - Nov 2017

  Technology Project Manager

  • Directed Vancouver’s R&D and pipeline teams, to meet Double Negative’s short and long-term business goals.• Facilitated communication between international studios and departments.• Implemented phased development strategies which reduced project risk and targeted development towards overarching business vision.• Collaborated with studio supervisors to translate project needs into actionable tasks to align international teams.

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  Electronic Arts (EA)

  Nov 2017 - Nov 2018

  Motion Capture Producer (Maternity Leave Contract)

  Titles: Battlefield V, UFC 3, NHL 18, Madden NFL 19• Made workflow automations and dashboards which vastly improved the scoping and planning processes, saving the department ~1.7 staff years of effort per year.• Provided clear insights for departmental resource planning and project tracking by creating an excel document which dynamically summarized 60+ financial documents with the flexibility to extend to future data points.• Stage manager for performance capture, motion capture, and image likeness capture sessions.• Coordinated with the game teams and motion capture department to schedule capture dates.• Guaranteed the prompt and accurate delivery of captured data to the game teams.• Hired performance and stunt actors, assuring high-quality and authentic performances. Show less

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  Wappworks Studio Inc. (dba Pocket Pinata Interactive)

  Mar 2019 - Nov 2023

  Product: QRTR Gambling Platform (Government Regulated)• Led product vision and development for a regulated platform, translating business goals into actionable plans.• Collaborated with senior executives to align regulatory, market, and player needs, ensuring timely and strategic delivery.• Strategic handling of product risks and issues.• Facilitated the successful delivery of product components from 5 vendors.• Advocated for the players through player first design theory and ensuring easy access to player protection screens Show less Titles: Draw a Stickman Epic 3 (over 8mil downloads), Forged in Fire: Mastersmith, Hidden Heroes, Machine vs Zombies, PBS Scribbles & Ink, Cannafarm, The Aetherlight MMO• Career managed 9 staff and led the project management team to deliver successful projects and consistently exceed clientexpectations.• Leveraged my deep understanding of sales bid processes which empowered the studio to transition from small-scale projects to multimillion-dollar contracts.• Delivered projects with up to 40% profit margin by optimizing resources and controlling costs.• Draw a Stickman Epic 3 (8M+ downloads) – Increased first level completion rate by 30%. Show less

  • Product Owner

    Jul 2021 - Nov 2023

  • Studio Project Manager

    Mar 2019 - Nov 2022