BROWSERGAMES AT UPJERS
Game design for three Browsergames
OVERVIEW
During my time at Upjers, I worked as the dedicated game designer on three of the company’s browser titles:
My Free Zoo
(Nov 2021 – May 2024)
My Free Zoo is a free to play browser game, released in February 2012. It’s a tycoon-style zoo management simulation. Players take on the role of zoo directors, responsible for building enclosures, managing animals, and maximizing their zoo’s popularity.
My Free Farm
(May 2022 – Sept 2024)
My Free Farm is a free-to-play browser game, released in October 2009. It’s a farming simulation focused on production chains and resource management. Players cultivate crops, raise livestock, and craft goods to fulfill orders and grow their farming empire.
Wurzelimperium
(July 2022 – Sept 2024)
Wurzelimperium is a free-to-play browser game, released in July 2008. It’s a casual garden simulation with a humorous twist. Players grow plants, complete quirky tasks, and expand their garden while managing resources and trading with others.
RESPONSIBILITIES
As a game designer for these browser games, my two main responsibilities were planning weekly content updates and designing new features. All three games receive regular patches that include events, new content, and gameplay adjustments.
I was responsible for coordinating these updates—from planning the content and outlining what we wanted to release, to ensuring everything was ready for release. This included writing detailed issues in Jira for other departments, coordinating with the development team to implement the content, and testing the new elements on an internal development server.
Designing new features was often a longer and more complex process. It typically began with collecting input from team members and players. I then translated those ideas into workable feature designs, collaborating closely with all departments to evaluate feasibility and minimize unnecessary complexity.
My tasks involved writing design documents, testing the feature during development, iterating based on feedback, and of course, balancing the feature to ensure it fit well within the existing game systems.
​WORKFLOW IMPROVEMENTS
During my time working on the browser games, I actively looked for ways to improve workflows and increase efficiency across teams. One simple but impactful change I introduced was a Feature Kickoff Meeting for every new feature prior to development. In these meetings, I presented the feature concept to all departments, and we used the opportunity to discuss potential challenges early on. This proactive approach helped reduce miscommunication and significantly decreased the number of issues during development.
I also experimented with new methods for content scheduling, using player statistics and in-game data to find more effective ways to distribute regular content and events over time.
Perhaps the most substantial improvement I introduced was the automation of repetitive issue creation in Jira. By using the Jira API, I built Excel-based tools that could generate pre-formatted issues for recurring content updates. This automation greatly reduced the time required to create issues for other departments and helped streamline the overall content production process.