As Creative Director on Kingdom Maker, I established the visual identity for a brand new IP, leading character design, UI, and marketing creative. I worked closely with our internal team, external vendors, and publishing partners at Scopely to ensure every asset aligned with the game’s tone, strategic goals, and player feedback.
Defining the Identity of Kingdom Maker
Kingdom Maker is a massive multiplayer medieval fantasy game where players build their noble family to build their Kingdom. Serving as Art Director on Kingdom Maker has been an amazing exercise in branding. Unlike other projects I have been a part of, Kingdom Maker has no established brand, so it was up to me and my creative team to build that.
Strategy & Fantasy
We needed to build a visual identity for a brand new IP that appealed to hardcore mobile strategy fans and fantasy players. The challenge was creating a bold, flexible campaign that stood out in a crowded market, while working with a lean team, tight timelines, and evolving player feedback.
Creative Alchemy
We started with fast concept exploration and rapid iteration, constantly reviewing work with leadership and refining ideas in real time. A big part of the process was A/B testing both gameplay footage and static ads to see what actually connected with players, then using that data to shape future creative decisions. From the beginning, the goal was to create something that felt authentic to classic fantasy while still having broad appeal, pulling from nostalgic genre tropes but presenting them with a more modern, humorous tone. The static ads especially leaned into wit and self-awareness, helping the campaign feel culturally fluent instead of overly serious or generic.
Feedback and iteration were built into every phase of the campaign, from early concept testing through post-launch content updates. We paid close attention to what audiences responded to most, particularly the blend of fantasy nostalgia, stylized visuals, and humor. That response ultimately influenced larger brand decisions, including a refreshed app icon and expanded visual direction inspired by the success of the D&D-influenced campaign work. I also directed character illustrations that were used across both marketing and in-game assets, working closely with the 3D team to keep everything visually aligned. Throughout the project, we collaborated heavily with publishing leads, the CMO, and the CEO to make sure the creative vision and overall strategy stayed connected at every stage.
Inspired By The Golden Age of Fantasy
The project pulled a lot of inspiration from classic ’80s fantasy films like Conan the Barbarian, The Dark Crystal, and Legend, along with the world of Dungeons & Dragons and old-school NES fantasy games. The art direction leaned into bold colors, chunky silhouettes, glowing swords, ancient ruins, and familiar RPG archetypes like barbarians, rogues, and wizards, but with a more playful and humorous spin. The goal was to capture the charm and campiness of retro fantasy while giving it a modern sense of humor that could connect with both hardcore fantasy fans and more casual players.
Insights
One of the biggest challenges during the campaign was aligning stakeholders who each had different priorities for how the game should be positioned. Some wanted to focus on humor and fantasy worldbuilding, while others pushed for deeper strategic gameplay or broader mass appeal. To help guide those decisions, we leaned heavily on A/B testing across different creative styles and messaging approaches. The vintage fantasy-inspired direction consistently outperformed the rest and ultimately became the foundation of the campaign’s identity.
From there, I developed a tiered creative strategy targeting different audience groups independently, including existing Kingdom Maker players, mobile strategy fans, fantasy enthusiasts, and broader mobile audiences. Each audience received tailored messaging, ad styles, and KPIs, allowing us to connect with multiple player segments while still maintaining a cohesive brand identity and aligning stakeholder goals.
Campaign Reach & Performance
Our ad campaign for Kingdom Maker made a major impact, generating over 50 million impressions and nearly 200,000 clicks across platforms. With a click-through rate of 0.9% and a double-digit conversion rate (11.7%), the creative not only resonated but performed. The campaign successfully drove tens of thousands of installs, establishing a strong player base and proving that our bold, nostalgic visual direction could compete—and win—in a saturated market.
Impact
The campaign’s data-backed visual direction proved extremely effective, driving strong ad engagement and positive player response. Because of that success, we expanded the vintage fantasy-inspired style beyond static marketing assets and into the broader brand identity. One of the biggest updates was a redesigned app icon built around the new art direction, which helped improve store visibility and click-through rates almost immediately.
