Bradd McBrearty
Creative Director
Oceanside,CA
Summary
Creative director leading creative strategy, teams, and operating models for major entertainment and gaming brands for over 15 years of collaborative success with prestigious partners such as Apple, Disney, Sony, Xbox, Roblox, and EA. Directed multi-game launches with NFL, NFLPA, MLB, MLBPA, NHL, NHLPA, NBA, NBPA, USWNTPA, and USWNSTPA licensing. Built cross-disciplinary teams spanning design, art, animation, engineering, and external studios from 5 to 80 people.
Overview
2027
2027
years of professional experience
Work History
Creative Director and AI Production Consultant
Independent Practice
2026 - Current
- Created visual identities, style guides, and creative direction for varied deliverables.
- Built playable Unreal Engine 5 prototype within four days, turning supplied concept art into interactive client experience.
- Led concept reviews with clients, collaborators, and freelance partners.
- Assisted in developing brand concepts for various client projects for independent practice client projects and campaigns.
Adjunct Professor, Game Design (MFA)
Laguna College of Art & Design
2023 - Current
- Taught game and level design in Princeton Review top-25 graduate MFA program.
- Coordinated instruction in game and level design within Princeton Review top-25 graduate MFA program.
- Shaped game and level design curriculum for Princeton Review top-25 graduate MFA program.
- Built 45-hour course on mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics.
- Developed 45-hour course covering mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics.
- Designed 45-hour course centered on mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics.
- Created syllabi aligned with program goals and course outcomes.
- Facilitated class critiques to enhance evaluation of student artwork and design projects. for student artwork and design projects.
- Led critiques for student artwork and design projects.
- Supported portfolio development for art and design students.
- Guided portfolio development and presentation skills for art and design students.
- Advised art and design students on creative techniques, process, and presentation.
Creative Director
Sound Games
Remote
2024 - 2026
- Shipped Go Ape Ship! an 8-player co-op party game across PC, Mac, iOS, and Android with co-development partner Lightfox Games; Steam launch received 89% positive purchaser reviews.
- Pitched to major network partners, securing two first-stage greenlights with Paramount; created immersive worlds that aligned with existing film and TV lore.
- Wrote investor narrative and pitch for two seed rounds totaling $7M+, aligning creative vision with production plan to attract investment.
- Moved project from friends-and-family soft launch to beta of the Sound ID system, testing single-purchase unlock across every platform, then into live service with monitoring that caught exploits and multiplayer edge cases for quick fixes.
- Directed audio from monkeys’ perspective, crafting sound design to reflect life at 3 feet tall, emphasizing ambient sounds like electric devices.
Technical Art Director
Amber Studio
Bucharest and Guadalajara
2020 - 2023
- Shaped Tetris Beat art direction as staged play, using shader effects instead of real lighting and limiting simulations to create distinct levels while maintaining a lightweight game. Held final approval for art direction and beat-mechanics implementation.
- Restored at-risk Tetris Beat Apple Arcade production by unifying stage format, reusable effects toolkit, production standards, and milestone roadmap; team rebuilt first three levels in five days and shipped on time and on budget eight months later.
- Secured one-year Apple engagement extension and guided delivery of 28 additional live-operations levels, opting for replay over costlier new content while shipping Tour Mode combo score and drop targets.
- Built and mentored technical-art team in Guadalajara and Bucharest, delivering every Tetris Beat art asset, interactive scene, and visual effect outside UI layer, and advancing generalist to senior technical artist in three months.
- Directed Steam-to-Roblox migrations, taking new team from no platform experience to client-approved delivery, and supported Secret Neighbor: Roblox Edition and X: Survive Obby through contracted live ops with in-game game masters, patches, and fixes.
- Established studio’s first generative-AI content practice with rights-cleared assets and artist accountability for every output, rolling out ethical AI framework across all Amber Studio locations.
Chief Product Officer / Executive Producer
Bit Fry Game Studios
Distributed
2018 - 2020
- Secured buy-in from Apple executives by redirecting a review of our slide deck to a 90-minute playtest, enabling hands-on experience with early hockey and basketball prototypes, proving the game-feel, facilitating $40M studio funding.
- Expanded organization from 4 developers to 55 employees and 30 vendors across the US, Japan, and Australia; managed $40M budget; met all publisher milestones; and reduced costs by 20%.
- Orchestrated licensing process for Ultimate Rivals: Rink across MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, USWNT, and player associations, coordinating production through each approval gate and meeting all licensor milestone requirements.
- Built anonymized player-data framework with Engineering Director so Apple-side data stayed protected while matchmaking ran on AWS servers; Apple refined white paper and adopted our policy for multiplayer games with player tracking.
- Delivered Ultimate Rivals through 3 platform versions: Mattel toys-to-life concept, Google Yeti redesign, and Apple Arcade flagship launch.
- Produced evidence for game-feel decisions by aligning gameplay footage with playtest hand recordings, then reallocated budget to responsiveness initiative.
Technical Art Director / 3D Art Manager
The Walt Disney Company
Solana Beach, CA
2013 - 2017
- Supported delivery of 200+ minutes of animation and 60+ custom-rigged characters approved by Walt Disney Animation Studios, while giving daily feedback to 10 external animators on Enchanted Tales.
- Developed vertical slices for 15+ game concepts and coordinated live-ops cadence, delivering content multiple times per week.
- Aligned 24 studio locations on unified production pipeline while overseeing 3 product lines to streamline processes.
- Built partner teams across China, Singapore, and Vietnam to enhance collaboration and project execution.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Game Art & Design
The Art Institute of California
San DiegoSkills
Creative direction and art direction
Game design and user experience
Prototyping and playtesting
Unity and Unreal Engine expertise
Roblox Studio proficiency
Audio and world direction
Live-ops strategies
Creative pipeline management
Production planning and development
IP management and brand strategy
Team leadership and collaboration
Stakeholder alignment
Storytelling techniques
Brand strategy
Distributed team collaboration
Stakeholder alignment
Art direction proficiency
Storytelling techniques
Personal Information
Title: Creative Director | Platform-Shaped Games from Prototype to Live Service | Apple Arcade, Sports, Licensed IP
Leadership Practice
Asks leads and stakeholders early what they like best and what they would change, inviting even junior artists' ideas. Runs team-wide reviews to align, credit work, and call large shifts in tone, and one-on-ones for individual critique.
Shipped Credits
Go Ape Ship!, Tetris Beat, Ultimate Rivals: The Rink, Ultimate Rivals: The Court, Secret Neighbor: Roblox Edition, Saw X: Survive the Obby, Disney's Enchanted Tales, Disney's Hidden Worlds, Disney's Ghosts of Mistwood, Highborn, Conspiracy
Timeline
Creative Director and AI Production Consultant
Independent Practice
2026 - Current
Adjunct Professor, Game Design (MFA)
Laguna College of Art & Design
2023 - Current
Creative Director
Sound Games
2024 - 2026
Technical Art Director
Amber Studio
2020 - 2023
Chief Product Officer / Executive Producer
Bit Fry Game Studios
2018 - 2020
Technical Art Director / 3D Art Manager
The Walt Disney Company
2013 - 2017
Bachelor of Science - Game Art & Design
The Art Institute of California