Marvel: Dimension of Heroes
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Marvel Dimension of Heroes key art: a player in a Lenovo Mirage AR headset surrounded by Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Star-Lord, Thor and Captain America
Role Design Lead
Studio Archiact Interactive (Lenovo)
Period 2019
Released September 2019
Platform Lenovo Mirage AR

Marvel: Dimension of Heroes

AR Marvel action brawler for Lenovo Mirage

I led the design team on Marvel: Dimension of Heroes to deliver high-quality gameplay within a compressed production schedule.
  • 8Playable characters, two of them hidden unlockables
  • 3Modes: single player, co-op and arcade survival

01What I owned

  • Led the design team, with the goal of restoring trust and uniting a team that was fractured when I came on board
  • Ran the team responsible for translating iconic character fantasies into real-time gameplay
  • Presented feature proposals and secured approvals from Disney and Marvel executives
  • Strategized feature implementation and delivery with other team leads
  • Worked with the external sound and cinematics teams, and integrated the cinematics and dynamic music into the game

02The project

Dimension of Heroes was a unique project for the first consumer facing AR headset, the Lenovo Mirage. This was a headset that required a user to insert their phone into the headset to use. Getting this game running on target hardware with an optimal framerate was quite a challenge!

Art of a player wearing the Lenovo Mirage AR headset and holding a controller, with Captain America's shield glowing in front of him
The Lenovo Mirage AR headset and controller.

It was a waved-based brawler/shooter with both a single player and separate co-operative mode. We created 8 total playable characters (two hidden unlockable) each with their own unique playstyle and mini-campaign. It also had an arcade survival mode for each character type.

First-person view of two blasters firing at enemies inside glowing shield bubbles, under the banner Play as 6 iconic super heroes
The marketing names six heroes; our 8 included two hidden unlockables.

Archiact developed the game in partnership with Disney and Marvel, and it launched on September 6, 2019, only on Lenovo Mirage AR.

03Rebuilding trust

The team was in a difficult position creating a project without final hardware and shifting directives. This caused delays and a lot of stress on the team.

When I came on board, the team was fractured and trust on the design team was low. It was my goal to restore this trust and unite the team.

My first step was understanding how the design team was feeling and what challenges they were facing. My role was to champion them and their ideas and make sure they were all united to instill confidence for the rest of the team.

In addition to the unification of the design team, I worked closely with the other team leads to understand their needs and how I could help them succeed in their roles as well.

The Hulk smashes the ground in a purple-lit temple, under the banner Summon companion heroes in battle
Companion heroes could be summoned into battle.

04Sound and cinematics

Finally, I worked with the external sound and cinematics teams ensuring goals and ideas were clearly communicated both ways. I also became hands-on integrating the cinematics and dynamic music into the game.

Dormammu, a flaming-headed villain in armour, raises a hand beside a planet framed by a glowing purple portal, under the banner Face off against super villains
One of the cinematics, in which we created this great parallax portal which simulated depth and was very performant.

05How it ended

I only played one part in this healing and unification but I am proud of this team and what they made and there was positive team feeling by the end of the project.

Skills Applied

Team Leadership AR Design Combat Design IP Partner Approvals Cinematics Integration