WORLD OF VESSER
EXILE AWAITS
Play is vital for how we connect, build our internal networks, and process the world around us. We see this easily in children, but tend to neglect it as adults. Humans have always told stories together, and by bringing people into a shared fantastical world, we create real community and a space to safely explore the topics that can be the most difficult to talk about.
World of Vesser was built to take this concept further. The world was designed from the atom up, climatologists advised on weather systems, the physics of magic were fully built, and entire cities were built on continents players might never reach. From the most mundane daily life to political systems to the mysteries waiting in the wilderness, no stone was left unturned. The challenge was building a world, game, brand, and marketing infrastructure that worked and scaled together.
I came on as Creative Director and grew into the VP of Design role as the scope expanded. This was a collaborative project in the truest sense of the word, with every member of the team working across lanes. I built the visual identity and brand system from the ground up, directed and produced the marketing and GTM strategy, illustrated characters and creatures, co-wrote game modules and story content, directed in-game art production, ran playtesting, and pitched investors.
We designed both the world and its products to be accessible from the start, eventually developing a simplified card-based intro game so new players could start easily and level directly into the full game system once they were ready. The game mechanics crafted to balance enough structure to keep gameplay moving, but enough openness to encourage complex narratives to emerge at the table and player agency.
Some of the highlights: there are engaged community player groups who have been showing up for four years now and continue to gather to play. The Building Vesser podcast broke into the top 1% of gaming podcasts and drew over 7,000 views on its first episode. One of our investors even ran games through his addiction recovery nonprofit to encourage community and connection.
ANNE CLAIRE HOUCK