LB Larry Boles

AAA MMO mission design & narrative development

Larry Boles

I am an experienced mission designer and narrative developer with nearly 20 years in online worlds, quest systems, live content, scripting, and player-centered storytelling.

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Current
Senior Game Designer II, Blizzard Entertainment
Franchises
World of Warcraft, Rift, Warhammer Online
Strengths
Quest design, scripting, leadership, engagement

About

Building worlds players remember.

I specialize in mission, quest, and narrative design for large-scale multiplayer games, with deep experience moving ideas from paper design into implementation, iteration, and live player experience.

My work spans marquee zones, expansion content, dynamic events, boss encounters, scripting tools, and cross-discipline collaboration with art, audio, engineering, production, and design teams.

Selected Work

Shipped content across major online worlds.

World of Warcraft Zone Design

The Ringing Deeps

My recent work includes pioneering The Ringing Deeps, supporting gameplay flow, mission structure, and player engagement for World of Warcraft: The War Within.

World of Warcraft Lead Design

Nazjatar

I led content team design for the marquee Battle for Azeroth patch 8.2 zone, coordinating quest, progression, and live-world content.

World of Warcraft Quest Design

Legion, Dragonflight, Warlords

I designed notable expansion content including the Frost Death Knight artifact acquisition, Demon Invasions, and The Ravenspeakers in Spires of Arak.

Rift Dynamic Content

Rift & Storm Legion

I designed dynamic world events, dungeon and raid encounters, scalar AI scripts, and endgame content for Trion World Network.

Warhammer Online Live Content

Public Quests & Live Events

I built quests, items, monsters, abilities, seasonal events, and urgent live-server content updates for EA Mythic.

Public Reception

Positive notes around shipped worlds.

Selected public comments about expansions, zones, and content areas I contributed to, presented separately from direct professional references.

"Super fun quests and beautiful zone."
Blizzard forums, on Nazjatar's quests and zone presentation Read source
"The scale of events in Nazjatar was massive."
Blizzard forums, reflecting on Nazjatar-style zone events Read source
"A very cool little bit of flavor."
Wowhead comments, on Frost DK artifact flavor Read source
"Lots of nice stuff... Can't wait!"
Wowhead comments, on the Legion prelaunch invasions Read source
"Got to love those bird-people."
Wowhead comments, on Arakkoa Outcasts and Ravenspeakers content Read source

Core Skills

Design sense with implementation range.

01

Mission & Quest Design

Zone flow, player motivation, narrative beats, encounter pacing, and repeatable live content.

02

Technical Scripting

Advanced LUA, C#, proprietary engines, dynamic AI scripts, tools, and rapid system learning.

03

Team Leadership

Cross-functional coordination, project management, mentoring, feedback loops, and delivery discipline.

04

Player Engagement

Analytical attention to satisfaction, onboarding friction, moment-to-moment fun, and live iteration.

Experience

Career timeline

Sep 2023 - Present

Senior Game Designer II

Blizzard Entertainment, Remote from Montana

I do senior design work for World of Warcraft, including expansion content for The War Within and ongoing mission, quest, and zone design.

May 2020 - Sep 2023

Senior Game Designer

Blizzard Entertainment, contract then full-time

I returned to Blizzard through contract work before continuing as a remote employee, contributing senior design expertise across MMO content.

Sep 2019 - Present

Web Developer

Self Employed, Freelance

I maintain a freelance web development practice alongside game design work, including continued programming and technical learning.

Jan 2014 - Sep 2019

Game Designer / Senior Game Designer

Blizzard Entertainment, Orange County

I was a quest designer on World of Warcraft expansions including Warlords of Draenor, Legion, and Battle for Azeroth, with leadership on Nazjatar.

Oct 2009 - Oct 2013

Content Designer

Trion World Network

I designed and implemented Rift and Storm Legion content, including dynamic rifts, dungeons, raid encounters, AI scripts, and world-event systems.

Oct 2004 - Oct 2009

Customer Service Representative, Team Lead, Content Developer

EA Mythic

I progressed from customer support into content development for Warhammer Online, live events, public quests, and launch-critical content updates.

References

What collaborators highlight.

"Works hard to find the best possible outcome."
Skye Chandler, Narrative / Creative Direction / Production
"A great resource when it came to scripting."
Sean McCann, Principal Game Designer at Blizzard Entertainment
"Very creative, self motivated, and a great asset."
Kim Acuff Steiner, Chief Creative Officer
"A gift for tackling technically demanding features."
Kurt Sparkuhl, Interactive Storyteller

Education

Education & foundations

East Arkansas Community College

Associate of Arts, Liberal Arts and Sciences / Liberal Studies

Phi Theta Kappa

Foothills Technical Institute

Certificate of Proficiency, Electrical and Electronics Technology

Searcy High School

Secondary education

Contact

Ready to build memorable game experiences?

Reach out to discuss mission design, quest structure, narrative implementation, live MMO content, or collaborative game development.

Contact on LinkedIn View GitHub