Building the Future of Content Creation at Jellyvision

Why We Had to Reinvent Our Unique Tooling to Keep Up with ALEX’s Growth

tl;dr

Situation

Jellyvision’s core product, Alex, was built using an internal authoring tool called Talkshow—originally designed for creating multimedia games like You Don’t Know Jack. The system output Adobe Flash content via a proprietary playback engine, making it incompatible with mobile devices and unsustainable as Flash approached deprecation.

Task

I was tasked with leading the creation of a next-generation authoring tool that would replace Talkshow, support modern browser-based delivery, and scale with Alex’s growing complexity and client base.

Action

I co-created and led the development of Talentshow, a web-based authoring tool that output JSON-based content. In parallel, we developed a new browser-based runtime engine using React, capable of supporting mobile devices, canvas animations, and timed audio playback—all without Flash.

Result

Talentshow and its runtime engine modernized Jellyvision’s entire content production stack. They eliminated reliance on Flash, enabled mobile support, and dramatically streamlined the creation and delivery of rich, customized content for Alex.

Role

Product Manager:
Internal Content Tooling & Presentation

2015-2017

Summary

At Jellyvision, I led the product transformation that replaced our legacy content creation system, Talkshow, with Talentshow—a modern, scalable, browser-compatible authoring platform. We weren’t just retooling the way internal teams worked; we were preparing the entire product architecture for a post-Flash, mobile-first world.

Alex had long depended on Flash and a proprietary playback engine that locked us out of modern platforms and limited scale. Talentshow replaced that foundation with a JSON-driven system, enabling our own React-based runtime and opening the door to responsive, mobile-friendly, future-ready content.

The Challenge

Talkshow was a Java-based desktop application built to generate content for Adobe Flash. That made sense in the early 2000s, but by 2014–2015, Flash was nearing deprecation and mobile compatibility was non-existent. More problems included:

  • Authoring bottlenecks due to fragile, cell-based flowchart logic.

  • A lack of modularity, which made content reuse and client-specific customization difficult.

  • No mobile support—Alex didn’t work on phones or tablets.

  • A monolithic proprietary playback engine that couldn't evolve with the web.

Jellyvision needed a completely new approach—something that could handle Alex’s technical complexity while supporting modern deployment and scale.

What I Did

Replaced a Legacy Tool with a Modular Web-Based Platform

  • Reimagined authoring with a moment-based model, replacing Talkshow’s cumbersome flowcharts.

  • Built a centralized, intuitive variable registry and real-time testing environment to improve content quality and speed of iteration.

  • Enabled authors to preview and test behavior without writing code or manually simulating scenarios.

JSON Output +
Browser-Based Runtime

  • Oversaw the architecture for JSON-based content output, decoupling authoring from delivery.

  • Partnered with engineering to develop a React-based runtime engine to render animations, audio, and interactions—responsively, in the browser.

  • Integrated support for JavaScript canvas animations, timed audio, and external data services, matching and exceeding what Flash had previously handled.

Enabled Customization
and Scale

  • Designed tooling to support per-client content configuration without duplicating effort or breaking logic.

  • Collaborated with content teams and developers to ensure workflows aligned with real production needs.

Results

  • Decommissioned Flash, eliminating reliance on deprecated technology.

  • Enabled mobile support for the first time in Alex’s history.

  • Reduced authoring and QA time by streamlining logic and testability.

  • Set the stage for scalable, customizable content creation across Jellyvision’s entire client base.

  • Talentshow became the new standard for building and delivering rich, interactive benefits content—future-proof, flexible, and fast.

Talentshow wasn’t just a new tool—it was a strategic foundation. It modernized how Jellyvision created content, delivered it, and scaled it to clients. We didn’t just replace Flash—we reimagined the entire production stack. And we did it while preserving the rich interactivity and storytelling that made Alex special.

This project taught me how to align technical vision with strategic goals, lead cross-functional collaboration across deep legacy systems, and deliver solutions that stand the test of time.

10 years later, Talentshow is used to create ALEX Benefits Counselor’s content to this day…