While playing professionally, Case began looking at game design as a potential career, stating, "I love games, and I love competition -- but having no choice but to play the same game day-in and day-out with all sorts of pressure attached just didn't suit my nature." According to Case, she did freelance game design work from her Dallas home for two years after university, using free design tools that she downloaded. One of the first game levels she designed was for 1999's "". Setting up a small studio called Primitive Earthling Games, she and some friends created a "Quake II" add-on called "Vengeance" and submitted it to WizardWorks. However, it never became available for purchase due to publishing delays. Between 1998 and 2000, Case authored three strategy guide books for Prima Games on the games "Jazz Jackrabbit 2" (1998), "Buck Bumble" (1998), and "Daikatana" (2000). She also contributed to Prima Games' strategy guide on "Quake II".