In essence, System Design is the art and science of crafting rules. However, rules don’t exist in a vacuum:
What we truly desire in a game is to achieve an experience.
For approximately a decade and a half, I have dedicated myself to understanding that peculiar, elusive phenomenon where certain elements in a screen, arranged in a particular order, can have such an immense impact in the mind of a player.
In particular, Combat and Progression systems touch upon subtle but very powerful mechanisms of our brains. Understanding the nuances on how to setup a right combo system, how a camera should be for a combat to feel right, or how to scale up power through the player’s journey is as complex as it is fascinating.
Truly an ever-evolving field at the core of the Game Design discipline, and the one which I’ve chosen to make my passion and my profession.
My experience as a Combat Designer involved multiple areas of expertise
Combat is an essential core element of most Action and RPG games.
I have been deeply involved in various combat systems within several of the projects I have worked on.
From hitbox design for meticulously crafted movesets and characterskills to intricate RPG systems teeming with stats, formulas, and other mechanical layers.
Designing a Progression system implies a careful control of the pacing and rules under which the player explores the content.
The goal is to create a player journey, a travel through the game which both engages and makes the player excited about what’s next.
Progression design is very related to math skills but also player psychology and working with a Data-Driven approach.
3Cs are the fundamentals of most games, but they are heavily influenced by the game’s vision.
How should a camera behave? How would the attack inputs be organized so it feels good?
Game Feel, the flow and pacing of a combat system, encounter design and many more aspects are critical for a succesful experience, from prototyping to polishing.
A Designer needs to communicate well. This means proper understanding of specs but also gaining mastery of descriptive writing.
Also, my Computer Sciences background gives me a degree of understanding and freedom when providing very technical documentation.
I have good experience with Unreal Engine, Unity and the most important and relevant tools in the current Games Industry.
My experience as a Combat Designer involved multiple areas of expertise