Riccardo Lusuardi
Technical Game Designer - looking for work!
I am 24-year-old junior game designer who just finished working at Vertigo Games on Metro:Awakening.
I specialize in technical and system design, with four years of experience working in UE4 and 5.
Systems are my passions. I love to think them up. I love to implement them. I especially love to see how players interact with and experience them.
In my first three years at school I have had the opportunity to work in large (20+) and multidisciplinary teams, where collaboration and pro-activeness were key to success.
Now, after ten months at Vertigo Games, four as an intern and six as a junior designer, I am open to new work again!
Projects
Metro: Awakening
Genre: Survival Horror
Engine: UE5
Role: Junior Designer, Intern
Joined: February 2023, during production
Release: 7th November 2024
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Metro: Awakening is a story-driven, first person adventure game set in the tunnels of a Post-Apocalyptic Moscow. A VR-exclusive title, M:A is a spin-off of the critically acclaimed Metro series.
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I worked on this title for 10 months, first as an intern and then as a junior designer. My responsibilities ranged from implementing the barks of the enemy AI, to balancing the game feel.
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School Projects
Dune Strider
Genre: Adventure, Strategy
Engine: UE4
Role: Technical Designer, System Designer
Project Duration: 32 weeks (September 2021 -June 2022)
Release: Steam
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Dune Strider is an adventure strategy game where the player takes control of a trader traveling on a sand barge through the desert. The player will need to survive deadly fights against groups of bandits, gather and sell resources, and upgrade their ship until their are strong enough to face the final boss.
I worked as a system and technical designer on:
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the upgrade system;
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the trading system;
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the level obstacles;
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the traveling merchant.
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Tropical Trouble
Genre: Racing Game
Engine: UE4
Role: System & Tech Designer
Project Duration: 24 weeks (November 2020-June 2021)
Release: Itch.io
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Tropical Trouble is an exciting arcade racing game set in a tropical jungle. The player will have to drift along dangerous curves and run through all the obstacles if they want to win.
I joined the project during production, where I worked as a system designer on the 3Cs. My biggest contribution was concepting and implementing the drift mechanic.
Osakabe
Genre: First Person Stealth Game
Engine: UE4
Role: System Designer, Level Designer
Project Duration: 24 weeks (November 2020 - June 2021)
Release: Itch.io
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Osakabe is a first person horror stealth game where the player takes control of a small child hiding from an ancient japanese demon.
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I worked both as a system designer and as a level designer. I prototyped the player's abilities and the object interaction system, while also blocking out one of the levels.
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What Walks on Four Legs
Genre: Point and Click Adventure
Engine: UE4
Role: Puzzle Designer
Project Duration: 8 weeks (April - June 2020)
Release: Itch.io
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What walks on four legs is a point-and-click adventure game, where the main character has to use magical portals to change his age and solve different puzzles.
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I worked on 2 of the 3 puzzles present in the game. I was responsible for concepting, blocking-out and scripting them.
Skills
Software
Unreal Engine 5
Perforce
Jira
Trello
Design
Visual Scripting
Research
Prototyping
Implementation
Theory
About Me
Hello! I am Riccardo, a 24-year-old game designer from Italy. I have just finished working at Vertigo Games as a junior game designer on Metro:Awakening.
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I have been in love with video games since I was 15, when I first played Bloodborne. It was the first time I could see the incredible potential of games, and it has been a constant, wonderful revelation ever since. I discovered games that could surprise me every minute with their wit (Portal 1 & 2), games that could create stories with just their systems (Civilization VI), games so intense that they could leave me exhausted (Doom Eternal), and games that immersed me in foreign worlds (Hollow Knight).
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Playing these games wasn’t enough, however. I wanted to understand them at a deeper level and see what hidden mechanisms made them tick so well. I started to watch videos on YouTube, read blog posts on GameDeveloper.com and read whatever book I could find on the subject. All that sated my curiosity for a while, but it left me with a new itch. Now I wanted to be the one making the games.
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I enrolled into Breda University, hoping it would give me a way into the industry. Seeing “how the sausage is made” gave me a renewed appreciation for the craft. I found my passions in game feel and emergent gameplay. I love systems that seem simple on the surface, but behave in the most unexpected and exciting ways when in contact with a player. If there is one thing I have learned after all, it is that while the game is created by us, the experience is co-authored with the player. That is the core of what makes our medium unique.
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Working at Vertigo, I gained even more experience and appreciation for how much effort it takes to get a game to the standard of a AAA release. I had the opportunity to dive deeper into Unreal while also expanding my knowledge as a designer. If there is one thing I learned while working at Vertigo, it is that a designer needs to be able to visualize the player's experience at a moment's notice, and always push for it.
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What Motivates Me
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As a technical and system designer, what drives me is getting my hands dirty. I love to experiment with new mechanics quickly, in engine or with paper, and I like to create systems that allow me and other designers to create a wide variety of content with ease. Taking a system, breaking it down into manageable components, and understanding how it will impact the player experience are all parts of the job that I don't think I'll ever get tired of.
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In my years of study and work, I have also learned that good cooperation is essential, and can act as a force multiplier for the whole team. I like to work near other people, exchanging ideas quickly and getting feedback on work as soon as possible. I have learned that everyone has something to teach me, and that I can help anyone. I won’t lie: good teamwork is difficult, but it is absolutely worth it.
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