Thomas S.

About Me

Thomas is a Senior Game Designer with expertise in game development - combining the power of technology and creative vision to create experiences/solutions for mobile freemium, PC and VR Games. He is a die-hard advocate for player experience - creating quality, thematic content and features and producing solutions to balance new game features that drive engagement, retention and monetization on projects.

Other

Work history

UpStack
UpStack
Senior Game Designer
2021 - Present (4 years)
Remote
  • Creating and developing innovative software solutions for clients across a broad range of industries.

  • Participate in scrums consisting of cross-functional teams, both software and hardware.

  • Ensure that features are being delivered efficiently and on-time.

LaBird Games
LaBird Games
Lead Game Designer
2020 - 2021 (1 year)
Brazil
  • Led processes to maintain the overall game feel and defined the systems and standards on the project.

  • Acted as a point of contact for game design issues on projects.

  • Identified and implemented new gaming trends, techniques, and processes for monetization and game economy design.

Dreams on Demand
Dreams on Demand
Game Development Consultant
2020 - Present (5 years)
Remote
  • Design, develop and implement software components and produce prototypes of gameplay ideas and features on solutions.

  • Document solutions for deeply technical and high-level projects - generating game scripts and storyboards on solutions.

  • Translate design specifications on projects into functional games - developing new frameworks to facilitate developments and deliver solutions.

Escola Rivers
Escola Rivers
Game Design Professor
2019 - Present (6 years)
Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • Monitor student comments and chats - answering technical questions relating to game design, development and implementation.

  • Facilitate lesson plans and curriculum development in asynchronous, synchronous and blended eLearning modes for course delivery.

  • Manage course delivery, track student work, and organize in-class activities and projects on the course.

Skullfish Studios
Skullfish Studios
Lead Game Designer
2017 - 2018 (1 year)
Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • Worked on game content, gameplay, and progression systems on Lila's Tale and Lila's Tale: Stealth games.

  • Created and maintained design templates and guided change through research and live game data.

  • Wrote and maintained specification design and level design documents for the games - contributing to modifications.

Oktagon Games
Oktagon Games
Senior Game Designer
2017 - 2019 (2 years)
Brazil
  • Took ownership of game systems and features from design to shipping - chipping in design ideas and knowledge for the team.

  • Evolved design needs, prototyped interesting game solutions and set down implementation guidelines and best practices on projects.

  • Created and maintained design templates on solutions - delivering high-quality features and content.

VR Monkey
VR Monkey
Senior Game Designer
2016 - 2017 (1 year)
Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • Drove the design and enhancement of new and existing game features and systems to improve and extend the performance of games.

  • Prototyped, implemented, and balanced system variables to create entertaining VR gameplay experiences for players.

  • Designed solutions to ensure quality throughout the game lifecycle of VR games.

Dreams on Demand
Dreams on Demand
Game Designer / Producer
2013 - 2014 (1 year)
Brazil
  • Designed and implemented gameplay systems and features for the client consistent with project goals and tenets.

  • Validated gameplay hypotheses and storyboards through rapid prototyping and team feedback to eliminate unplanned technical debt.

  • Made gameplay inventions flavorful to players without compromising game function and health.

Oktagon Games
Oktagon Games
QA Engineer
2013 - 2013
Londrina, Brazil
  • Participated in all game testing sessions - tracking feedback and results to improve overall gameplay on Armies and Ants.

  • Documented all gameplay and game testing needs on the project.

  • Identified product defects and issues on the project - recommending solutions to increase playability for end customers.

Overtime Studios
Overtime Studios
Lead Game Designer / Producer
2013 - 2020 (7 years)
Brazil
  • Transformed ideas into concepts on projects - creating gameplay systems with improved UX, engagement and monetization features.

  • Worked with product leads to implement design concepts in creating level layouts feature documentation for new games and content.

  • Solved challenging and complex issues on projects - prototyping design ideas in-game and iterating through playtesting.

Best, Cool & Fun Games
Best, Cool & Fun Games
Game Designer
2012 - 2012
Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • Delivered on the client's game vision - maintaining all design aspects through the project lifecycle using industry standards.

  • Developed concepts, wrote detailed functional specs, and implemented new features on games.

  • Built and implemented new features using Best, Cool & Fun's design specs and creative quality needs.

Glu Mobile
Glu Mobile
Level Designer / QA Engineer
2010 - 2011 (1 year)
Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • Produced tools to enable designers and artists to prototype, experiment, and refine new gameplay features on games.

  • Implemented new game features in conjunction with designers and artists on projects.

  • Debugged and optimized game logic to improve existing game features and performance on solutions.

Showcase

Senior Game Designer  Magic: The Gathering Puzzle Quest
Senior Game Designer Magic: The Gathering Puzzle Quest
  • Magic Puzzle Quest is a mashup of Magic: The Gathering and Puzzle Quest.

  • The project involved game design, live ops, game systems, and content design.

  • The designer worked on the project as a game designer.

Senior Game Design - Idle Star Zoo
Senior Game Design - Idle Star Zoo
  • Idle Star Zoo is a free-to-play idle management game.

  • The game focuses on balancing game systems and monetization.

  • The developer worked on various roles including producer, data scientist, marketing strategist, and partner communications.

Lead Game Designer - Lila's Tale
Lead Game Designer - Lila's Tale
  • Developed VR, PC, and AR mobile games for Lila's Tale.

  • Focused on game design and level design for the solution.

  • Inspired by Zelda, a dungeon crawler game with VR-focused design.

Education

Project Management Lato Sensu (unfinished)
Project Management Lato Sensu (unfinished)
Universidade Católica Dom Bosco
2012 - 2013 (1 year)
Bachelor's Degree in Game Design
Bachelor's Degree in Game Design
Universidade Anhembi Morumbi
2008 - 2011 (3 years)