Description

My Role

Trailers

Gallery

Description
THE PERFECT PENCIL is a 2D action adventure game inspired by a personal experience of psychological struggle.

Play as John (our camera-head boy), who found himself trapped in "the world of fear". Help him through his perilous journey of personal growth. But John's path won't won't be an easy one: you'll inevitably be influenced by the game's diegetic narrative.

Explore a mysterious, hand-crafted world filled with surprises. Engaging interactions, challenging choices, surprising exploration and a fast paced combat will keep the gameplay rhythm exciting.

These elements will nudge the player along to help them reach a (hopefully) positive conclusion to their story, while creating a unique experience that will resonate with them.

My Role

I joined Stefano Rauzi (the Creative Director and founder of the studio) long before the team existed. Together, we laid the foundations for The Perfect Pencil, turning a massive Google Doc full of his ideas into an actual video game.

During this time, we recruited several industry talents and formed Studio Cima to realize Stefano's dream of creating a video game that would convey a very personal story in the funniest, creepiest, weirdest, and most hilarious way possible.

Throughout development, I contributed in the roles of Principal Game Designer, Level Designer, and, to a lesser extent, Unity Developer, primarily during the prototype phase.

In my roles, I contributed to and/or was responsible for the following aspects:

  • Creation of multiple design documents (covering level design, enemies, bosses, etc.).
  • Collaborating with the Creative Director to shape the narrative, lore, and plot, deciding which ideas to retain and how to best present them for an engaging player experience.
  • Determining the best ways to convey the narrative—the core element—through gameplay, ensuring the two supported and enriched each other.
  • Designing the Camera System.
  • Designing the main character's moveset and abilities.
  • Designing the combat system.
  • Designing enemies, including their movesets and AI behaviors (from initial concepts to in-engine implementation).
  • Designing various bosses, including their movesets and AI behaviors (from initial concepts to in-engine implementation).
  • Positioning gameplay objects and interactables throughout the levels.
  • Level design for various areas, from concept to blocking out in-engine.
  • Implementing the map system.
  • Interviewing and, in some cases, testing and selecting new team members.
  • Testing, bug fixing, and polishing to refine the final experience.

Trailers
Gallery