Nathan de Lucca
Over 5 years in game development. Lead game designer of Elemental Brawl, a multiplayer party fighter commercially released on Steam in 2026. I followed the studio from prototype to launch, from the first brainstorm to the update plan.
Case studies
Four deep dives into the design of Elemental Brawl, with the original development documents: specs, tuning tables, hand drawings and playtest records.
The element combination system
153 mapped combinations became a core of 3 elements and 3 fusions. The whole funnel, documented.
Combat and movement
Two level aiming, wall slide, and the dash replaced by a double jump, decided in playtest.
The environment as a weapon
A grammar of platforms to design maps in a game that changed all the time.
Everyone has a chance to win
Scoring as behavior design: why a kill is worth half a point and confirming is worth one.
About me
I started at Mayor Games working in 3D art, took on game design over the course of the project and became the game's lead designer. Along the way I also became a production assistant: planning the schedule with the director, estimating deadlines with the team, assigning tasks and organizing the work in Jira and Trello.
On the production side, I designed with the director the game's one year update calendar: each pack combining new modes, elements and characters, with dates planned to give production time and keep players coming back.
I work by listening to players, testing before deciding, and holding the vision of the whole when feedback only sees the slice. I am looking for a team where I can use what I already know, practice what I have not had the chance to yet, and keep learning, from the start of a project to launch.
Tools: Unreal Engine 5, Blender, ZBrush, OneNote, Jira, Trello · Languages: Portuguese (native), English (advanced)
Contact
Open to game design opportunities: remote, hybrid or on site (Curitiba, Brazil).