Made Games with
About Me
Jonas Noronha
Over the past five years, I have designed several games across a variety of genres ranging from solo to team projects with a mix of academic and industry experience. I am currently working as a Game Designer at Ubisoft Abu Dhabi.
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My aim as a game designer is to create innovative experiences with a creative mindset and collaborate with other individuals to do so by perfecting the way the game looks, feels and sounds to bring the passion for video games to as many people as possible.
Work Experience
Junior Game Designer
Continued to work as a member of the development team on Growtopia following my internship. In addition to the roles and responsibilities I had as a Game Design Intern, I have also:
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Designed new systems and suggested improvements for existing events in accordance with the creative vision of the project.
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Created items based on both internal and external brands such as the Assassin’s Creed franchise and the Star Trek: Prodigy animated series.
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Collaborated with gameplay programmers to create new features for the game by providing in-depth documentation and references.
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Balanced item distributions and drop tables based on existing data from the game.
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Researched various media in order to create concepts for content that could be adapted into the game.
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Written development diaries and hosted twitch livestreams informing players of new releases.
Game Designer
Taken ownership of elements of the game’s design under the leadership of the product owner.In addition to my duties as part of the Growtopia game design team during my time in my previous roles as a junior and intern, I have also:
- Lead presentations showcasing content for new releases to different teams across production, community and marketing.
- Utilized collected data in order to drive decisions for designs.
- Onboarded new designers working on the project and mentored game design interns.
- Designed levels and enemy behaviors for the game’s PvE feature: Dungeons.
Received an award from Ubisoft Abu Dhabi for exemplifying and amplifying the studio value of Collaboration as voted by the studio employees.
Sandbox - Free
A free-to-play sandbox MMO game with almost endless possibilities for world creation, customization and having fun with your friends. Enjoy thousands of items, challenges and events.
Game Design Intern
The game design internship was my first role in the industry and was an amazing learning experience. During my time as an intern, I had:
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Reported to the senior designers on the team to ensure my work is in line with what is required for the project.
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Designed several clothing and block items for various themed annual events throughout the year.
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Worked on integrating existing brands into the game including Rabbids, Brawlhalla, Far Cry and Prince of Persia.
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Collaborated with the design, project management, art and quality assurance teams to create content and resolve bugs.
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Prepared clear and concise documentation for the game that would be read by and referred to by several teams.
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Actively participated in weekly meetings discussing the project with several members of the team.
Global Game Jam
Crops & Robbers
A party game where the team that collects the most carrots win the game! The game was made under 48 hours as part of the 2023 Global Game Jam (UAE site) organised by Nvidia Middle East and SAE Institute Dubai.
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The game was awarded 1st Place for creating the best game at the jam. I had primarily worked as the Game Designer and Project Manager in a team also consisting of two programmers, a UI Artist and a 3D artist.
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The project and our team were also featured in IGN Middle East as well as local newspapers Khaleej Times and Gulf News.
Featured On
University Projects
The following projects are games I have designed as part of my Master's Degree at Falmouth University.
Light The Way!
Bitz Blitz
Jenot
Obstacle
Missing Lynx
Making It Out Alive
The following projects are games I have designed as part of my Bachelor's Degree at SAE Institute Dubai.
My graduation project was a VR hide-and-seek game designed exclusively for the University's showcase platform where it also won the 1st Place Award for Best Capstone Project. The project also consisted of a dedicated album and marketing campaign.
Rattle 'Em Up!
Colours
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The Last Mercenary
Sole Slash
Hidden in Plain Sight
Altercast
Research Papers
The following documents are essays I have written as part of my Bachelor's Degree at SAE Institute Dubai.
Click on the images below to read them!
Events Attended
I have also attended other games-related events in the region to develop a better understanding of the industry.
Student Council
The following are a list of events, clubs and initiatives I had organized during my time as a Member (March 2019 - June 2020) and later elected President (July 2020 - September 2021) of the Student Council at SAE Institute Dubai.
As a representative of the Game Development field of the University's Student Council, I had hosted several weekly sessions of the Games Club both on-campus and online, ending the semester with a Games Tournament.
Games Club & Games Tournaments
