// Nathan Baran //

(512) 431-9922 // nathanmbaran@gmail.com // www.ponderousgames.com

// SKILLS //
• Editors: Unreal Engine 4, Unity 3D // Programming: proficient in UE4 Blueprints; some experience with C++ // Design:
conceptualization, documentation, 2D & 3D level design, tuning & balancing, systems design, rapid prototyping, playtesting,
narrative design, UI and UX design // Tools: Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Creative Cloud, articy:draft, Twine, Maya,
SketchUp, Substance Painter, Visual Studio, VS Code, SourceTree, JIRA, Trello

// PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE //
MOA // Adventure, Endless Runner & Rhythm Game // Independent Project May 2016 – Present
Game Designer, 3D Artist
• Developing a genre-blending experimental game exploring unorthodox player inputs, movement mechanics, and progression
• Designing core systems and collaborating with a programmer to implement them using Blueprints; tuning parameters in response
to iteration and feedback; implementing UI elements and functionality; defining and documenting prospective features
• Planning levels which capitalize on and compound central mechanics, and which emphasize escalating challenge and unpredictability
• Modeling and texturing static meshes, and designating their in-game properties (destructibility, physics, collision)

Thing-in-Itself // Interactive Short Story // Party for Introverts July – November 2016
Consultant Game Designer
• Provided comprehensive feedback on fundamental systems, moment-to-moment interactions, overall sensation and structure, and
execution of narrative; compiled extensive list of bugs; proposed substantive revisions, many of which were included in shipped game

The World of Lexica // Action-RPG // Schell Games May – August 2014

Game Design Intern
• Finalized existing quests prior to content-lock on a 20+-person iOS action-RPG, as part of the Side Quest Team
• Scripted and revised quest logic, established camera placements during conversations, implemented quest-step
notifications, and wrote non-linear dialogue and quest/item descriptions using the articy:draft visual scripting editor
• Augmented levels with props, interactive assets, NPCs, and combat encounters, and tested quest stability in Unity 3D
• Pitched, planned, and executed two mechanically diverse, narrative-rich quests using player-facing creation tools

Warner Bros. Games/Turbine, Inc. June – December 2013

Associate Product Manager Intern, Digital Games Services WBPlay Department
• Evaluated design elements of internal projects; assessed utilization of collected player data for gameplay enhancement

// PROJECTS //
The Ziggurat // Conversation & Exploration Game // Personal Game Jam Project October 2018
Game Designer, Scripter
• Designed and implemented, over three days, a 10-minute, first-person game satirizing candidate assessment and enterprise applications
• Scripted a branching Conversation system and all requisite gameplay events in UE4 Blueprints; wrote 50+ lines of non-linear dialogue
and multiple game endings; crafted environment accentuating both visual interest and indirect player guidance

Prisoner’s Cinema // Narrative Art Game // Carnegie Mellon University January – May 2014
Game Designer
• Pitched and developed a 15-minute proof-of-concept for a Unity-made, first-person, emotion-driven game about insomnia
• Designed Exhaustion system, which modified audiovisual components, dialogue features, player movement, and game events
• Planned game scenario and structure; wrote non-linear dialogue for four playable scenes; designed map of main environment

Project Heidegger // In-Game Recommendation System // Electronic Arts January – May 2013
Game Designer
• Formulated and administered six rounds of playtests designed to capture player data based on Bartle Personality Types
• Designed a custom Dead Space 3 level, in conjunction with Visceral Games, built to collect targeted player metrics

// EDUCATION //
Carnegie Mellon University, Entertainment Technology Center August 2012 – May 2014
Master of Entertainment Technology with Game Design Emphasis

Texas State University, San Marcos August 2005 – May 2008

Master of Fine Arts: Creative Writing – Fiction