Nicolas Leal

I have worked WRC8 a year. I was the principal game designer since the conception and until lauch on several large parts, The Career mode, the Multiplayer mode, the Seasons mode, and the weather system. WRC8 was a game where every big part were to be redone with everything to design almost from scratch.

 • Designed the new Career mode, with RPG systems, a skill tree with various perks, and a whole "crew management" system

• Worked on multiplayer & esports modes, with matchmaking, local split screen and esport championships

 • Designed the Season mode, a mode that strings several gameplay sequences together in a realistic way, and where the player must manage their resources.

 • Designed the weather system, with probabilities of next weather, and all the impact on gameplay (time to evaporate for rain, impact on wheels, visibility..)

 • Worked on the UI/UX design, implemented menus and HUD

 • In charge of the entire design documentation of the project

As a game designer, I started working on WRC 8 in the pre-production phase. I worked on the whole game in general, but especially on The Career mode, a large solo part, and on the multiplayer part of the game. I conceptualized and formatted the design ideas in the game design document and other design docs, then followed their implementation by assisting programmers, and performing prototyping and balancing phases.

For the career mode, I worked to incorporate mechanics from RPG and management games, in order to give the game several fresh and fun mechanics in parallel to the driving gameplay. I designed a skill tree with various perks, and the entire "card management" type of game.

I worked a lot on a online multiplayer mode, a local split-screen multiplayer mode, and designed an esport mode. I did a lot of work in UX Design, to give the player the best possible experience.

I designed the weather system, working on weather timeline, chances of next weather and the direct impact on gameplay. Visibility, maneuverability and speed were impacted, with the road also changing with puddles. I also worked on the puddles and remaining water's evaporation.

This project taught me a lot about product ownership and design techniques. I have learned to communicate effectively with the other departments, but also to be very proactive in my work and i've also learned to iterate in a qualitative way. As the only designer on the project for a lot of time during the production, I had to be proactive and prototype things in the engine while desining, while by involving tech people in my design to ensure technical consistency.