Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny
Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny is an isometric Action RPG designed to be a Diablo-like experience for kids, featuring iconic Nickelodeon characters. Our mission was to preserve what is essential to a strong Diablo-style experience while removing unnecessary layers of complexity, and adding personality and heart whenever possible.
I worked on the project from production through release (October 2024 – December 2025), excluding early pre-production. My primary focus was combat and systems design, with full ownership of all boss encounters from concept to final iteration.
I also substantially contributed to core systems, playable characters, selected enemies, general balance, development of several abilities and VFX.
(Some additional contributions remain under NDA.)
Production was structured around milestone-driven cycles rather than fixed sprints, with each milestone focused on specific goals and client deliveries. As the project evolved, the team split into smaller feature teams (Enemies, Levels, Progression, Procedural Systems, Weapons), and I moved between them to help shape ideas, solve design challenges, and refine mechanics wherever needed.
This dynamic workflow allowed me to contribute both to the big picture and to the fine details, keeping combat and boss design cohesive while pushing for clarity, personality, and strong gameplay identity.
Platform: [PS5, Xbox X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC]
Core Team Size: Approximately 40 people
Engine: Unreal
Duration: 1 year [Oct '24 - Dec '25]
Role: Combat, Systems and Content Design
Genres: Action, RPG, Adventure
My Contribution
Game Design & Systems Design:
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Boss Encounter Design: Owned the complete design and iteration of all boss encounters, from early concepts through final implementation and polish.
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Combat Systems & Balance: Designed and iterated on core combat systems with a strong focus on accessibility for younger players while preserving the essence of a Diablo-style experience.
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Skill Combo System (Design Proposal):
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Designed and documented a full Skill Combo System focused on rewarding intentional skill sequencing and player mastery
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Defined core mechanics, UI behavior, progression, and discovery flow
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Created rules for enhanced skills, global buffs, and visual feedback
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Aligned the system with exploration-driven progression and character growth
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Gameplay Identity & Mechanics: Contributed to defining gameplay identity through mechanics that emphasized clarity, readability, and strategic decision-making.
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Documentation & Spreadsheets: Created and maintained combat documentation and balance spreadsheets to support iteration and cross-team communication.
Combat Design:
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Boss Mechanics & Phases: Developed unique boss mechanics and multi-phase encounters with strong mechanical identity and clear player counterplay.
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Behaviour Trees: Handcrafted behavior trees designed with situational logic, offering varied and intentional enemy behaviors to create battles that feel organic, fair, and well-balanced.
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Playable Characters: Contributed to the design and balancing of playable characters, ensuring they supported the overall combat pillars and player fantasy.
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Enemy Design & Archetypes: Designed and balanced selected enemy types to ensure distinct behaviors and readable combat patterns.
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Abilities & Player Feedback: Designed and implemented several abilities with associated VFX to improve combat feedback and player readability.
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Iteration & Playtesting: Rapidly prototyped and iterated through continuous playtesting to refine combat feel, pacing, and difficulty.
Game Content Design:
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Equipment Design: Designed, implemented and balanced a variety of in-game items, defining their mechanical roles and gameplay impact while researching and aligning them with the game’s IP and character fantasy.
Production & Collaboration
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Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: Worked closely with engineering, animation, VFX, and art teams to ensure combat mechanics were fully supported by visuals, performance constraints, and feedback systems.
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Iteration Under Deadlines: Adapted designs and encounters to tight production schedules while maintaining clarity and quality targets.
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Problem Solving: Identified weaknesses in combat and player systems and proposed practical design solutions aligned with production realities.
Misc. Contributions:
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Abilities & VFX: Designed and implemented a number of abilities and supporting VFX to add value, enhance player feedback and moment-to-moment combat feel.
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Additional Contributions: Participated in other aspects of development that remain under NDA.
Combat Design
Role Transition in the Project
When I joined the project, my initial role was Level Designer. However, due to the needs of the team and the stage of development, responsibilities were reassigned.
There was a general dissatisfaction with the direction of both the playable characters and especially the bosses. The proposed model was not working, neither conceptually nor in production terms, and the team needed to rethink both areas.
Because I had previous experience revising and polishing all bosses in the earlier project (Miraculous), I became the natural choice to take ownership of Boss Design.
Redefining the Boss Design Direction
Before working on concepts or individual ideas, my first step was to establish a new overall design direction for the bosses, taking into account:
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What Nicktoons actually was at that moment (not what it had been during pre-production)
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The available time
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The real size and structure of the team
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The technical constraints of the 2D isometric pipeline
The original “skeleton” of the boss designs came from a proposal that no longer made sense after multiple changes between pre-production and production, driven by creative decisions and adjustments between the development team and the client.
I was responsible for:
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Reworking the entire conceptual design
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Creating new documentation
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Reusing existing material whenever possible
Main issues identified in the original proposal:
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Bosses were mostly static or limited to fixed position transitions
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No reusable basic attack structure
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Fantasy and identity were too diluted
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Abilities that did not translate well from 3D to the new 2D pipeline
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Heavy inspiration from bullet hell, which the development team was not comfortable producing
Shift in Philosophy: Mobile Bosses
The initial direction assumed that all bosses would be fixed in place. I disagreed with this approach for two main reasons:
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The first two static bosses were not well received in playtests
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Static fights tend to be:
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More choreographed
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Slower
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Puzzle-like
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Based on memorization
For a Nickelodeon Action RPG aimed at children, this did not match the fantasy of the game. The target audience required something more:
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Chaotic
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Dynamic
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Action-oriented
I proposed that most bosses should be mobile, without turning this into a strict rule, in order to preserve variety. I prefer to test directions before fully discarding them.
Basic Attack Structure (Basic Combo)
One of the biggest production gains came from introducing a shared basic attack structure, internally called Basic Combo.
The goal was to:
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Reduce overly complex attacks
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Increase variety
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Shorten production time
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Allow faster iteration
The Basic Combo could have:
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1, 2, or 3 hits
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Different timings
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Different configurations per character
This allowed intelligent reuse, even within the same boss, while preserving identity.
It became one of the most impactful decisions in accelerating development and enriching combat variety.
Aligning IP with the Game’s Fantasy
Nicktoons places Nickelodeon characters inside a medieval fantasy world heavily inspired by D&D. My prior experience with D&D was extremely valuable here. I used that knowledge to align each boss with a D&D class or creature, both visually and mechanically.
Previously, these inspirations existed but were too subtle. I strengthened them:
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Not only at the lore level
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But also at the mechanical level
In other words, bosses did not just “look like” a D&D class, they behaved like one.
Mechanical Relationship Between Mini Bosses and Bosses
After addressing the points above, I defined design lines for each mini boss + boss pair, aiming to create a mechanical relationship between them, either through contrast or complement:
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Bullet Hell: Plankton → Angelica
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Reinforcements: Karai → Ember
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Mobility: PDB → Azula
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Level Disruption: Jorgen Von Strangle → Vicky
The intention was for the mini boss to subconsciously prepare the player for the main boss encounter.
It is important to note that although these design lines were clearly defined, I had to remain flexible for two main reasons:
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In some cases, due to my own inexperience at the time, I could not always find the most ideal solutions to remain fully faithful to the original design line.
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In other cases, changes were requested that were outside my direct control, which required me to pivot and adapt the original plan.
These moments became valuable learning experiences in balancing creative direction with real production constraints and collaboration.
Bosses as Preparation Through Challenges
With the goal of echoing boss mechanics throughout the game before the main encounters, I proposed that parts of their kits should be transformed into level-based challenges.
These abilities were later used in the Challenge system.
Although I did not directly build the challenges myself, I was responsible for:
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Ideation
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Mechanical proposals
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Design suggestions for the team implementing them
Backbone of My Work
All of these decisions formed the backbone of my work on the project. Throughout almost the entire production cycle, my responsibilities included:
Collaboration and Production
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Continuous discussions about feasibility (constraints, bottlenecks, time, client direction)
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Iteration and workarounds for unexpected production issues
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Testing to identify weaknesses in solutions
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General support for other teams
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Participation in daily meetings
Documentation
I created and maintained extensive documentation, including:
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Individual GDDs for each boss
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Balance spreadsheets
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Daily, weekly, and milestone design guidelines
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Bug and feedback lists per boss
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Feature specifications for the entire pipeline
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Targeted documents for:
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Concept artists
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Animators
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VFX artists
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Each document summarized what was necessary for each discipline to execute their work clearly and consistently.
Systems Design Case Study – Skill Combo System
Overview
During development, I designed and documented a Skill Combo System aimed at rewarding intentional skill sequencing instead of simple ability spam.
Although this system was ultimately not implemented due to scope and production constraints, it represents a complete systems design exploration including mechanics, UI behavior, progression, and player learning. This case study showcases my approach to designing combat systems that balance depth, clarity, and player expression.
1. Design Goals
The Skill Combo System was created to:
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Encourage strategic skill usage rather than random button pressing
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Reward player mastery and experimentation
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Add depth without overloading the UI
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Support different playstyles (melee, ranged, fast, slow characters)
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Integrate naturally with exploration and progression
The core philosophy was simple:
If players think about the order of their actions, the game should think back.
2. Core Concept
Players execute specific sequences of skills within a time window. If the sequence is completed correctly, the final skill in the chain is transformed into an enhanced version or grants a temporary global benefit.
Example Combo:
Skill 1 → Skill 2 → Skill 1 → Skill 3
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Normal Skill 3: High damage
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Enhanced Skill 3: High damage + stun
Some combos enhance the final skill directly, while others provide global rewards such as:
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Reducing cooldowns of other skills
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Temporarily increasing attack speed or movement speed
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Instantly refreshing a skill currently on cooldown
This allowed combos to feel impactful without turning them into pure damage multipliers.
3. Key Design Decisions
Visual Feedback Only on the Final Skill
To avoid UI clutter and cognitive overload, only the last skill in a combo receives a visual indicator (such as a glow or highlight).
This keeps combat readable and emphasizes the payoff moment rather than every step of the sequence.
Hidden or Optional Timing Window
The system supports two learning approaches:
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Hidden timing window: Players learn combos through rhythm and experimentation
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Optional subtle feedback: Soft visual or audio cues confirm correct execution
This was inspired by systems like Mortal Kombat fatalities, where mastery comes from internalizing timing rather than following explicit prompts.
Global Rewards Instead of Only Damage
Not all combos needed to be “more damage.” Some provided tactical benefits such as cooldown reduction or temporary buffs, supporting different playstyles and encouraging creative combat decisions.
4. UI & Menu Design
A dedicated Combo Menu was designed to help players learn and track discovered combos.
Features included:
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List of available combos
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Visual previews or diagrams of execution
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Descriptions of normal vs enhanced effects
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Section for global combo bonuses
In combat:
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Standard skill icons remain unchanged
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Only the final skill in a combo glows
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Optional sound or vibration reinforces success
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Floating text communicates global effects (e.g., “Cooldown Reduction Activated!”)
The goal was to make the system deep but visually lightweight.
5. Progression & Discovery
Combos are not unlocked automatically. They are discovered through exploration.
Learning Through Discovery
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Players find special pages hidden in chests across the world
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Each page teaches a combo for a specific character
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Once found, the combo is added to the Combo Menu
Encouraging Experimentation
If a player accidentally executes a valid combo before finding its page, the game may display a subtle hint such as:
“That felt powerful… maybe there’s more to it.”
This reinforces curiosity without breaking immersion.
(This was inspired by Tunic's tutorial system. It is a diegetic tutorial system where players uncover and assemble a 90s-style, in-game instruction booklet, revealing gameplay mechanics, maps, and secrets one page at a time.)
6. Gameplay Impact
The Skill Combo System was designed to:
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Create a unique selling point for the project
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Create a natural combat flow
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Add tactical depth without slowing down action
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Support both casual and mastery-driven players
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Reward curiosity and mechanical understanding
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Make combat feel expressive and personal
Players who learn combos gain efficiency and flexibility rather than raw power alone.
7. Production Context
Due to production scope, priorities, and timeline constraints, this system was not integrated into the final game. However, the design process helped inform broader combat and progression discussions during development.
This case study represents a complete design proposal including:
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Core mechanics
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UI behavior
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Progression logic
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Player learning flow
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Balance considerations
8. What This Demonstrates
This system reflects my approach to systems design:
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Designing mechanics that connect combat, UI, and progression
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Thinking about player learning and feedback loops
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Balancing depth with readability
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Creating systems that evolve with player mastery
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Documenting ideas clearly for multidisciplinary teams
It shows how I explore new mechanics while keeping them grounded in player experience and production reality.