João Henrique Ramos
Senior Game Designer with 9+ years of experience in systems design, combat, 3C, progression, and live game balance. Currently Lead Game Designer on Profane, a sandbox MMORPG, combining team leadership with hands-on ownership of core gameplay systems, prototyping, tuning, and implementation support.
Experience
INSANE
Lead Game Designer
FEBRUARY 2023 – PRESENT
-
Lead design direction and execution for Profane, aligning systems, combat, economy, progression, and content with the project’s creative goals.
-
Own and iterate on core gameplay systems, including combat, progression, itemization, crafting, gathering, and economy, from concept through implementation, tuning, and testing.
-
Remain hands-on in Unity, prototyping, configuring, tuning, and validating gameplay systems through scripting, visual scripting, and spreadsheet-based balance models.
-
Translate product and creative direction into specifications, balance targets, implementation plans, and cross-disciplinary workflows.
-
Manage and mentor a team of game designers, setting priorities, reviewing work, and maintaining design quality across features.
Senior Game Designer
AUGUST 2020 - FEBRUARY 2023
-
Designed and established core systems for Profane, including progression, economy, itemization, crafting, gathering, skills, NPC systems, and major gameplay loops.
-
Designed third-person action combat and 3C features, focusing on responsiveness, readability, input feel, and moment-to-moment gameplay.
-
Implemented, configured, and tuned gameplay systems in Unity using scripting and visual scripting to validate design assumptions and support cross-disciplinary development.
-
Developed spreadsheet-based simulations and balance models for combat, progression, economy, itemization, and rewards.
-
Designed internal tools and workflows that accelerated content creation and tuning, and implemented NPC AI behaviors using Behavior Trees.
Hoplon
Game Designer
MARCH 2017 - JULY 2020
-
Owned the design of four playable characters (Icebringer, Stargazer, Peacemaker, and Vulture) from concept and prototyping through implementation, tuning, and release.
-
Prototyped gameplay features in Unity using proprietary visual scripting tools, collaborating with engineering and art throughout implementation.
-
Managed LiveOps character balance using analytics and player feedback to improve fairness, engagement, and gameplay quality.
-
Designed social and player-safety features, including Report, Friends, Mute, and Block systems.
-
Conducted UX and onboarding tests to identify friction and improve the first-time user experience.
Education
UNIVALI - Bachelor's Digital Games
2012 - 2016
Skills
Design Skills
-
Systems Design
-
Combat Design
-
3C (Character, Camera, Controls)
-
Game Balance
-
Progression Systems
-
Economy & Itemization
-
AI & Encounter Design
-
Sandbox/MMORPG Systems
-
LiveOps Balance
Technical Skills
-
Unity
-
Unreal Engine (UE5)
-
Blueprints
-
Visual Scripting
-
C#
-
Google Apps Scripts / Javascript
-
Spreadsheets