Ary Shirazi

Work History

• 

  Technical Designer

  Sony Computer Entertainment Europe

  August 2015 - Present

• Freelance Game Designer

  Freelance

  May 2015 - Present

• Game Designer

  If You Can

  July 2013 - April 2015

  Project: IF... Demo: https://www.arashshirazi.co.uk/if/
  
  - Concept & prototyping of core systems, documenting & presenting this to company stake holders.
  - Working with a small team using agile methodologies (scrum), to provide layers of value to the game within two week sprints.
  - Level designs from paper sketch to terrain ‘sculpts’ in Unity, painting textures, placing props, spawning creatures etc.
  - Running weekly reviews for level designs & scripting principles, to encourage knowledge sharing across the team.
  - Directing & scripting cinematic sequences, using animation stubs to prepare camera work for final animations.
  - Creature design & characterisation in terms of bio’s and behaviours.
  - Introduced the idea of weekly ‘1 minute pitches’ for anyone wishing to grow more confident in expressing their ideas to a group.
  - Producing screenplays for each chapter & working with Trip Hawkins to polish the script, ultimately preparing it for VO sessions.
• 

  Games Designer

  Quantic Dream

  December 2012 - July 2013

  Project: Beyond: Two Souls - Demo: https://www.arashshirazi.co.uk/beyond-two-souls/
  
  - Responsible for designing and scripting the flow for 5 levels within the game, including the 'homeless' level which was the first major demo to the press.
  - Producing block out cameras, scripted gameplay & extremely detailed design documentation to serve as the purpose of 'flow direction' for the game.
  - Reviewing the produced block outs with David Cage and the lead designer.
  - Level design – working with Photoshop to produce gameplay maps which I would then forward to the leads of all departments. This would generate a discussion as to how everyone felt the level should progress, until its final realisation.
  - Learnt to speak basic French & pickup an understanding of around 60% of the language within 8 months.

  
• 

  Level Designer

  Lionhead Studios

  December 2011 - September 2012

  Project: Fable: The Journey - Demo: https://www.arashshirazi.co.uk/fable-the-journey/
  
  - Designing and building level block outs in Unreal Engine via terrain sculpting tools, then scripting them using Kismet (unreal engine 3’s visual scripting tools).
  - Unique position as the only scripter/level designer on the team.
  - Responsible for designing & scripting the E3 & Xbox live demo levels.
  - Reviewing level flow with leads & production to create a super polished experience.
• 

  Designer

  Marmalade Game Studio

  May 2011 - November 2011

  Working on all aspects of design, for the best-selling first-person action franchise of all time.
  
  Project: Call of Duty Black Ops: Zombies
  
  - Documenting player & weapon stats then implementing them via lua scripting.
  - Designing & writing tutorials for core gameplay mechanics.
  - Scripting the behaviour for game assets across 3 different levels.
  - Designing challenges and a ranking system to build a deeper gameplay experience.
• 

  Level Design

  Electronic Arts

  January 2010 - October 2010

  Project: Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows - Part 2
  
  - Polishing to final quality, a structured, fast paced boss battle.
  - Working with artists to storyboard out cameras & then implementing them.
  - Iterating on top down level designs in multiple ways to achieve final implementation.
  - Scripting complex boss behaviours.
  
  Project: Create
  
  - Producing documentation to green light the games core systems & visual style.
  - Attending regular design meetings to develop the feel of the game.
  - Brainstorming gameplay object behaviours & level themes.
  - Producing level designs on paper/Photoshop & implementing these with in-house tools.
  - Scripting gameplay using simple logic.
• 

  Designer

  Electronic Arts

  December 2009 - January 2010

  Project: Unannounced Online Game (Facebook App; Development Management & Design)
  
  - Working in conjunction with the lead designer to complete integral design flows.
  - Producing flow charts for player progression, activities & mini games.
  - Communicating with the Art Director which UI scenes would be required for a consistent GUI .
  - Attending conference call meetings with an outsourced company to ensure deadlines were met.
• 

  Designer

  Electronic Arts

  September 2009 - December 2009

  Project: Unreleased Harry Potter (Wii)
  
  - Working on existing brief, mission design documentation & building gameplay on top of this
  - Brainstorming enemy AI behaviours & iterating on a time crisis style combat mechanic
  - Producing level designs on paper/Photoshop & implementing these with in-house tools
  - Scripting gameplay, cameras, cut-scenes and trigger volumes using simple logic
• 

  QA Tester

  TT Games

  September 2009 - September 2009

  Project: Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
  
  - Following test plans to ensure all facets of the game were tested.
  - Tracking game balance problem, gameplay bugs, and graphical issues.
  - Prioritizing bugs on JIRA and determining bug severity.
  - Providing clear and concise repro steps/supporting documentation.
  - Short time spent here due to moving into the field of Level Design.
• 

  QA Tester

  Electronic Arts

  August 2008 - February 2009

  Projects: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince + Hasbro Family Game Night
  
  - Following test plans to ensure all facets of the game were tested.
  - Tracking game balance problem, gameplay bugs, and graphical issues.
  - Prioritizing bugs on Dev Track and determining bug severity.
  - Providing clear and concise repro steps/supporting documentation.
  - Communicating with Design, Programming and Production at various points during the testing process.
  - Working as a full time contractor whilst also attending a full time university degree.
• 

  QA Tester

  Electronic Arts

  July 2007 - September 2007

  Project: Burnout Paradise
  
  - Following test plans to ensure all facets of the game were tested.
  - Tracking game balance problem, gameplay bugs, and graphical issues.
  - Prioritizing bugs on Dev Track and determining bug severity.
  - Providing clear and concise repro steps/supporting documentation.
  - Working as a full time contractor whilst also attending a full time university degree.