Designer & Programmer

Professional Work


EMPACT
A VR training simulator made at HTX Labs in Unreal Engine 4. Implementing interactions based on the specified training courses.

Skills: Programming, Designing, Debugging
Engine: Unreal Engine 4
Platform: Quest 3S
Employer: Kaijon LLC
Client: HTX Labs
empact
hunterslegacy

Hunter's Legacy: Echoes of the Past
A FPS/VR game prototype made at The Devhouse Agency in Unreal Engine 5 for a client. Programmed player mechanics and game features to work as both a normal First Person Shooter and a VR game. Made game function with mouse & keyboard, controller, and VR controllers. Worked on level design and gameplay flow. Implemented menus and closed captions. Assisted with NPC AI logic.
(Click picture for more info)

Skills: Programming, Designing, Debugging, UI/UX
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Platform: TBD
Employer: The Devhouse Agency
Client: TBA

Unannounced Unity Co-op game

A co-op game made at The Devhouse Agency in Unity 6 for a client. Implemented UI/UX and cutscene cinematics. Debugged and tweaked gameplay features. Participated in regular playtests.

Skills: Programming, Designing, Debugging, UI/UX, Cinematics
Engine: Unity
Platform: TBD
Employer: The Devhouse Agency
Client: TBA
unity
unreal

Please, Don't Touch Anything: House Broken
A mixed reality game made at ForwardXP in Unreal Engine 5. Co-designed and programmed interactions, puzzles, and endings. Wrote documentation on MR platform limitations and performed comparison tests between MR in Unreal vs Unity. Investigated MR titles and compiled best practices. Participated in regular playtest and feedback sessions with the team.
(Click picture for more info)

Skills: Programming, Designing, Documentation
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Platform: Quest 3, Quest Pro, Quest 2
Employer: ForwardXP

Unannounced Unreal Engine 4 VR Game

A VR game made at ForwardXP in Unreal Engine 4. Co-designed and implemented player movement, inventory, and interaction mechanics. Designed control/instruction diagrams using Photoshop. Playtesting, debugging, and balancing gameplay. Filmed and edited gameplay trailer for use in external pitches.

Skills: Programming, Designing, Debugging, UI/UX, Rapid prototyping, Video editing
Engine: Unreal Engine 4
Platform: TBD
Employer: ForwardXP
unreal
arashi

Arashi: Castles of Sin - Final Cut
A port to modern VR platforms and gameplay upgrade of the original 2021 PSVR exclusive Arashi: Castles of Sin. Contributed to control scheme redesign. Researched similar titles and wrote documentation on potential gameplay improvements.
(Click picture for more info)

Skills: Designing, Documentation
Engine: Unity
Platform: PSVR2, Quest 2, Quest Pro, Quest 3, and Steam PC
Employer: ForwardXP
Clients: Skydance Interactive & Endeavor One

Please, Don't Touch Anything
Worked on major update 2.2 for the Quest 2 version which included updated player interactions, improved game visuals, added accessibility features, bug fixes, and quality of life improvements. First official video game credit.
(Click picture for more info)

Skills: Programming, Designing, Debugging, UI/UX
Engine: Unity
Platform: Quest 2
Employer: ForwardXP
pdta
unreal

Unreal Engine 4 Prototype & Pitch

Internal game jam prototype at ForwardXP in Unreal Engine 4. While in-between projects, four of us came together as a team to make a game with the intention of pitching it internally. We conceptualized, designed, and programmed it in 2 weeks. We then made a PowerPoint presentation and pitched the game to leadership where it was warmly received.

Skills: Programming, Designing, Rapid prototyping, Pitching/Presenting
Engine: Unreal Engine 4
Platform: TBD
Employer: ForwardXP

Horizon Worlds: World Hop
Conceptualized, designed, and implemented multiple 2-4 player VR mini-games in a beta visual scripting language. Created to be played by both veteran and brand new VR users.
(Click picture for more info)

Skills: Programming, Designing, Rapid prototyping, Client collaboration/communication
Platform: Quest 2
Employer: ForwardXP
Client: Meta
horizongames


Personal Projects

usurper

Usurper
Full game & demo available to play now! Released on Steam on September 9th, 2024. An indie roguelike deck-building game made with a small team of 4 people. 1,000+ sales and 20+ positive user reviews of people playing it for 1 hour up to 100+ hours. Designing gameplay and UI/UX. Drew the Steam capsule art and edited the trailers. Created pitch presentations for publishers. Assisted with AI logic. Game was a part of Steam Next Fest June 2024.

Skills: Designing, UI/UX, Debugging, Art, Video editing, Pitching, Programming
Engine: Unity
Platform: Steam PC
Team: Rogue Brain Studios, LLC.


Game Jams

honytawk

Hony Tawk's Film Maker

 ( Top 1% Creativity )

2D side-scroller game made in Unity. I worked on game design and contributed to art.
Jam: GMTK Game Jam 2023 - July 2023
Time: 48 hours
Theme: Roles Reversed
Overall Rank: 856th out of 6,986 (Top ~12%)
Enjoyment Rank: 1,695th out of 6,986 (Top ~24%)
Presentation Rank: 1,616th out of 6,986 (Top ~23%)
*Creativity Rank: 85th out of 6,986 (Top ~1%)

Night Fight: Capture the Flag
4 v 4 capture the flag game made in UEFN with 2 other people. I contributed to design, implementation, and playtesting.
Jam: Fortnite's Summer Showdown Callout - June 2023
Time: We gave ourselves 1 week
Island Code: 1531-6312-8503
Result: Not selected
nightfight
stormlight

FedUp

 ( Top 4% Humor )

2D physics game made in Unity. I worked on game design, created the character art, and voiced the character Joey. We made a post jam "Express Edition" that further polished the game and added a character select, an endless mode, and leaderboards.
Jam: Ludum Dare 53 - May 2023
Time: 72 hours
Theme: Delivery
Overall Rank: 484th out of 1,721 (Top ~28%)
Innovation Rank: 343rd out of 1,721 (Top ~20%)
Theme Rank: 280th out of 1,721 (Top ~16%)
Audio Rank: 186th out of 1,721 (Top ~11%)
*Humor Rank: 68th out of 1,721 (Top ~4%)

Stormlight Manor

( Top 19% Theme ) 

2D retro game made in Unity. In addition to coming up with the initial concept, I worked on game design, created the majority of the 15 levels, and contributed to character/enemy art.
Jam: Ludum Dare 51 - October 2022
Time: 72 hours
Theme: Every 10 seconds
Overall Rank: 659th out of 1,703 (Top ~39%)
Innovation Rank: 552nd out of 1,703 (Top ~32%)
Mood Rank: 355th out of 1,703 (Top ~21%)
*Theme Rank: 328th out of 1,703 (Top ~19%)
stormlight
crapshot

Crapshot Saloon

 ( Top 6% Creativity )

2D dice strategy game made in Unity. I helped design the game and did the character art. We made a post jam "Deluxe Edition" that further polished the game and added new difficulties plus an endless mode.
Jam: GMTK Game Jam 2022 - July 2022
Time: 48 hours
Theme: Roll of the Dice
Overall Rank: 441st out of 6,168 (Top ~7%)
Presentation Rank: 761st out of 6,168 (Top ~12%)
Enjoyment Rank: 583rd out of 6,168 (Top ~9%)
*Creativity Rank: 385th out of 6,168 (Top ~6%)

VRn't

( Top 1% Humor ) 

2D arcade game made in Unity. I helped design the game and did all of the artwork and animations.
Jam: Ludum Dare 41 - April 2018
Time: 72 hours
Theme: Combine 2 incompatible genres
Overall Rank: 185th out of 2,017 (Top ~9%)
Fun Rank: 191st out of 2,017 (Top ~9%)
Innovation Rank: 151st out of 2,017 (Top ~7%)
Mood Rank: 147th out of 2,017 (Top ~7%)
*Humor Rank: 17th out of 2,017 (Top ~1%)
vrnt


School Projects

school

RIT Class Projects
Comprised of video games, board games, level designs, and 3D models I created while I was enrolled at Rochester Institute of Technology 2016-2020.
(Click picture for more info)


Resume

Click here for full PDF
me

About Paul Avallone

Originally from Smithtown, New York, Paul went to Rochester Institute of Technology in 2016 with the dream of becoming a game developer. In May of 2020 he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Game Design and Development and a minor in Computer Science.

After graduating he got a job at Netsmart as a Software Engineer. About a year later, he left after he got a job in the games industry at ForwardXP as a Software Engineer and moved down to Dallas, Texas where he worked for two years on a variety of different game projects including entries in the beloved 'Please, Don't Touch Anything' franchise. He then worked at The Devhouse Agency on an unannounced Unreal Engine 5 FPS/VR game and Unity Co-op game.

Most recently, now back in New York, he works remotely for Kaijon LLC where he works with HTX Labs on their Unreal Engine 4 VR training simulator, EMPACT. His side project, Usurper, released on Steam on September 9th, 2024. It has received 20+ positive user reviews from people who have spent from 1 hour to 100 hours enjoying it. A playable demo is available as well.

A creatively driven individual who loves collaborating with people of all disciplines to make incredible games. He has professional experience designing and programming games in Unreal and Unity. Always asks, why settle for good when it can be great?

Some of his hobbies include art, film, video games, ice skating, and D&D.