Cody Archambault

Game Design / QA

Welcome to my portfolio! I’m a game designer based in Melbourne, Australia, specializing in mechanics and gameplay systems. I have a year of professional experience working as Games QA at Playside Studios, working on various mobile titles such as Candy Critters, as well as console titles such as Mouse P.I. For HIre! I also have multiple years of unprofessional experience as a game designer and self taught pixel artist.

About Me

Hey there! My name is Cody Archambault. I’ve worked a year professionally as the QA Project lead across mobile titles at Playside Studios, creating test plans, setting up workflows and managing player support on the game Candy Critters and working on sporadic updates across over 20 Other Mobile Titles. I also developed skills and experience in Console Development, having worked on the now released Mouse P.I. For Hire, as well as the unreleased Dumb Ways To Party games.

I studied Game Design with a specialty in mechanics design, here I would hone my skills across many different game genres, working on both student projects and game jams in my own time. I still use these skills today as I have dived deep into TTRPGs, acting as the GM for multiple groups and developing my own classes, narratives, and monsters.

My passion for game development begun at an early age, where I would imagine various worlds and games in my head, and at times try to recreate them through tabletop games and cards.

I got my start in creating games during high school trying to recreate parts of other games within scratch or RPG Maker. I would then start learning systems design and programming with the GameMaker engine.

Some of my interests:

  • Video Games

  • Tabletop Games/TTRPGS

  • Figure Modeling/Painting

  • Improvised Comedy

Some of my skills:

  • Professional Experience working as Games QA as a project Lead on multiple Mobile Titles

  • Strong multitasking skills and experience with heavy context switching.

  • Experience in Unity, Unreal Engine 5 & Godot

  • C#, GDScript, GML

  • Documentation and time management

  • Git and Version Control

  • Adaptability and willingness to learn

Professional Experience

Mobile QA Lead at Playside Studios

Mobile Experience: I have a year of experience working as the QA Lead across mobile projects within Playside Studios. Here I helped train new QA, create various Test Plans, and developed my leadership skills working in a variety of different titles.

Console Experience: When Mobile work would slow down, I would often spend time aiding in the console division, working on projects such as Mouse P.I. For Hire & Dumb Ways To Party. During this time, I gained skills in certification testing, working through requirements on the Switch, Playstation & Xbox.

Candy Critters: Idle Merge

Genre: Idle-Game, Incremental Game
Engine:
Unity
Project Type:
Professional Project

QA Project Lead

Console Experience

Genre: First-Person Shooter, Adventure
Engine:
Unity
Project Type:
Professional Project

Quality Assurance Analyst

Mobile Catalogue Updates

Genre: Varies Per Game
Engine:
Unity
Project Type:
Professional Projects

QA Project Lead

Student Projects

Game Designer, QA & Pixel Artist at AIE Melbourne

I have multiple projects developed within Unity & Godot during my time as a Game Design student at AIE (The Academy Of Interactive Entertainment) Melbourne. Here I gained skills working in a team environment alongside other students as we developed fully fledged games together.

Spearloom

Genre: Momentum-Platformer
Engine:
Godot
Project Type:
Student Project

Systems Designer & Pixel Artist

Gloves Off

Genre: 2-Player Fighting, Arcade
Engine:
Unity
Project Type:
Student Projects

Producer / Project Manager

Sous Chef

Genre: VR, Arcade, Cooking Sim
Engine:
Unity
Project Type:
Student Project

Level Designer & Systems Designer

Project Fragarach

Genre: Beat ‘Em Up, Deck Builder
Engine:
Godot
Project Type:
Student Projects

Systems Designer & Pixel Artist

Other Experience

Boardgame & TTRPG Design

In my spare time, I play TTRPGS & board games such as DND. When playing these games, I often find myself designing custom mechanics or alternative ways of play. In TTRPGS especially, I often take up the GM role and create plans for game sessions. Examples Below:

I often participate in game jams as a method of exploring new skills and finding new ways to challenge myself in my game design skills. I tend to complete short 2-day jams, usually Ludum Dare jams.

Game Jams