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Mike Kribel
Verified Expert in Engineering
Unity Developer
Águas Belas, Portugal
Toptal member since March 5, 2020
Bio
Mike is an industry veteran with 18 years in video games. He transitioned to independence several years back, establishing Principle, Inc. studio. Using the Unity3D engine, he pioneers unique game development. Mike specializes in game design, programming (C#), and tool development (C# and VBA), bringing innovation to his creations.
Portfolio
in Principle, Inc.
Microsoft 365, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), Logic Pro, Audacity...
Choice Provisions
C#, Excel VBA, Level Design, Games, Game Design, User Interface (UI), Unity3D...
Electronic Arts
Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, User Research, Video Game Consoles...
Experience
- Localization - 20 years
- Excel VBA - 17 years
- Game Design - 15 years
- C# - 13 years
- Unity3D - 13 years
- Blender - 9 years
- User Experience (UX) - 8 years
- Steam Integration - 5 years
Preferred Environment
Blender, Microsoft Excel, Unity3D, C#
The most amazing...
...game I've developed and will be in customers' hands by next year is a board game called Beasts and Diplomacy, with over 1,000 plays in the last six months.
Work Experience
Director | Developer
2017 - PRESENT
in Principle, Inc.
- Completed the development of the board game Beasts and Diplomacy. The product was funded successfully and will be in players' hands by 2026.
- Completed the development of Hextech Mayhem: a League of Legends Story as a contractor for Choice Provisions.
- Developed and released Thrusty Ship for Steam, using Unity3D.
- Developed and released OVO Smash! for Steam, using Unity3D and other tools.
- Taught game development at the University of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, for a one-week-long summer camp in 2019; I received great student and parent reviews.
- Created Unity3D to Steam tutorials on YouTube, the most popular tutorials on the topic by aggregate numbers, to my knowledge.
- Completed contract work for two educational games for a local Alberta client on farming equipment safety, to the great client satisfaction.
Technologies: Microsoft 365, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), Logic Pro, Audacity, Blender, C#, Unity3D, Game Design, Microsoft Excel, Localization, Italian-English Translation, Excel VBA, Unity2D, Tools, Microsoft PowerPoint, Level Design, Games, User Interface (UI), User Experience (UX), Unity, Game Development, Gaming, Lua, Affinity Publisher, SVG, Gimp, Inkscape, Excel Macros
Developer
2020 - 2022
Choice Provisions
- Designed every level for Hextech Mayhem: a League of Legends Story, with downloadable content levels included.
- Programmed all the level population logic and tools in Hextech Mayhem: a League of Legends Story. Programmed the user interface.
- Designed the core locomotion systems in Hextech Mayhem: a League of Legends Story and the unique selling point, the improvisation system.
Technologies: C#, Excel VBA, Level Design, Games, Game Design, User Interface (UI), Unity3D, User Experience (UX), Video Game Consoles, Microsoft Excel, Jira, Microsoft 365, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), Localization, Tools, Microsoft PowerPoint, Unity, Game Development, Gaming, Gimp, Excel Macros
User Experience Researcher (FIFA)
2013 - 2017
Electronic Arts
- Organized and managed group UX research sessions, as well as one-on-one sessions. In my time at EA, I averaged 1.5 research sessions per week.
- Analyzed accrued user experience data using various statistical models and techniques for both qualitative and quantitative queries.
- Delivered PowerPoint presentations to the game design teams and producers that would explain what the user research would find on various features and improvements for the FIFA products.
- Ran UK-based playtests with hand-picked users to test the most hardcore features for the FIFA gameplay team and the FIFA ultimate team.
Technologies: Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, User Research, Video Game Consoles, User Experience (UX), Xbox 360, Microsoft 365, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), Excel VBA, Tools, PS3, Games, User Interface (UI), Gaming, Excel Macros
Localization QA Process and Tools Manager
2011 - 2013
Babel Media
- Developed tools to improve the efficiency and accuracy of localization QA effort. Notable examples include version management and comparison for localization files, with reports designed to address the differences.
- Used VBA to automate client-facing reporting with a tool that I programmed which linked database extraction, aggregated the data, parsed it in a predefined report system, then sent it to the client.
- Created an attitudinal test environment for the recruitment team specifically designed to track applications to work in localization QA. The test measured the willingness to work and competence.
Technologies: Confluence, Jira, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), Game Design, Microsoft Excel, Xbox 360, Databases, Microsoft 365, Localization, Italian-English Translation, Excel VBA, TestTrack Pro, Tools, PS3, Games, Gaming, Excel Macros
Senior Localization QA Coordinator
2010 - 2011
Babel Media
- Managed the localization effort for various AAA projects and clients (all protected by NDA). This involved vetting and submitting bug reports to clients, as well as reporting on progress on a day to day basis.
- Mentored localization QA testers in many languages as well as localization QA coordinators and supervisors.
Technologies: Microsoft 365, Databases, Jira, Video Game Consoles, Microsoft Excel, Xbox 360, Localization, Italian-English Translation, Excel VBA, TestTrack Pro, PS3, Confluence, Games, Gaming, Excel Macros
Localization QA Tester (Italian)
2009 - 2010
Babel Media
- Contributed to polishing the quality of the Italian localization of major AAA titles. All titles are protected by NDA so I cannot disclose them.
- Tracked, reported, fixed, and verified bugs using various databases, depending on client, for tracking localization bugs.
- Tracked, reported, fixed, and verified console manufacturer compliance localization issues.
Technologies: Microsoft 365, Confluence, Jira, TestTrack Pro, Video Game Consoles, Microsoft Excel, Xbox 360, Localization, Italian-English Translation, Excel VBA, PS3, Games, Gaming, Excel Macros
Functionality and Localization QA Tester (Italian)
2009 - 2009
Codemasters
- Improved the quality of the Italian localization of major AAA titles such as Overlord II, DiRT 2, and Overlord Minions.
- Tracked, reported, and verified bugs using Jira for tracking functionality and localization bugs.
- Managed all of the Italian localization efforts and related communication due to being the only Italian linguistic expert in the team.
Technologies: Jira, Microsoft Excel, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, PS3, Xbox 360, Microsoft 365, Localization, Italian-English Translation, Excel VBA, PlayStation, Games, Gaming, Excel Macros
Functionality and Localization QA Tester (Italian)
2007 - 2009
Rockstar Games
- Polished the quality of the Italian localization of major AAA titles such as Grand Theft Auto IV, Midnight Club: LA and Bully: Scholarship Edition.
- Tracked, reported, and verified bugs using the Rockstar proprietary databases for tracking functionality and localization bugs.
- Volunteered for many night shifts or other forms of overtime work to maximize my contribution to the projects.
Technologies: Databases, Microsoft Excel, PlayStation, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, PS3, Xbox 360, Jira, Microsoft 365, Localization, Italian-English Translation, Excel VBA, Games, Gaming, Excel Macros
Experience
Beasts and Diplomacy
https://linktr.ee/BeastsAndDiplomacyBeasts and Diplomacy (the card-drafting game that's all about opportunity and player interaction) is a competitive board game for 1 to 6 players, lasting about 25 minutes per player. Become a Knight of Aterra, participating in the Summer Solstice Festival. Win the festival Beast Exhibition competition by capturing and exhibiting fantastical beasts that will impress the diplomats of our lands. You have 3 days to exchange quests, capture beasts, welcome diplomats, deploy personnel to get an edge, and sell beasts to traders. At the end of each day, you have to pay the maintenance cost of your exhibition, so selling beasts or making profits in some other way will be necessary to keep your diplomats satisfied! You will be drafting cards by deploying your workers, then you'll be using the cards to improve your beast exhibition. You'll have to make plans, execute them, and then adapt when things go wrong.
Hextech Mayhem: a League of Legends Story
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1651960/Hextech_Mayhem_A_League_of_Legends_Story/In this fast-paced rhythm runner, every action has an explosive reaction, and no amount of mayhem is too much. Take on the role of Hexplosives expert Ziggs as you rampage through the neighborhoods of Piltover!
Thrusty Ship (Steam)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/942520/Thrusty_Ship/I handled the head-to-toe development of this high octane, action-packed, highly challenging unconventional platformer videogame developed in Unity 2D. The highlights are the game's level design (96 handcrafted levels), mechanics design, a subtle tutorial (driven by progress), and bug-free experience.
OVO Smash! (Steam)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/719130/OVO_Smash/I implemented the head-to-toe development of this local multiplayer mashup between competitive deathmatch and memory match. A few highlights are the game's inventive design in a completely family friendly environment and the bug-free experience.
Tutorials on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5-Y-5Dtg_c&list=PLYNA5JTxVZN0VNeZSBMVhlzDw2fY3raGrI've been running a YouTube channel for a few years now, posting tutorials for various game development related topics, including Unity3D to Steam integration, MS Excel and C# code converters to use in Unity, and a Daddy and Daughter series (where I teach one of my children to program videogames, live stream on Twitch, and then archive the videos on YouTube).
Education
2005 - 2007
Completed Credits towards a Bachelor's Degree in Translation and Interpretation
Scuola Superiore Lingue Moderne per Interpreti e Traduttori (SSLMIT) - Trieste, Italy
Skills
Libraries/APIs
Steam Integration
Tools
Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Blender, Jira, TestTrack Pro, Confluence, Audacity, Logic Pro, Inkscape
Languages
Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), Excel VBA, C#, Lua
Frameworks
Unity2D, Unity3D, Unity
Platforms
Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation
Storage
Databases
Other
Game Design, Localization, Italian-English Translation, Level Design, Games, Game Development, Gaming, Excel Macros, Tools, User Experience (UX), Gimp, Video Game Consoles, Microsoft 365, User Research, User Interface (UI), Affinity Publisher, SVG
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