Mano Marichal | Portfolio

Greetings!

I am a game designer/programmer on a quest to make games that bring people closer to each other. I started this lifelong passion with creating cardboard board games and drawing Mario levels on paper at the age of 10. Later, I taught myself to program in GameMaker Studio and developed my first games together with a friend.

After earning a bachelor's degree in Computer Science at the University of Antwerp, I went on to pursue a master's in Game Studies and Engineering in Austria. There, I spent two years diving deep not just into game development but also into how players interact with games, the cultures that form around them, and the broader societal impact games can have. I explored questions like what games are on a philosophical level, how identity and gender are experienced through play, and how we as developers carry a responsibility for the experience we design, along with the opportunity to create something that goes far beyond entertainment.

For my master's thesis, I researched pay-to-win microtransactions. I wanted to explore the impact of these systems on the player experience and raise questions about fairness, manipulation, and ethical responsibility in design. Along the way, I also interned as a game designer at Dirty Paws Studio, studied in Tokyo for half a year, and took part in sixteen game jams, several of which received awards.

As a developer, I’m always exploring how games can move, influence, and inspire reflection in players. My goal is not just to create fun and engaging experiences, but also to contribute to positive change in society through the games I make.

This little website showcases some of my favorite projects I have done. Maybe you'll find something that catches your eye :)

Bagels Of War

Award-nominated student project I designed and programmed in Godot

Game jams

Selection of my favorite projects from the 16 game jams I have participated in

Electric Alps

Game design internship where I worked on progression and reward systems

Super Mario Maker 2

2D platformer level editor where I designed many famous "troll" levels

Dungeon of the Mad DM

Party boardgame for 2-5 players where you play AGAINST the dungeon master

Master Thesis

Scientific research about the impact of Pay-to-Win microtransactions on the user experience in games

C compiler

Compiler that compiles a subset of C to MIPS, written in Python

Size--

Application that can compress and uncompress data featuring different compression algorithms, written in C++

Graphics engine

Graphics enginge which can render basic 3D shapes with lighting, textures and shadows. Written in C++

日本語

3+ years of self studying Japanese

Electric Alps

The game I worked on as an intern Game Design at Dirty Paws Studio. I helped in designing the progression & reward systems the game will feature, and blockouts and the mechanical progression of the tutorial. More info about the game

Designing these systems was a very good exercise in communication, as I joined a team in progress and had to understand their vision and what the various systems I was designing had to achieve. I went through many iterations of designing, asking and integrating feedback. In the end, I designed the overall progression of the game and the various reward and progression systems that the game will feature.

I also helped in designing the tutorial of the game. My job was to figure out what and how the players learn in the tutorial, and then create sketches for the levels. I ended up creating 12 levels.

A level I designed. This level aims to teach the player about branching conduits, and is set up in a way that helps the player figure this mechanic out without being too explicit.

A review of my internship by my mentor.

Super Mario Maker 2

A 2D platformer level editor in which I have made many "troll" levels. Troll levels are a special type that try to predict what the player will do and punishes them for it, in an entertaining manner. Combining clever traps with a healthy dose of slapstick, troll levels aim to constantly subvert the expectations of the player. They are a happy accident resulting from the simplistic complexity of the Mario Maker games, and over the past eight years, a large community has grown around them, of which I've had the pleasure to be a part of. My levels have been played/seen over 14 million times.

Arguably the most crucial element of designing such levels is iteration and playtesting, to make sure a level's predictions actually match what players do and to refine the cues the level gives the player so they don't get lost.

Here are the two levels that I consider my best