UBISOFT CO-DEV RUBEN RUNHARDT

ROLE: SENIOR GAMEPLAY DESIGNER
STUDIO: FORCE FIELD XR
TEAM SIZE: 10+ (FULL TEAM: 400+)
ENGINE: UNITY
CONTRIBUTED DURING: MAR 2021 – NOV 2021
RELEASE DATE: NOV. 2023

Embody three legendary Assassins in this all-new full-length Assassin’s Creed action-adventure game that IGN calls “downright impressive.” Experience firsthand the thrill of parkour, the rush of combat, and the tension of stealth as you become the Assassin, working to stop Abstergo from gaining the power to manipulate people’s beliefs.

Retrospective thoughts

This 8-month stint at Ubisoft was my first foray into massive-scale AAA co-development. It was a fascinating look into the elaborate processes, documentation and pipelines required to support developing a game across a global network of studios. 

 

I was part of a small team originally brought on to support pre-production for Splinter Cell VR, but we shifted after a month to co-develop the starting experience for Assassin’s Creed Nexus. I am proud that my contributions, despite two more years of development, made it into the game almost unchanged, displaying the quality we achieved within our short timeframe.

Gameplay Design Rapid Prototyping Systems Design AI Behavior EQS HTN State Machines Virtual Reality UX Documentation Level Design Combat Design Cross-Discipline Communication Team Leadership Mentoring Public Speaking Unreal Engine 5 Blueprints Modular OOP Architecture Sequencer Physics Animation Blueprints Blueprint Utilities Unity Godot JIRA / Confluence Perforce (P4V) Microsoft Office Google Workspace

Analyzed core IP and distilled research into functional design documentation for stealth gameplay during early pre-production of the cancelled Splinter Cell VR.

Established UX and puzzle designs for a diegetic mixed reality environment that serves as the introduction and anchor point throughout the Assassin’s Creed Nexus campaign.

Prototyped puzzles and UX flow using Unreal Engine, establishing the core logic before overseeing its implementation within Unity.