Portfolio
Hi! I'm Julian Lai. A games and interactivity and computer science graduate of Swinburne University of Technology.
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I've been making games since I was young and am eager for my first professional game development job.​​
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Contact:
JulianRobbieLai@gmail.com
0412 600 548
Melbourne, VIC
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Voltage Vendors
Voltage Vendors is a space based phone repair game where you play as a loveable android name C.A.R.A.
We exhibited at PAX AUS in 2023 and then received an honourable mention from the Freeplay Independent Games Festival in 2024.
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Role: Lead Game Designer and Lead Writer​
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Most Important Contributions:
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Managed a team of 6 designers and another with 2 writers
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Created pen and paper prototype
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Designed and created briefs for 60% of the puzzles and mechanics
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Created and maintained Design Documents
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Worked with other leads to implement mechanics and ensure a consistent vibe across the game
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Organised and managed Playtests
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Developed the plot and wrote 40% of the dialogue
Breakthrough
Breakthrough is an arcade style game that was inspired by both Atari Breakout and Pong. It features two paddles controlled by different players who must manoeuvre two bouncing balls to break through bricks, collect power ups and score against the opponent.
Most important contributions:
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As the game designer I was in charge of implementing everyone’s ideas into a cohesive game as well as creating engaging levels that suited different strategies.
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I also designed all of the levels. The first level, Bricks, was designed as a tutorial level that starts off with the player playing against the game as they learn about how the ball bounces and interacts with the bricks and their paddle.
Afterwards the levels get progressively more skill based with barriers that challenge the players to aim at specific points.
Burgermeister
Burgermeister is a turn-based card stacking game in which two teams compete in a burger-making frenzy. One team, the Superstars, must try to keep the restaurant afloat by serving high quality burgers while the opposing team, the Saboteurs try to bankrupt the restaurant by serving disgusting burgers. The cards consists of a mix of good and bad ingredients, which the players can use on their own burgers or try to slip them into someone else’s burger.
Most important contributions:
As the game designer I created the core gameplay loop as well as the ingredient cards, which I ensured were balanced and added a dynamic element to the game without giving an advantage to any one side. I also worked on creating customer cards (which gave bonus points to ingredients the customer specifically liked or even flipped the good/bad ingredients.)
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My biggest challenge and achievement was creating a well balanced experience that was just unbalanced enough to add some variability without being too unfair.
