Domenico Jr. Santacroce
Junior Game Designer — Systems & Progression
I design games where the order of things is the puzzle.
I spent nine years in a sheet metal shop figuring out which bend comes first so the part doesn’t crash the machine, which job starts when the steel lands and what material has to be on the floor before anyone can even start. Now I do the same thing in Unreal, just with fewer sparks and slightly less yelling.
I debug Blueprints the way I read a drawing: step by step until I find the moment the logic fell apart. Fix one thing, run it again, repeat. And yes , I hit delivery dates. Not because I’m naturally organized, but because nine years of clients needed parts Thursday.
About Me
I came to game design from a sheet metal shop, not the usual pipeline, but it turns out production floors and game systems have more in common than people think.
Three years on a press brake taught me materials, thicknesses and bend sequences. The order of operations that decides whether a part fits or becomes scrap. Five years as foreman taught me how to run a floor, train people and keep production moving even when something breaks. Today I’m in project management, planning delivery dates, forecasting monthly projections, and keeping material on hand so nothing stalls.
All of that is systems design. A production schedule is just a dependency graph with steel. A bend sequence is a puzzle with consequences. When I started building games in Unreal, I recognized the same patterns immediately.
On Memory Lane, I built the shop, the inventory, and partially the fridge system: buy ingredients, they land in your inventory and when you enter the food cart, they move into the fridge. They stack, they show counts, clicking takes one out, and whatever’s left is still there next time. It’s purchasing, staging, and storage, the same thing I’ve done for years, just with vegetables instead of steel.
What I bring that most juniors don’t: I’ve been the person a delivery date depends on. I know how to scope honestly, how to say what’s actually done and how to hand work to other people. I’m learning Blueprints fast. Shipping? I already know how to do that part.
Top 3 Skills
Gameplay & UI Programming (Blueprints)
Shop, inventory, persistent storage, menus, settings, camera work — all built in Blueprint.
Systematic Debugging
I trace Blueprint graphs node by node until I find the step that broke. One change at a time. Four documented defects fixed with cause + solution.
Production & Scope Management
Nine years planning delivery dates, material, and crew. I scope prototypes to what actually ships, not what sounds cool.
Unique Value Proposition
I build systems that move things through a game. Purchasing, inventory, storage and progression support logic that has to survive a level load and still be correct. Nine years managing material and delivery schedules taught me to find the step that’s out of order and that’s exactly how I debug Blueprints. I’m the junior who already knows how to carry a deadline.
