top of page

Damien
van der Meulen

GAME DESIGNER AND PRODUCER

ABOUT DAMIEN VAN DER MEULEN

I was very young when I discovered my passion for games, with my initial forays into gaming on the family Commodore 64 and an Atari clone console, before getting my own first console in 1992, a Sega Master System II, with my favourite genres being CRPGs and JRPGs devouring games such as Ultima IV, Fantasy Star, Golvellius: Valley of Doom and Heroes of the Lance.

​​

Throughout my school years, my love for games intensified, and I enjoyed a wide variety of games across any platform I could get my hands on. In the early 90s, before I had access to my own PC, I learned much about computers through an older friend who was studying engineering at uni, learning about DOS based networking, system configuration, memory management and some basic programming in C++ (text based). I knew from my high school days that what I wanted to do was make computer games, and made my first game related program during Computing Studies in high school in 1997 where, using QBasic, I designed and programmed an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2E Character Creator which (in my fantasy) was going to be the first part in an epic text based CRPG. At this stage I believed that my calling was to be a programmer.​

“It should be the experience, that is touching. What I strive for is to make the person playing the game the director.”

- Shigeru Miyamoto
Game Designer, Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda

After school, instead of moving towards the gaming industry, which at the time was very much in its infancy in Australia, I ended up gravitating towards IT, working for a software company making CRM software, a computer store as a technician and a stint working at Dick Smith Electronics. Following this I spent some time putting my communication skills to good use for the NSW Police Force at their call centre as a call taker for a number of years before shifting into the Technical Team at the call centre, managing the telephony and other technology systems that drove the centre. As a hobby, I continued to keep my mind focused on game design, this time in the space of Table Top Role Playing Game design, developing my own game system with the intention of securing licensing to continue development.

​

After doing this for a few years, I finally decided it was time to get back into the industry where my true passion lay. I decided to study to obtain an Advanced Diploma in Professional Game Development, majoring in Game Design and Production, through the Academy of Interactive Entertainment. Through this I have been able to leverage my technical skills, knowledge and logic, alongside a natural talent for analysis of game systems, and my creative side to full effect. I am a firm believer in pushing myself beyond my comfort zone and have strived throughout my study to design games of a wide variety of settings and genres in order to keep myself versatile and flexible, and through this, have sought to push beyond the mediocre.

​

Leading multiple teams throughout my study, I have discovered a talent for production, documentation and direction, alongside solid skills in all aspects of game design. Coupled with a logical head for programming, I have been able to design and prototype game systems to demonstrate and communicate complicated design concepts, either allowing programmers to further refine these prototypes into implemented game systems, or self integrating those systems directly with the existing game mechanics.

Also through the role of Producer and Project Lead for the many group projects undertaken during my time completing my diploma, I have become proficient at receiving idea concepts from other team members, identifying how they will impact the overall design of any given project, and modifying those concepts to contribute to the aesthetic and feel of the game we are creating and communicating those changes back to the team.

​​​

My love for this industry as a whole, as well as my passion for overcoming the problem solving and communication challenges required to excel in this industry, are key to my desire to produce and design engaging and memorable games.

​

Thanks for taking the time to check out my portfolio here on my website, and for taking the time to read this and learn a bit about me. I'm always interested in networking with existing studios, other designers, artists and programmers, so if I seem like the kind of person you would be interested in working with, please do reach out via the Contact form on this page.

"I just had a strong concept about what a game designer is. Someone who designs projects to make people happy. That's a game designer's purpose."

- Toru Iwatani
Game Designer, PacMan

EDUCATION

Advanced Diploma of Professional Game Development (Game Design and Production)

Academy of Interactive Entertainment, Online Campus (2024)

TECHNICAL PROFICIENCY OVERVIEW

  • Project Management Software (incl Jira, Trello, ClickUp, MS Planner, Hack'n'Plan)

  • Communication Software (incl Slack, MS Teams, Discord)

  • Unreal Engine (General Use, Blueprinting)

  • Unity (General Use, C# Scripting)

  • Version Control (Perforce, GitHub, Bitbucket)

  • Adobe Audition

  • Adobe Premiere Pro

  • Adobe Xd

  • Adobe Photoshop

  • Autodesk Maya

Contact

GET IN TOUCH

FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME TO DISCUSS YOUR PROJECT IDEAS, COLLABORATIONS, OR ANY INQUIRIES. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU!

bottom of page