Paul Melio

Creative lead with over nine years of experience guiding multidisciplinary development teams through the full production lifecycle of large-scale live service titles — 250M+ sessions across shipped projects. Experienced in shaping multi-year roadmaps, mentoring designers, managing budgets, and driving consistent on-time releases. Delivered projects for major global franchises including the NHL, FIFA, Vans, and Wimbledon.

Former studio founder with a background in roadmap planning, production systems, and KPI-driven engagement strategy.

Lead Game Designer | Design Manager at The Gang (2022-12 – 2026-05)

Roblox partner studio focused on bringing global sports franchises onto the platform. Led cross-disciplinary teams from pitch through release across multiple branded live-service titles.

• Directed the design and production of Vans World, a large-scale multiplayer skating experience inspired by Tony Hawk's Pro Skater — now exceeding 135M visits with a 91% approval rating.
• Led the release of NHL Blast, reaching over 30M players across the platform just in its early open beta alone.
• Oversaw sprint planning, backlog prioritization, and cross-team task allocation using Jira and Confluence.
• Used live performance data to refine gameplay systems, economy loops, and social engagement mechanics across multiple titles.
• Led weekly closed playtests, gathering designer feedback and running performance testing across multiple projects.
• Stepped into the Design Manager vacancy when the previous manager was let go — supervised four designers and eight interns, handling scheduling, mentorship, compensation discussions, and departmental budgeting.
• Promoted to Lead Designer in February 2025; oversaw up to twenty developers across concurrent projects.
• Studio filed for bankruptcy May 2026; contract concluded.

Lead Designer | Studio Founder at Strange Creatures Studio (2018-06 – 2022-12)

Founded and managed an independent game development studio with a core development team.

• Founded Strange Creatures Studio and managed a five-person core development team.
• Led design and production of Raindancer, a hand-painted multiplayer Souls-like released on PC and Mac in 2019 — achieving a 90% rating on Steam.
• Directed combat design, enemy design, and core 3Cs.
• Managed roadmap planning, milestone delivery, and production workflows using Jira.
• Supervised a distributed team of 12 paid testers and coordinated localization across Mandarin, Spanish, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Korean.
• Continued as Principal Designer on sequel prototype Raindancer: Downpour, later reworked into Perennial Order.

Associate Quest Designer at Gunslinger Studios (2016-08 – 2016-10)

Quest design and content creation for mobile fantasy RPG.

• Designed quests, seasonal multiplayer content, and a PvP arena for the mobile fantasy RPG Exiles of Embermark (Android/iOS).
• Collaborated with the director and lead design team to implement content updates within a live-service environment.

Game Designer (Contract) at Freelance (2017-01 – 2017-05)

Combat system design and prototyping for boss-rush action title.

• Designed and balanced combat systems for Here Be Monsters, a boss-rush action title inspired by medieval nautical cartography.
• Delivered core gameplay prototypes supporting mobile and PC development.

Associate Producer - Narrative at ImageMovers Studios (2013-09 – 2014-05)

Narrative production and preproduction work in director Robert Zemeckis' production studio.

• Worked within the production studio of director Robert Zemeckis in partnership with NBCUniversal, supporting narrative development and preproduction.
• Promoted from intern to full-time associate producer — contributed to script evaluation, project optioning, and creative coordination between writers, directors, and talent.

Master's Degree in Game Development – Savannah College of Art and Design (2018 – 2023)

Bachelor's Degree in Film – Art Center College of Design (2012 – 2016)