Tracy Runanin-Telle

I am a well-rounded designer with 5+ years of experience in the industry, entirely in Unreal Engine 4 & 5. I have worked in mission design, quest design, level design, and assisted with narrative design on small and large projects, 30-200 people. Large indie and AAA experience, singleplayer and multiplayer. Looking for the next challenge, and a role where I can wear many hats to use my broad knowledge base.

Last project is NDA, but I was most passionate in mission design when I owned a large piece of content as a product owner and saw it through beginning to alpha: from paper design and pitch, to blockout and prototyped mechanics, to properly integrated with the project's features and workflow. Collaborated with stakeholders from every other department along the way.

In my spare time, I enjoy writing fiction and non-fiction, novels and essays. I'm also a sucker for 18th century British Romantic-era poetry.

Portfolio

UNANNOUNCED UE5 Project

Quest Design, 2 years. Open-world, multiplayer, story-driven project. NDA.

LOTR: Return to Moria

Level Design, 1.5 years. Created several “bubbles” and layouts to be placed in a random order with procedural generation: sprawling hub areas, boss arenas, puzzles, and exploration areas. Shipped.

THE CALlisto Protocol

Junior & Level Design, 2 years. Puzzles, combat encounters, solo maintenance on two levels, and setpiece design. Assisted with scripted event implementation. Shipped.

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    Free Range Games

    Quest Designer (Unannounced Third-Person Action Project) — September 2023-June 2025

    ·       Led multiple story and side-quests from start to finish; pitch and approval on paper design, prototyping, playtest, iteration, polish (up to our current point in production)

    ·       Emphasis on player agency and exploration in quests, with a strong narrative focus

    ·       Prototyped quest-specific mechanics in Blueprint, Unreal Engine 5

    ·       Collaborated with narrative designers, writers, artists, and engineers

    Level Designer (Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria) — May 2022-September 2023

    ·       Blockouts and layouts created in Blender, imported to Unreal Engine 4

    ·       Shipped exploration areas, boss arenas, hubs, and puzzles, with an intersection of strong narrative and systemic needs, for a co-op story-focused survival crafting game

    ·       Assisted with implementing systemic VO for both player characters and enemies

    ·       Wrote a handful of lore entries on Orc factions

    Level Designer (The Callisto Protocol, External Partner) — February 2020-May 2022

    ·       Was the sole designer on two levels, “Below” and “Colony” for months

    ·       Collaborated with multiple departments: engineering to accommodate a limited companion AI system; narrative to deliver critical plot and paper over cut sections; animation to implement real-time scripted events

    ·       3D level design and layout for combat, stealth encounters, and scripted events

    ·       Presented progress and advocated for design needs in biweekly C-suite meetings

    ·       Prototyped puzzle and setpiece mechanics in Blueprint in Unreal Engine 4

    ·       Created whiteboxes for testing locomotion and camera needs

    ·       Paper designs, user stories for the “Below” level kickoff

    Education

    Sarah Lawrence College

    Bachelor of Arts — May 2018

    ·       Courses in British Romantic literature, creative writing, and computer science

    Miscellaneous

    ·       Currently writing a fantasy novel adaptation of the poems of William Blake

    ·       Participated in an improv and sketch comedy troupe in college

    ·       Favorite games: Deus Ex, Silent Hill 2, Mirror’s Edge, Resident Evil 4, Outer Wilds

  • email: tracy.runanin.telle@gmail.com
    phone no. (415) 717-8325
    linkedin: tracy runanin-telle