About

Heyo! I'm Cole Navarre Esparza and for the past four years I've been working as a Game Designer, with a focus on Combat and Encounter design!
 

I have a passion for enabling players to express their skills and playstyles through elegant and deep gameplay mechanics. Most recently have done this during my time working at Hidden Leaf Games, crafting hero abilities and ability augments within Unreal Engine 4 for Fangs. Before that I was working as a contract Technical Designer at Funomena, where I helped build out Roblox experiences with clients such as Ralph Lauren.

I've worked hard getting to where I am today, going to Fullerton Community College and getting my Associate Computer Science degree, then transferring to University of California, Santa Cruz. From there I was able to finish school and get my Bachelor's in Computer Science: Game Design.

For fun, I explore all different types of games. I'm always interested in seeing the new innovative ways designers are pushing the envelope. While playing something new or outside my standard genres, I take notes on design choices I see. This helps me push my own designs into new and exciting territories. Some of my favorite games are Dark Souls, World of Warcraft, Street Fighter, League of Legends/DOTA, and Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones. Lately, I've been getting into roguelikes a lot more and have been spending tons of time playing Risk of Rain 2, Gunfire Reborn, Hades, and Post Void. Outside of games though, I've been working on leveling up my cooking skills and getting more in tune with my Mexican Peruvian heritage. Learning how to cook Estofado Con Pollo, Lomo Saltado, and my mother's Salsa.