About Me
Hi! My name is Francesco and I'm a Game Designer, Visual Artist and Teacher actually living in Italy.
I'm interested in a wide range of artistic practices: from indie games for social impact to Land Art installations, from being a teacher to working as a game developer.
I'm open to all kinds of collaborations and projects, always looking for new opportunities and challenges.
Work Experience
Game Director at Safe Place Studio S.r.l. (2020 - Ongoing)
Videogames Screenwriting Teacher at Hdemia Santa Giulia (2022 - Ongoing)
Game Design Teacher at Event Horizon School (2022 - Ongoing)
Teacher for Master (2023)
Game Design Teacher at Game Maker Academy - (2023 - Ongoing)
Game Design Tutor at Event Horizon School - 2020
Digital Educator Freelance in several projects for FabLab CFV, Glass Studio, Conform S.C.A.R.L., Fiber.io
Formation
3 year certificate in Game Design at Event Horizon School
3 year degree in Multimedia Arts at IUAV University of Venice
Games
In my work I always have an interest in creating games that can push the boundaries with creative art styles, powerful narratives and immersive worlds.
I excel in System Design, World Design, Level Design and Narrative Design.
Venice 2089 (2022, PC, Consoles)
by Safe Place Studio
Roles: Game Director, World Designer, Level Designer
Venice 2089 is an explorative and narrative game. You'll explore the city through the eyes of Nova, a bored teenager who has currently no clue about what to do in life and just wants to relax from the stress of their usual routine. Ride your hoverboard and interact with your toy-drone, in a city affected by tides and climate change.Winner of Redbull Indie Forge 2022 and Best Italian Debut Game at IGVA 2023.
Oath (2019, Demo PC)
by Mentis Falli
Roles: Art Director, Level Designer
Oath is a single player ** isometric hack ‘n’ slash** about as Aya, once a samurai, who fights to bring back peace after a great curse was cast upon the world. Using her special kusarigama able to turn blood into light Aya will try to break the Blood Moon curse, in a world where every single shadow of the environment hurts.
Underlight (2018, Demo PC)
by Mentis Falli
Roles: Art Director, Game Designer
Underlight it's a 2D puzzle platformer. As a little child, flee from the monsters all around you and reach for the safety of your parents’ room. Turn on the lights to unveil what hides behind those dark creatures.
Radiowarz (2018, Boardgame)
with Marina Andreose, Daniele Artusi, Milena Sorpilli, Giacomo Garbo
Roles: Game Designer, 3D Printing
Radiowarz is a party boardgame about spreading your radio show: steal your opponent’s frequencies and reach the largest audience! Place your Radio Station to spread your transmission; you’re transmitting in a region if your string crosses it. Cross all the regions in your objective card to win the game. Made during the Global Game Jam 2018, the project has been updated in the following months; the newer version of this prototype includes magnetic 3D printed Radio Stations.
Other Games
Wasted (2021, PC)
for Global Game Jam
Roles: Game Designer
You wake up after an hangover. The keys of the house are missing, where are them? Wasted gives the player a specific goal but ends up making the player explore the environment with no clues what so ever; aren't games a waste of time afterall?
In a Heartbit - A Robot Dating Simulator (2020, PC)
for Global Game Jam
Roles: Game Designer
After many unsuccessful tries, you finally managed to keep your components stable enough to talk to your robo-crush. It's up to you, though, to make the dream happen! In a Heartbit is a split screen game that mixes a dating simulator with 2D platforming.
Ease (2019, PC)
for Global Game Jam
Roles: Game Designer
Ease is a split-screen game where the player has to practice daily activities in a moving caravan: on the first screen, they have to drive the car, while on the other four different scenes appear in a daytime loop.
Overflying Planets (2016, Interactive Installation)
with Riccardo Muffato and Giacomo Dimatore
Roles: 3D Artist, Programmer
In Overflying Planets, the player can interact with the planet displayed on the screen: moving towards makes it roll while jumping changes its appearance. Installation made with Max/MSP and Xbox Kinect.
Educational Projects
Besides working on personal projects, my interests in art and technology lead me to meet communities and participate in local projects.
I always perceived education for younger generations as an occasion to widen points of view and discover new ideas.
Play/Ground (2023, PC, WEB, Android)
with Glass Studio and IVIPRO
Roles: Game Designer, Programmer, Digital Educator
In this collection visual novels, you'll play 6 stories that are the result of a series of workshops with and secondary school students who were invited to write, draw and program a story that will promote their local territory and cultural heritage.
Giotto e i Colori Perduti (2023, WEB)
with Conform S.C.A.R.L.
Roles: Game Designer, Digital Educator
You play as J. an art student that, in order to complete his homework reasearch, decides to play an old point & click adventure on a CD-Rom. However due to a bug, he gets teletransported inside the game in a mission to rescue Giotto's stolen pigments. This point & click adventure made with Visionaire Studio is the result of a series of workshops made with several italian schools students who were asked to design a story in order get to know both Giotto's art tecniques and their local territories.
Le Avventure di Pechéte (2022, PC, WEB, Android)
with Glass Studio and IVIPRO
Roles: Game Designer, Programmer, Digital Educator
In this collection of 7 visual novels, you'll play as Pechéte, a fictional character who's name comes from a rural legend of the south area of Padua province. Each story is the result of a series of workshops with primary and secondary school students, where they were invited to write, draw and program a story that will promote their local territory and cultural heritage.
Spazio+ (2019 - 2020, Events and Workshops)
with Chiamati al Futuro - Alta Padovana
Roles: Project Manager, Digital Educator
I lead a team of 4 people during the organization of a series of workshops and talks dedicated to young people about architecture, design, art, electronic and gaming.
I attended two talks about non-violent games and e-sports, as well as coordinating workshops of Unity3D, interactive design, retro-gaming and boardgame sessions.
U.Mano - VR Summer School (September 2019)
with Shachar Oz and Fondazione Golinelli
Roles: Game Design Tutor, Project Manager, Game Designer
I helped a group of high school students during the creation of 3 VR projects inspired by Da Vinci painting "La Battaglia di Anghiari"; in 1 week we created an escape room, a sword game and a crafting-arcade game.
Leading 2 months of polishing, all the VR experiences have been exhibited the U-Mano showcase at Opificio Golinelli.
STEAM Labs
2018 - ongoing
Roles: Tutor, Teacher, Digital Educator
I attended courses and workshop for young people on several technologic subjects such as Game Design, Visual Novels, Electronics and Robotics.
I teached how to develop games with Scratch, Ren'py, Twine and how to use technological devices such as Mbot, Microbit, Arduino, 3D printers and more.
I collaborated with companies such as Fab Lab Castelfranco Veneto, Fiber and Glass Studio.I designed and attended various Arduino courses for middle school students, teaching the programming basics on creating simple circuits, from blinking some LEDs to creating automated vertical garden.In some workshop I also teached modelling basics to print custom printed 3D objects guiding the students through the realization of personal projects.
Visual Art Works
During my education in Visual Arts, my artistic research focussed on Land Art and Social Art.
Thus lead me in the creation of outdoor installations and exhibitions that escaped the closure of museums, approaching local communities and activating conversations with public spaces.
Museo Vendesi (2016, Installation, Exposition)
Museo Vendesi is an artistic project that sums up some of my artistic researches that took place in Porto Tolle, a little town in the delta of Po river. During a local festival an exhibition of old traditional farming tools of that area were presented to the population accompanied by on-site installations., displayed as a contemporary art exhibition in an empty newsstand. The objects had an urgency to be relocated in an appropriate structure, as they were "sold" and put in a shop as a act of protest.
Parco Esplorativo di Fusina (2016, Installation)
A site specific installation made at Fusina, on a nobody's limb of land near Venice. This improductive territory has been used by local citizen as a place for walking out the dog or practice some fishing: cutting the grass and creating safe paths, I transformed the site in a explorative public park that transforms the rural structures in points of interest.
www.thewhiteroom.com (2015, Net Art)
Website app scripted on Canvas with Javascript in collaboration with Thomas Sambugaro. Users can connect to this white room and move freely in the area with their rounded cursor; if multiple users are present on the same moment they will start interacting with each other, running around and ultimately colliding with each other: this would open the microphones of the users to permit a brief chat.
The project explores the ways art can communicate through other senses, expecially in a space that's not real.
Veramente (2014, Photo book)
Il laboratorio intendeva fare focus su un uso della camera come straniante strumento di osservazione, in un procedimento autoeducativo teso a ravvivare le percezioni di fronte al quotidiano, reso insipido dall’abitudine.
Il corso prevedeva:
Esercizi di lettura su alcuni testi visivi, partendo da osservazioni e descrizioni usualmente date per scontate
Esercizi di grammatica della fotografia intesi come processo conoscitivo e costruzione linguistica (il punto di vista-l’inquadratura-il fuoco-il tempo)
Un progetto finale di libro dal titolo “Veramente” (tema del corso), frutto di un’indagine fotografica in un luogo
Le fotografie del libro finale sono state scattate nella città di Mestre, in particolare lungo la via F. Bandiera e nelle strade circostanti.
Crushed like a bug on the ground (2014, Installation)
Quest’installazione è composta da un disegno a terra creato con scotch carta di larghezza 50mm, raffigurante una bara di lunghezza 4,5m, ai cui lati spuntano 6 zampe. La figura è ricoperta da uno strato circolare di pluriball a bolla grande (Ø 30mm) di diametro 5m; all’interno di quest’ultimo sono inseriti circa 150 gusci di lumaca (4 ogni 0,75 m²).
L’opera è posta al centro della stanza e può essere calpestata in ogni sua parte dal visitatore; l’atto di distruzione di questi elementi e il rumore provocato dalla rottura di essi sono parti integrante dell’installazione.
Events and Press
Events I attended
Selected articles about my works
The Small Town Blues in Venice 2089 - by Josh Roque for Indie Story Games Link (ENG)
How I discovered the magic of wholesome travel games - by Kris Naudus for Endgaget Link (ENG)
Design and Develop an Art-History-Tech Exhibition in 5 Days - Article by Shachar Oz for U.Mano Exhibition Link (ENG)
Interviews
Venice 2089 - intervista a Safe Place Studio interview podcast by PodCost on Spotify Link (ITA)
Italian Video Game Awards 2023. Ecco i migliori videogiochi italiani by Matteo Lupetti for Artribune Link (ITA).
Fare videogiochi in Italia, la Venezia del futuro immaginata da Safe Place Studio - Interview by Alessandra Contin for La Repubblica and Italian Tech Link (ITA)
Cali, canali, acqua alta e videogiochi - Interview for Ivipro Link (ITA)
“Abbiamo fondato la nostra software house durante il Covid: ci ha tenuto al riparo in tempi difficili”. Così è nata Safe Place Studio - Interview for StartUpItalia Link (ITA).
Talks
ITA
Fare giochi con chi, fare giochi per chi? - Talk with Claudia Molinari (We Are Müesli) and La Gilda at INVISIBIL3con 2023
ENG
PLAYABLE ECO-DYSTOPIAS: ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH VIDEO GAMES - Talk with Felix Bohatsch (Broken Rules) at IVIPRO Days 2022
Imagining Post Crisis Worlds - Talk with Nick Murray and Phoebe Shalloway for Now Play This 2021
Venice 2089 - Behind The Scenes for LudoNarraCon 2021