Jerald Mariano

Design Lead / Game Director

Building and scaling games and digital products across mobile and console for over 11 years

Led development on multiple live digital products with global audiences

Specialized in systems design, progression, live ops, and user-first experiences

Experience across well-known and established IPs in Disney, Nickelodeon, NBCUniversal, and more

Directed cross-functional teams of 30+ from concept to live service

Featured Case Studies

NexPets: Puppies

(Core Gameplay, Interaction Design, UX)

With no controller and a young audience, traditional UX breaks down. Here’s how I helped design a motion-based pet simulation that made interaction intuitive, resulting in
the #1 game on Nex Playground.

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SpongeBob Bubble Pop F.U.N.

(Retention, Live Ops Strategy, Systems Design)

Retention was the main goal and it wasn’t hitting. Here’s how I helped design an event cadence that drove consistent re-engagement and improved D30 retention by 2%.

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Funko Pop! Blitz

(Monetization, Live Ops Strategy, Content Pipeline)

Scaling weekly releases across dozens of licensed IPs created both design and monetization challenges. Here’s how I helped build a content system and introduced a VIP Pass that increased monthly revenue from $30K to $100K (+233%).

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All Shipped Work

SpongeBob Bubble Pop F.U.N.