Mickaël Pratali

Freelance Senior Game Designer

26 years of experience, over 40 shipped games

A fresh perspective Stronger design decisions A project moving forward

I bring a fresh perspective to your project, challenge your design decisions and work with you to move it forward.

One-off assignments or ongoing support.
Remote or on-site in Paris and the surrounding region.

Let’s talk about your project

Some projects I’ve worked on

Astérix & Obélix : Mission Babylone - Microids - PC and consoles

Flashback 2 - Microids - PC and consoles

Astérix & Obélix: Slap them All! 2 - Microids - PC and consoles

New Joe & Mac - Microids - PC and consoles

Astérix & Obélix: Slap them All! - Microids - PC and consoles

Pucca's Race for Kisses - Big Ben Interactive - Nintendo Wii

The Magic Roundabout - Deep Silver - Nintendo DS

Code Lyoko: Quest for Infinity - The Game Factory - Nintendo Wii

Foot 2 Rue 1&2 - The Game Factory - Nintendo DS

Arthur and the Invisibles - Atari - Nintendo DS

New York Race - Wanadoo Edition - PC, PS2, Game Boy Color

How is your project progressing?

Whether you’re a development team, publisher, investor or project owner, you may recognise one of these situations.

"We need a fresh perspective"

Over time, habits take hold and perspective fades. It becomes harder to distinguish what works from what needs another look.

"We could take it further"

The game’s foundations are in place, but the experience could be clearer, better paced, more impactful or more consistent.

"We need to make a decision"

A design decision needs to be made that will shape the rest of development, but several options remain on the table.

"We’re approaching a key milestone"

A build or proposal is about to be presented to a publisher, investor or funding panel. It needs to clearly demonstrate the project’s strengths.

"We need senior expertise"

The team needs an experienced game designer to turn to, but hiring someone senior full-time is not an option.

An outside perspective can help you see the way forward!

From insight to action

Mickaël Pratali analysing a game experience — Analysing the experience

Mickaël Pratali discussing a project with a team — Creating with teams

Working from your builds, prototypes, design documents, pitch decks or an initial concept, I bring a fresh perspective and help move your project forward, according to your needs and its stage of development.

Acting sooner gives you room to adjust decisions before they become difficult and costly to reverse.

I assess the project and identify priorities

Evaluation

I analyse the player experience and design decisions in light of the project’s creative intentions.

Diagnosis

I identify the project’s strengths, weaknesses and risks to establish what to build on and which problems to address.

Prioritisation

I provide practical recommendations and an action plan tailored to production constraints.

The assignment can end here, with a structured assessment report and clearly defined priorities.

I design with your team

Design & Co-design

I challenge your ideas and suggest design directions. Together, we develop and document solutions suited to your project.

You can also bring me in directly for this stage.

I support the project as it evolves

Follow-up

Throughout each iteration, I review implementations, assess their effect on the player experience and work with the team to define any adjustments needed.

We can work together occasionally or regularly, depending on your needs.

Together, we define the scope of my involvement, respecting your creative vision and production constraints.

What I look at in your game

I draw on my expertise in these areas, according to your project’s needs:

Game Design Gameplay
Gamefeel

Level Design Metrics
Flow & Pacing

Balancing Pacing
Difficulty curve
Playtime
Replayability

Signs & Feedback Readability
Consistency
Affordances

UI / UX Menus
Onboarding
Tutorialisation

About me

Shaped by arcades since the late 1980s, I developed an early feel for gamefeel, rhythm and immediate enjoyment, all of which still influence my approach to game design.

My career spans game design, level design and production, from hands-on design to team leadership and studio management. This experience gives me a broad understanding of game development, encompassing creative, organisational and publishing considerations.

Over the years, I have worked on both original IPs and commissioned games, within studios and directly with publishers. This has taught me to work with a wide range of constraints and production contexts.

What motivates me most today is putting my experience to work for teams, helping them create the best games they can.

Testimonials

"Mickaël is a highly professional game designer who can quickly join a project and contribute his expertise. His analyses are always relevant, his recommendations take economic and organisational realities into account, and his personable approach helps him bring people on board."

Antoine Villette - Director of Microids Studio Paris
Co-founder and President of Darkworks

"His expertise in game design and level design, together with his detailed knowledge of game production and his ability to integrate into a team, were undoubtedly key strengths in carrying out his assignment."

Julien Hubert - Production Manager at Microids

"Mickaël brought real added value to the project through his extensive experience and his deep understanding of both the creative and technical aspects of design. His contribution helped us make significant gains in quality and efficiency, while giving us greater confidence in several key design decisions."

Lionel Malerba - Production Director at Balio Studio