Design Director

Nic Cusworth

30+ years making games. Now building AI into how we make and play them.

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30+
Years in Games
20+
Shipped Titles
3+
Years in AI R&D
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Nic Cusworth
About

Making games since 1988

I started my career at Argonaut Games, where I ended up leading the design on Croc — one of the first 3D platformers, back when nobody really knew what a 3D platformer was supposed to be.

Since then I've worked across a pretty ridiculous spread of projects. Spyder for Apple Arcade, Forza Motorsport, Human Fall Flat, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus - Lost Episode, as well as helping secure contracts and initial development on Metal Gear Solid Mobile, Team Sonic Racing, Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2, FBC: Firebreak with Remedy. Most recently I've been working with Digital Extremes on Warframe.

That's over 20 shipped titles, from solo dev to AAA, and a lot of the weird stuff in between.

I also run Interocitor Records, a small indie music label I started in 2021. Mostly soundtracks to 1970s French sci-fi films that may or may not exist, and dark ambient stuff that sounds like it should be in a Film Four horror film.

If you want to talk about AI in games, game design, or weird music — hi there!

AI in Games

The thing I'm most excited about right now

I've been hands-on with AI in game development since 2022 — not just watching from the sidelines. I genuinely think this stuff is going to reshape how we make games.

Concepting

Generative AI for Game Concepting

Using generative AI as part of the creative process — concept art, texture work, visual development. Not replacing artists, but giving teams more ways to explore ideas fast.

Production

Production Tools

Building tools that actually fit into studio workflows. The kind of stuff that saves real time on a real schedule, not impressive demos that go nowhere.

Runtime

Runtime AI Systems

NPCs that can hold a conversation. Facial animation driven by AI. Behaviour systems that go way beyond scripted trees. The kind of stuff that makes characters feel less like furniture.

Infrastructure

AI Backends

Complete AI-driven backends and cross-engine R&D across multiple platforms. Figuring out how this technology lands differently depending on where you're building.

Hands-on since 2022 · R&D across multiple engines · From concept art to runtime intelligence
Portfolio

Featured Projects

A selection of games I've had the privilege to shape

Warframe
2024–2025

Warframe

Design Director — Content Updates

Leading content design for one of gaming's most successful live service titles, with over 75 million registered players.

Digital Extremes / Sumo Digital
Croc Remastered
2025

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos Remastered

Lead Designer — Original Game
FBC: Firebreak
2021–2022

FBC: Firebreak

Design Director — Pre-Production
Remedy Entertainment / Red Kite
Vampire Bloodlines 2
2021

Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2

Design Director — Pre-Production
Spyder
2020–2021

Spyder

Lead Designer / Acting Design Director
Apple Arcade / Sumo Digital
Human Fall Flat
2019

Human Fall Flat

Lead Game Designer
Curve Digital / No Brakes Games
Team Sonic Racing
2019

Team Sonic Racing

Lead Game Designer
Sega / Sumo Digital
Crackdown 3
2019

Crackdown 3

Game Designer
Xbox Game Studios / Sumo Digital
Forza 7
2017–2019

Forza Motorsport 7

Lead Game Designer
Xbox Game Studios / Sumo Digital
Career

Complete History

2016–2017

Forza Motorsport 6

Lead Game Designer
Xbox Game Studios / Sumo Digital

Octamari Rescue

Lead Game Designer
Sega / War Child / Sumo Digital

Disney Infinity 4.0 Unreleased

Lead Game Designer
Disney Interactive Studios / Sumo Digital
2013–2015

Angry Birds Go!

Lead Game Designer
Rovio / Exient Entertainment
2008–2013

Otherland Unreleased

Lead Game Designer
RealU

Doki Doki Bloki

Solo Developer
Doki Doki Games

Star Wars: The Clone Wars — Jedi Alliance

Lead Game Designer
Lucasfilm Singapore

Metal Gear Solid Mobile

Concept Team
Nokia / Ideaworks3D

System Rush Evolution

Concept Team
Nokia / Ideaworks3D
2000–2006

Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus — Lost Episode

Lead Game Designer
Square Enix / Ideaworks3D

System Rush

Lead Game Designer
Nokia / Ideaworks3D

Carve

Writer
Global Star Software / Argonaut Games

Orchid Unreleased

Lead Game Designer
Namco / Argonaut Games

Emperor's New Groove

Design Support
Disney Interactive / Argonaut Games
1994–1999

Croc 2

Lead Game Designer
Fox Interactive / Argonaut Games

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos

Lead Game Designer
Fox Interactive / Argonaut Games

Creature Shock

Games Designer
Virgin Interactive / Argonaut Games

Scooby-Doo Mystery

Games Designer
Acclaim Entertainment / Argonaut Games

Vortex

Games Designer
Sony Imageworks / Pack-In-Video / Argonaut Games
1988

Coball

Games Designer
Nic Cusworth & Richard Aldridge — Where it all began
Press & Interviews

Featured In

Game Rant
How Warframe: 1999's New Minigame Helps Sell The Update's Time Period
2024
Time Extension
Croc, 3D Platforming's Unsung Hero — The Making Of
2023
TheGamer
Remembering Croc: An Interview With Lead Designer Nic Cusworth
2021
TheGamer
The Croc 3 Xbox Pitch That Never Was
2021
Shacknews
Spyder on Apple Arcade — Lead Designer Interview
2020
PocketGamer
Making Of: How Spyder went from game jam winner to Apple Arcade release
2020
Side Projects

Music

Interocitor Records

Interocitor Records — An indie label I founded in 2021 to release various music projects. Because creativity doesn't clock out.

There Is Another System

There Is Another System

Soundtracks to 1970s French sci-fi movies that might, or might not exist.

Spotify Bandcamp
bad_control

bad_control

Dark ambient drones and beats that play nice with Film Four funded horror movies.

Spotify Bandcamp
The Supreme Excitement of Our Time!

The Supreme Excitement of Our Time!

An Interocitor Records sampler with tracks from There Is Another System, bad_control, Kitten De La Croix, and KLO-PEK.

Bandcamp