- Game Development
- Gameplay Programming
- Technical Design
- Creative Direction
Hi, I am Kevin
DENEV DESIGN
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PONSHOT
Creative Director • Lead Gameplay Programmer
Physics-based combat • Systems • Leadership
Emberville
Technical Designer • Gameplay Programmer • AI Systems
Combat • Modular Architecture • Optimization
Naamu
Gameplay Programmer • AI
Navigation • Behavior Trees • Combat
DARK WARP ONLINE
Gameplay / Systems Programmer
Modular controllers • Space Systems • Shaders
Monuks
Game Designer - Gameplay Programmer
Augmented Reality • Mobile Gameplay • Casual Systems • Business Development
Kumpa
Game Designer - Gameplay Programmer
UX Research • Educational Systems •
A Videogame developed to help kids with mild intellectual disability learning.
Construct Mini Games
A collection of simple mini games made in cosntruct, using pixel art style.
OZAMANAS
Gameplay Programmer
Skyll system • UX • Board mechanics
Ponshot
A frenetic dodgeball party videogame where you can have fun a lot with your friends.
50 años PNFC
The most representative animals of the "Parque Nacional Natural Farallones de Cali" in Augmented Reality cards.
Hoy Es Diseño
Concept design, sketching, illustration & animation of the "Hoy es Diseño" Event graphic pieces.
Van solos
An animated Story about two eccentric friends traveling around the world on a Minivan,
Kumpa Room
3D model, rigging, texture, character design and composition of a scene for the poster of kumpa videogame.
Pyrobito Concept 3D
3D modeling, riging, texturing of a character of Ponshot videogame.
Van solos Illustrations
A set of illustrated wallpapers presenting the characters concepts of Van solos project.
Palo Loco
3D modeling of an eccentric frozen palette character for an academic project at university.
Toy Room
3D modeling of a room with my different favorite toys for an academic project at university.
Dandelion
short animated in 2d that shows a metaphor about the origin of the Dandelions.
BrutalBall illustrations
A set of different characters illustrations for a concept of videogame.
Illustration Album
A Compilate of diffferent digital illustrations for academic and personal projects.
Quick Test
Motion Graphic for concept of an a mobile app for learning.
City Drone
Motion Graphic for concept of drone system project for the cities.
Glind
Video presentation showing the concept of an object to help people with visual dissabilities.
Kanji Power
Motion Graphic for concept of an a mobile app to learn to do Kanjis.
Date: 2021 - 2022 - Cali Colombia Description: In this hectic fight for survival, players must command the forces of the amazon rainforest to stop the destructive expansion of human beings. Build your team of ancestral forces and discover their unique abilities to defend against the human invasion. The future of the rainforest is in your hands! It explores the impact humans have on our planet from the perspective of nature, and through a partnership with the NGO Saving the Amazon, it seeks to play a role in the preservation of the rainforest, by planting trees with a portion of every purchase. Ozamanás is inspired by games like Into the Breach and Plants vs Zombies combining elements of strategy and tower defense games. The game has a unique visual style with fluid hand-animated and illustrated species of flora and fauna of the amazon rainforest. I helped as a Gameplay programmer, implementing mechanics for the interactions between board, Enemies and player skills. Try the Game on Itch.io Meet the Studio GG Brothers Watch the early Gameplay:
Date: 2024 - (In Development) - Cali Colombia Ponshot (Working Title) Role: Creative Director | Lead Gameplay Programmer | Technical Designer Ponshot is an explosive brawler party game of Street Dodgeball in 2.5D platforms. Fight for the ball, move like a ninja, smash everything and strike your opponents with powerful ball strikes, they don't just break bones... they shatter friendships! In this universe Ponshot is an illegally popular street sport, born from an obsession with movement and throwing things in style. It’s played on rooftops, streets, bridges—anywhere you can run, jump, and cause trouble. Originally developed as a university prototype, the project evolved into a professional indie production. The game has received multiple awards and participated in accelerator programs, validating both its creative vision and production potential. Responsibilities & Contributions Creative Direction & Leadership: - Defined the core gameplay vision, player fantasy, and long-term product direction. - Led multidisciplinary team alignment across design, engineering, art, production, and marketing. - Established internal production pipelines according to the scope and the team. - Maintained team motivation, iteration cadence, and creative consistency. Gameplay Systems & Technical Design: Designed and implemented core gameplay mechanics including: - Dodgeball combat mechanics. - High-mobility parkour movement. - Physics-driven interactions and chaos systems. - Character animation systems. - Built modular, scalable gameplay architecture supporting rapid iteration and live tuning. - Developed tools and debugging workflows to improve designer autonomy and iteration speed. Production, Marketing & Studio Growth - Helped define production milestones, vertical slices, and release planning. - Supported marketing strategy, branding consistency, and community visibility. - Contributed to demo builds, public showcases, accelerator presentations, and pitch materials. Project Links related Wishlist on Steam Visit Abduction Games Studio Page HERE! Download the latest playable Demo Visit The Web page www.playponshot.com Watch the current Gameplay:
Date: 2025 / Cygnus Cross - Cali Colombia Project Overview: Emberville is an action RPG set in the Vitromotus, a vast underground world where death no longer exists. Players explore diverse biomes, fight dangerous creatures, rescue survivors, and rebuild a fallen civilization while uncovering the mystery behind the magical prison. During my time at Cygnus Cross, I worked as a Technical Designer and Gameplay Programmer responsible for building scalable gameplay systems, rapid prototyping pipelines, AI architecture, and combat-driven player experience. Project Related Links: Visit the Emberville Steam Page Visit the Cygnus cross Web page Core Contributions: Gameplay Systems & Prototyping: - Led scalable gameplay prototyping for multiple mechanics and combat features. - Designed and implemented a modular Character Controller shared across all entities. - Built an abstract Skill System supporting dynamic abilities, combos, and extensibility for large skill sets. - Enabled rapid iteration through modular prefabs and component-based architecture. Combat, Game Feel & Presentation: - Implemented combat flow systems focused on responsiveness and player readability. - Designed camera behavior, transitions, and impact feedback to improve game feel. - Implemented a Gore Death system to enhance visual feedback and combat intensity. AI Architecture — Herd System: Designed and implemented a custom Herd AI System to support organic group behavior across multiple biomes and creature types. Combined multiple AI techniques: - Reynolds Steering Behaviors for natural flocking, flow, and motion continuity. - Contextual Steering for spatial awareness, obstacle avoidance, and directional decisions. - Behavior Trees for high-level decision making at both group and individual levels. - Herds are fully configurable per species and enemy type. - Hybrid steering blending dynamically switches between algorithms based on behavioral context. Result: Organized group behaviors that feel natural, reactive, and scalable. Performance & World Scalability: Implemented Quad Tree spatial partitioning for: - Entity management and spatial queries. - Destructible object optimization. - Dungeon population management. - Designed scalable spawning systems supporting multiple spawner types and dynamic repopulation. - Reduced frame drops and improved stability during high-density encounters. Boss Design & Systems Integration: Designed and implemented the first major Spider Boss encounter: - Behavior logic. - Attack patterns. - Arena interaction. - Combat pacing and readability. Tech: Unity | C# | Behavior Trees | Steering AI | Spatial Partitioning | Modular Architecture | Performance Optimization | Tooling First Prototype Gameplay
Date: 2020 - (Finished) - Madrid Spain Naamu: The Lost Essence 3D Hack & Slash — Master’s Final Project (U-tad, Madrid) Role: Gameplay Programmer / AI Programmer is a 3D hack-and-slash action game developed as the final Master’s project at U-tad (Madrid). Players control Naamu, a young guardian empowered by the forest’s Essence, fighting to stop a spreading corruption consuming the natural world. The project was developed in a multidisciplinary team environment, simulating real production pipelines and agile workflows under remote collaboration conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Key Contributions: Gameplay & Navigation: - Implemented player navigation systems for responsive character movement and environmental traversal. - Collaborated on core combat mechanics, improving player responsiveness and combat feedback. AI Systems: - Developed enemy AI behaviors using Behavior Trees for wolves and the final boss encounter. - Implemented pathfinding logic enabling dynamic navigation and obstacle handling. - Tuned combat behaviors and decision-making logic for engaging enemy encounters. Audio & Presentation: - Assisted with audio implementation and integration. - Contributed to the creation of promotional and marketing gameplay videos. Team Collaboration: - Worked closely with game designers, artists, directors, and producers in a multidisciplinary environment. - Applied agile methodologies for task planning, iteration, and remote production workflows. - This project strengthened my understanding of full-cycle game development, cross-discipline collaboration, and production-level problem solving. Download the game Here Meet the An Otter Studio team
Watch full Gameplay stream
MY PARTICIPATION
SOFTWARE - TECHNOLOGIES
Date: 2022 - (Finished) - Cali Colombia Description: A group of simple mini games developed in construct 3 for learning objectives.
Date: 2022 - (Finished) - Cali Colombia Description: I contributed to this project during my Journey at Cygnus Cross company. Procedural Space Simulation Prototype: A gameplay-focused prototype featuring fully procedural solar systems and galaxies, designed to support large-scale exploration, dynamic combat, and performant simulation. I contributed across core systems architecture, gameplay programming, rendering, AI behaviors, and optimization pipelines. Key Contributions: Procedural World Generation: - Implemented procedural generation of solar systems and galaxies. - Developed custom shaders for procedural planet surface generation. - Built dynamic skybox systems to support seamless deep-space transitions and large-scale environments. Architecture & Systems Design: Applied MVP (Model–View–Presenter) architecture to structure solar system and galaxy data, enabling clean separation between simulation logic, rendering, and control flow. Designed scalable data pipelines to support large object counts and runtime generation. Performance & Optimization: -Implemented spatial partitioning using Quad Trees to efficiently manage and query large numbers of dynamic entities. -Optimized object updates, visibility checks, and interaction queries for large-scale environments. Gameplay & Controls: -Implemented responsive ship control systems supporting exploration, traversal, and combat gameplay. -Developed combat systems allowing real-time engagements during exploration and long-distance travel. AI & Behavior Systems: Built entity behavior and control systems using multiple steering behaviors to create organic, natural movement for ships and space creatures. Implemented autonomous navigation, pursuit, avoidance, and flocking behaviors. Player Experience: Enabled long-range exploration with continuous procedural generation. Designed for visual immersion, allowing players to enjoy large-scale vistas, dynamic lighting, and cinematic space environments. Tech: Unity / C# | Custom Shaders | MVP Architecture | Spatial Partitioning | Steering AI
Date: 2017 - Present (in Progress) DESCRIPTION: Ponshot is an entrepreneurial project that was born as an initiative to venture into the videogame industry. This is a frenetic party multiplayer dodgeball videogame concept, where the players can have fun with their friends. The game bases its main mechanics on the dynamics of the traditional game "Ponchados" or "Quemados", where the main objective is to eliminate other players by hitting them with a ball. Ponshot takes this dynamic and moves it into an environment where each character has their own set of abilities (powers) that allow them to defend themselves or eliminate their opponents. This is a project that has gone through different phases in which it has been able to validate its gameplay, mechanics, game feel, physical, acceptance and adaptation by the players. These stages have allowed to make crucial adjustments both in the update of functionalities and in the correction of bugs to improve the gaming experience. Click Here to Follow the detailed DevLog on Gamejolt
MY PARTICIPATION
SOFTWARE - TECHNOLOGIES
Date: 2015 - 2017 (Finished) DESCRIPTION: Kumpa is an academic research project presented as degree project of interactive media design undergraduate at Icesi University of Cali Colombia. Kumpa is a videogame that helps children with cognitive disabilities. The videogame seeks to contribute to the cognitive development of children with mild intellectual disability between 8 and 12 years old. This is a pedagogical pastime played in pairs (minimum 2 and maximum 4 children) and its objective is to develop a cooperative learning among the participants. It allows to the players the linguistic, auditory and visual development. The videogame is based on the association of concepts of the ABC methodology of reading and applies concepts such as the relationship of forms, images and sounds. The game was developed and validated by the children of the “Instituto Tobías Emanuel” of Cali Colombia, with whom we had the opportunity to perform different user tests and participatory design activities in each of the phases of the creation of the game. Watch the research document here Watch a newspaper article about Kumpa
MY PARTICIPATION
SOFTWARE - TECHNOLOGIES
Date: 2016 (Finished) DESCRIPTION: Monuks is an academic project of entrepreneurship realized as a way to venture into the area of augmented reality. Monuks is developed as a business model that links the marketing of the "Monuks notebooks" with a video game in augmented reality for Android & IOS mobile devices. The notebooks have a special marker or code that when the users aim from the application it allows to visualize and play the video game. This has as central dynamic the use of the camera to aim and shoot the Monuks (characters) that are attacking the house that is displayed upon the notebook. Additionally, the users can unlock different skills during the game, compare achievements and scores in a ranked connected to the Google accounts of the players. The video game was validated with the student community universities and colleges of the city of Cali. Get the Monuks APK here! Get the marker here! Watch the people playing! Watch pictures of the clients with the Notebooks and the videogame
MY PARTICIPATION
SOFTWARE - TECHNOLOGIES
Date: 2018 (Finished) DESCRIPTION: 50 years PNNFC is a freelance project that was made with the Colombian design studio Absurdo to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the "Farallones de Cali” National Natural Park. This project is about the 3D models staging of the most representative species of the park and their augmented reality viewing from a smartphone through the design of printed cards linked to an application developed in Unity for Android. The objective of the project is to publicize and promote the preservation of species through an innovative and friendly way, managing a simple but striking style of design and animation. The augmented reality is implemented in order to create an experience of interaction closer between users and animals, capturing and transmitting the behavior essence of each specie through animation techniques. Visit the Absurdo website
MY PARTICIPATION
SOFTWARE - TECHNOLOGIES
Date: 2017 (Finished) DESCRIPTION: "Hoy es Diseño" is the best design event in southwestern Colombia. Each semester of the year the students of Interactive Media Design and Industrial Design at Icesi University of Cali Colombia are in charge of organizing the event. This is an event that presents lectures by the best national and international professionals from different areas of design. In this project I was part of the team that organized version 23 of the event in the first semester of 2017. The team was divided into areas of design, marketing, relationships, financial and sponsorships. My participation was in the design area, supporting activities ranging from ideation of the concept to the development of all the digital and printed audiovisual content of the event. The concept "Between paper and pixel" showed the importance that analog techniques have had and their contribution to the construction of digital techniques currently used. In terms of design the audiovisual, advertising and communication content was made using a sketch style mixed and achieved with digital illustration techniques. Visit the Hoy es Diseño website
MY PARTICIPATION
SOFTWARE - TECHNOLOGIES
Date: 2014 (Stand By) DESCRIPTION: Van Solos is an academic and entrepreneurial project in the field of animation, which was born as an initiative for the creation of an animated short film. This project turn around the story of Otto and Paul, two young backpackers who decide to take a trip around the world in a Minivan that takes them to live quite particular situations where they make different friends in each place they visit. To their adventure are added a peculiar rat called Lennon and a millennial youth named Thomas, who have the ability to give unexpected turns to their journeys. The animated short film is designed to have a toon animation style, with a short duration format for each episode. Also, having its broadcast center on Instagram.
MY PARTICIPATION
SOFTWARE - TECHNOLOGIES
Date: 2016 (Finished) DESCRIPTION: This is a 3D concept of a Ponshot videogame character named Pyrobito. Pyrobito is a crazy character with an unbridled passion for everything that is explosive and he won't hesitate to blow anything wich him have at his fingertips. This character has allowed me to experiment in different areas of the carácter design for videogames, such concept sketch, illustration, 3D modeling, retopology, texturing, rigging, rendering, animation and even the creation of efficient prefabs within engines like unity.
MY PARTICIPATION
SOFTWARE - TECHNOLOGIES
Date: 2014 (Finished) DESCRIPTION: Toy room is an academic 3D modeling project that allowed me to make a deeper foray into 3Ds Max software. Also, allowing me to explore more closely modeling, lighting, composition and rendering options. This project did not have conceptualisation or sketch phases, the whole process was completely experimental exploring the most tools directly from the program.
MY PARTICIPATION
SOFTWARE - TECHNOLOGIES
Date: 2014 (Finished) DESCRIPTION: Palo Loco is an academic project of 3D modeling that was born from the motivation of practicing character design, modeling, texturing and venturing into the basic principles of rigging and rendering. This character is a frozen palette that belongs to the well-known Colombina brand. This palette always has caught my attention since I was a child, that's why I thought it was a good character to start doing different experiments in the area of 3D.
MY PARTICIPATION
SOFTWARE - TECHNOLOGIES
Date: 2012 (Finished) DESCRIPTION: Dandelion is a 2D-style short film that narrates metaphorically the origin of the dandelion. This project was made to participate in "La Truca" festival of animación, also with the intention to practice in different areas of digital animation in 2D.
MY PARTICIPATION
SOFTWARE - TECHNOLOGIES
Date: 2014 (stand by) DESCRIPTION: This Project is a set of illustrations with the concepts and designs of different characters for the Brutal Ball videogame idea that actually receives the name of Ponshot. With this project has been possible to practice many techniques in illustration, conceptual design and different styles of drawing to finally mix them with postproduction techniques using After Effects and Photoshop to create the whole compositions.
MY PARTICIPATION
SOFTWARE - TECHNOLOGIES
Date: 2014 (stand by) DESCRIPTION: This is a set of illustrations that belongs to the Van Solos project. These illustrations were made to generate advertising and social networks content to present the characters, the style and the project. Additionally, it was an excellent exercise to practice concepts about character design, illustration techniques and digital painting.
MY PARTICIPATION
SOFTWARE - TECHNOLOGIES
Date: Not apply DESCRIPTION: This section contains a compilation of different illustration projects that I have done for a hobby or academic reason. These projects have allowed me the implementation of concepts and techniques in the areas of character design, sketch, illustration, postproduction, anatomy among others.
MY PARTICIPATION
SOFTWARE - TECHNOLOGIES
Date: 2014 (Finished) DESCRIPTION: QuickTest is an app concept that seeks to support to the universities and other educational centers teaching system through gamification. This app was designed for web platform and mobile devices. This project seeks to propose different activities and games to make more fun and educational, not only the classroom environments but the way which students can study outside the classroom. QuickTest works in a social environment where users can create study groups or perform activities assigned by teachers. Each user can register, this register keeps track of the ranking and general statistics that are generated in each game wich participated by each person throughout his activity on the platform.
MY PARTICIPATION
SOFTWARE - TECHNOLOGIES
Date: 2015 (Finished) DESCRIPTION: CityDrone is a web and mobile app concept that aims to create an intelligent drone system that circulates around the city helping people with various functions related to the security, emergency, surveillance, shopping, shipping, among others areas.
MY PARTICIPATION
SOFTWARE - TECHNOLOGIES
Date: 2015 (Finished) DESCRIPTION: Glind is an academic project that includes the concept of a device that is connected to a mobile app that receives voice commands and sends audio to the person through the smartphone. This project proposes the creation of a device that is placed on the wrist of people. This device would have infrasound and ultrasound sensors to detect different obstacles according to their distances. Additionally, it is thought for you have installed a camera that allows image processing to help functions such the documents, bills, notices, coins and signs reading. In addition, it includes GPS functions and is linked to the public transport system (subway, buses and so on). In that way, people can have a more autonomous life in the city environment.
MY PARTICIPATION
SOFTWARE - TECHNOLOGIES
Date: 2017 (Finished) DESCRIPTION: "Kanji Power" is an academic project about the creation of a mobile app to gamify the Kanji's learning. Kanji are one of the three Japanese writing systems together with the hiragana and katakana syllabaries, for which there are general rules when combining them, since each one has a different function. This project aims to use the smartphone in a different way, thus creating a mobile app where all the interaction occurs outside the screen. Using sensors such the gyroscope and accelerometer for users to draw the kanji by moving the entire phone and only writing on the screen.
MY PARTICIPATION
SOFTWARE - TECHNOLOGIES
I’m Kevin Vélez, a Gameplay Programmer & Technical Designer who began in art and happily got abducted by code, game design, and teaching. That art-to-engineering journey lets me bridge feel and function: I prototype fast, design and implement gameplay & gamefeel systems, and turn ideas into shippable features that players (and designers) love to touch.
In recent years I’ve grown into team leadership and creative direction, shaping pipelines, setting product vision, and keeping teams aligned, motivated, and inspired. My recent roles have sharpened my focus on designing and shipping with validated core loops and clearly defined audiences.
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