Alessio Cusano

WHAT I DEVELOPED

As part of the team working on Basketball Stars at Miniclip, I progressed from implementing gameplay features to becoming the technical owner of the client-side project. In this role I am responsible for core technical decisions, maintaining the long-term stability of the codebase, and ensuring the client continues to evolve reliably as a live product.

Thanks to my long experience on the project, I also act as a technical reference for the team, helping other developers navigate the codebase and often bridging communication across departments when fast coordination is required.

Beyond development work, I have onboarded and mentored new developers, helping them become productive on the project. I also contributed to our team’s transition to a full Agile/Scrum workflow, working closely with the Scrum Master to guide the team through the process and make the new system effective in day-to-day development.

Key Responsibilities:

• Designing, implementing and expanding gameplay features
• Developing off-game systems and features
• Implementing UI (graphics integration and logic)
• Investigating and fixing bugs across the client codebase
• Supporting LiveOps updates and content releases
• Contributing to technical decisions affecting the long-term maintainability of the project

My work required close collaboration with multiple disciplines:

• Producer
• Designer
• Server developers
• 2D artists
• 3D artists
• QA

These are the main features I worked on:

• Golden Dunk (Premium Minigame)
  Implemented a premium variation of the dunk mechanic, offering exclusive rewards and adding variety to the gameplay experience.
• Report System
  Built the in-game reporting feature, including UI and client-side logic, to give players a way to flag inappropriate behavior and improve community health.
• Clans Chat
  Implemented real-time clan chat functionality with connection management and optimizations, enabling social engagement and coordination between players.
• 3D Ads Integration
  Integrated an in-game 3D advertising system, ensuring ads were seamlessly displayed within the environment without impacting performance or immersion.
• Club World Leaderboard
  Extended the existing league system by adding a new leaderboard tab and presenting additional server data, giving players a clearer view of global club competition.
• Daily Competitions
  Developed a flexible competition framework allowing multiple competition types. Players enter by completing “quests” (e.g., win 3 matches), then compete with others on dedicated leaderboards. The system resets daily and supports new competition modes in the future.
• Kits Collections
  Implemented a collection system around themed equipment sets (shoes, balls, jerseys, hoodies, etc.). Completing sets awards points that advance players along a rewards track, providing long-term progression and deeper player investment.
• Alley-Oop Gameplay
  Added a new basketball move into the core gameplay loop. The alley-oop allows a pass to a teammate for a dunk, rewarding higher points and faster match pacing, creating opportunities for strategic play.
• All Stars Tour
  Designed a special high-tier mode targeting advanced users. Maintained the same fee/reward structure as the top tier but randomized the match environments to keep the experience fresh.
• Config Validator (Anti-Cheat)
  Implemented a client-side configuration validation system. Prevented tampering of local configuration files (used for game balance, rewards, etc.) by verifying signatures and re-downloading invalid configs, protecting game integrity.
• Trophy Road
  Played a key role in reworking the entire in-game economy. Designed and implemented a progression system where trophies unlock game modes, mini-games, tiers, and additional prizes — centralizing progression and long-term engagement.
• Haptic Feedback
  Integrated haptic feedback on supported devices, enhancing immersion and game feel for mobile players.
• LiveOpsTool Integration
  Implemented the integration of our internal LiveOps tool with Unity, enabling live events to be created outside the engine and automatically imported into the project. This streamlined the LiveOps pipeline, reduced manual configuration and potential errors inside the editor, and allowed designers and producers to iterate more quickly on live content.
• Character Stats
  Redesigned the game’s economy and progression systems by separating ball cosmetics from gameplay statistics. Balls were converted into vanity items while gameplay attributes were moved to a new Character Stats system.
  The change was implemented as an A/B test, requiring both the old and new systems to coexist simultaneously in the client. Due to the deep integration of balls within gameplay systems, this refactor touched a large portion of the codebase and required careful handling to maintain compatibility and stability across the game.
• Remote-Configurable “What’s New” System
  Implemented a fully customizable “What’s New” system to inform players about new features and updates to the game. The system is designed to be future-proof and remotely configurable, allowing announcements to be dynamically targeted to specific player groups.
  It also supports A/B test segmentation, enabling different messages to be shown only to users participating in specific experiments.

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Other Contributions (Technical & LiveOps):

Beyond major features, I contributed to performance optimization, LiveOps support, and technical improvements across the project. Highlights include memory and RAM optimization (dynamic asset loading, atlas optimization, assets bundles), and localization support (Russian and Korean). I also implemented internal tools (LiveOpsTool for autonomous event setup, release automation for faster and safer build preparation, cheats for QA to rapidly test systems and game mechanics) and implemented system upgrades (TextMesh Pro migration, external sprites bundles, updated libraries). On the gameplay side, I adjusted balance systems and delivered rapid compliance fixes under external constraints (e.g., Facebook policy changes). These contributions ensured the game remained stable, performant, and scalable while supporting a massive live player base.

Achievements & Outcomes

Through these contributions, I helped keep Basketball Stars technically robust and engaging, balancing new content, monetization features, and live operations with optimization and scalability. My role as technical owner means I oversee the game’s long-term health and direction, ensuring smooth updates, improved developer efficiency, and a stable experience for a massive global player base.

THE GAME

Dribble, shoot, score, WIN! Grab the ball and take on the world with Basketball Stars. Show your skills in the world’s best multiplayer basketball mobile game!