Lead Game Designer · Game Director

I turn game mechanics into a cohesive experience

Lead Game Designer. Combat, enemies, progression, and first-time player experience — from concept and design rules to a playable build.

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6+ years in game developmentDesign team leadershipUnreal Engine 4/5 · UnityPC · Console · VR

MY APPROACH

A game mechanic works when it supports the player fantasy, creates meaningful choices, and clearly changes the state of the world.

Featured cases

Three projects — three sides of my expertise

01 · Combat & Systems

GRIMPS

Lead Game Designer4 / 5 playtest score

Established a cohesive game direction and connected combat, enemies, progression, and the companion into one system.

View case ↓02 · UX & FTUE

PIONER

Senior Designer / UX & FTUE−15% fewer exits during the chase

Audited the first-time user experience and carried improvements from diagnosis through implementation and retesting.

View case ↓03 · Leadership & Full Cycle

Breathedge:
Cosmic Cluck

Lead Game Designer18 месяцев full production cycle

Defined the VR project direction, organized the design team, and preserved the franchise identity through release.

View case ↓

Selected projects01—04

01 · Flagship case study

Official GRIMPS key art: the hero fights plush creatures in a ruined city with an improvised weapon — Official GRIMPS key art

01 · Challenge

Fix weak combat impact and unite the demo's core systems under one clear game direction.

02 · Action

Reworked 3C and weapon feedback, enemy behavior rules, Combat Director, progression, and the companion's systemic role.

03 · Outcome4 / 5

Complaints about weak impact stopped recurring. Median playtime exceeded 36 minutes.

My ownership

Concept and positioning revision, overall game vision, 3C and weapon impact, enemy behavior, Combat Director, progression, pigeon companion, and demo structure.

VIDEO · YOUTUBE · 01:10GRIMPS case overviewCore systems, combat encounters, weapons, and companion abilities. Playback quality can be selected in the player.

GRIMPS gameplay: an improvised weapon fires with a bright muzzle flash and clearly highlighted enemy reactions — SCREENSHOT 01Weapon impactMuzzle flash, weapon silhouette, and target reactions make every hit easier to read.

GRIMPS gameplay: several plush enemy types surround the player at close, mid, and long range — SCREENSHOT 02Group combatDifferent enemy types occupy distinct ranges and maintain pressure without the whole group attacking at once.

GRIMPS gameplay: a motorcycle enemy attacks at close range in a dark urban space framed by purple organic structures — SCREENSHOT 03Combat encounter stagingContrasting light, close range, and a directed enemy silhouette heighten the threat and make the attack expressive.

GRIMPS gameplay: the pigeon companion attacks a large enemy with fire while the player keeps fighting — SCREENSHOT 04The companion as part of combatThe pigeon uses an autonomous fire ability and joins the encounter as a functional companion tied to the player's combat options.

01 · Problem

Combat lacked impact and a unified direction

Players reported weak weapon impact and underwhelming enemy reactions. The project also needed clearer positioning and a connected structure for its core systems.

02 · Solution

Iterating on 3C, feedback, and enemy behavior

Animation, audio, hit feedback, weapon personality, and enemy reactions were strengthened. Combat, exploration, progression, and the companion were aligned around one game vision.

03 · Outcome

The issue stopped recurring in feedback

After the next playtests, complaints about missing impact stopped recurring. The demo achieved stable completion and survey results.

≈30 mindemo length

36+ minmedian completion time

4 / 5survey score

20k+IGN video views

Combat Director diagram preview: three tactical rings, sectors around the player, and assigned enemy roles — **Combat Director diagram**
The system assigns enemies across three tactical rings based on role, weight, camera-relative position, path availability, and ally density.
limits the number of active attackers;
assigns roles and positions using weighted rules;
recalculates positions as the camera moves.

Case materials✓ Key art✓ 4 screenshots✓ Video✓ Combat Director diagram

02 · UX & FTUE case study

PIONER key art: three armed characters in a post-apocalyptic zone with an energy anomaly behind them — Official PIONER key art

01 · Challenge

Identify the causes of player friction and exits in the existing build's FTUE within a limited timeframe.

02 · Action

Audited play sessions, restructured the learning sequence, navigation, and interaction rules, and supported the changes through retesting.

03 · Outcome−15%

Player exits during the chase sequence decreased after the changes were implemented.

Case overview

Audited the first-time user experience, restructured onboarding and world interaction rules, and reworked problematic gameplay sequences. Changes to the wolf chase reduced player exits by 15%.

01 · Context

Improving FTUE inside an existing build

The work was carried out within an Action MMORPG build with established systems. Early in the game, players had to learn world interaction rules, navigate the space, understand objectives, and transition between exploration, staged sequences, and combat.

02 · Challenge

Diagnose friction and carry changes into the build

Within a limited timeframe, I needed to identify where players lost understanding or exited, prioritize the most significant issues, and improve FTUE without rebuilding established systems. Solutions had to be handed off across disciplines, supported through implementation, and verified in follow-up testing.

Audit method

From observation to retesting

01Collect observations

02Diagnose

03Measure impact

04Hypothesis

05Task definition

06Implementation

07Retest

What I analyzed

01Recorded play sessions
02Participant behavior during playtests
03Points of hesitation, errors, and exits
04Order in which mechanics were introduced
05Clarity of objectives and routes
06Alignment between prompts and available actions
07Player overload from new information
08Transitions between exploration, staged sequences, and combat

Audit findings

Problems, player impact, and implemented solutions

Observations were translated into changes based on their impact on objective comprehension, the ability to continue, and the risk of leaving the session.

Problem	Observation	Player impact	Priority	Solution
Learning sequence	New rules were introduced before previous mechanics had been reinforced	Cognitive overload and missed critical actions	High	Restructure mechanic introduction and reinforcement
Navigation and objective clarity	The route and expected action were not always clear from the environment or objective wording	Hesitation, wrong turns, and loss of pacing	High	Adjust routes, objective wording, and visual landmarks
Interaction logic	Similar interactive objects could use different rules and feedback	Players could not confidently apply learned rules to new situations	High	Unify interaction conditions, prompts, and feedback
Wolf chase	Staging, route, pack behavior, and cues required further tuning	Repeated failures and exits during the sequence	Critical	Rework staging, route, enemy behavior, and audiovisual cues
Transitions between cinematics and gameplay	Changes in control, staging, and combat state could disrupt the pacing of individual sequences	Lower engagement and loss of context	Medium	Adjust triggers, transitions, character movement, and audio accents

Learning sequence

Observation: New rules were introduced before previous mechanics had been reinforced
Impact: Cognitive overload and missed critical actions
Priority: High
Solution: Restructure mechanic introduction and reinforcement

Navigation and objective clarity

Observation: The route and expected action were not always clear from the environment or objective wording
Impact: Hesitation, wrong turns, and loss of pacing
Priority: High
Solution: Adjust routes, objective wording, and visual landmarks

Interaction logic

Observation: Similar interactive objects could use different rules and feedback
Impact: Players could not confidently apply learned rules to new situations
Priority: High
Solution: Unify interaction conditions, prompts, and feedback

Wolf chase

Observation: Staging, route, pack behavior, and cues required further tuning
Impact: Repeated failures and exits during the sequence
Priority: Critical
Solution: Rework staging, route, enemy behavior, and audiovisual cues

Transitions between cinematics and gameplay

Observation: Changes in control, staging, and combat state could disrupt the pacing of individual sequences
Impact: Lower engagement and loss of context
Priority: Medium
Solution: Adjust triggers, transitions, character movement, and audio accents

01 · FTUE

Learning sequence

Rebuilt mechanic onboarding as: introduction → safe application → comprehension check → combination with learned rules → independent use.

02 · Interactions

Predictable world rules

Standardized interactive-object logic: action availability, prompt format, activation conditions, and post-interaction feedback.

03 · Staging

Readable gameplay sequences

Adjusted routes, pacing, enemy behavior, gameplay triggers, and audiovisual landmarks so the intended action remained clear under pressure.

Experience change

Before → after

The comparison shows the direction of the changes without exposing internal project documentation.

FTUE

Before

New rules could appear before players had time to internalize the previous mechanics.

→

After

Mechanics were introduced progressively: discovery, application, comprehension check, and independent use.

Interactions

Before

Similar interactive objects could use different conditions and feedback.

→

After

Activation conditions, prompts, and feedback were brought into a consistent logic.

Chase

Before

Staging, route design, pack behavior, and cues caused repeated mistakes and exits.

→

After

The sequence elements were reworked and aligned; exits fell by 15%.

PIONER gameplay: a natural corridor leads toward the passage while the objective marker clarifies direction — FTUE · NAVIGATIONReadable direction of travelPassage geometry, lighting contrast, and the objective marker work together so the route reads without breaking the pace.

PIONER gameplay: an interactive object is outlined with its name and available actions shown nearby — UX · INTERACTIONWorld interactionAn object outline, label, and contextual actions quickly communicate what is interactive and which input is expected.

Core mini case

Wolf chase

−15% exits

01 · Problem

Playtests revealed repeated errors and an elevated exit rate during the chase sequence.

02 · Hypothesis

The outcome was shaped by several factors: staging, route readability, pack behavior, and audiovisual landmarks.

03 · Solution

Reworked the sequence staging, route, enemy behavior, and placement of audiovisual cues.

04 · Outcome

After implementation and retesting, the exit rate during the sequence fell by 15%.

PIONER gameplay from the chase sequence: the route runs between the rocks toward a high-contrast blue anomaly and the objective marker — CHASE · ROUTEWolf chasePassage geometry, the high-contrast anomaly, and the objective marker create a clear sequence of directional landmarks.

DIAGRAM · BEFORE / AFTERSequence diagramRoute, threat spawn points, and staging changes before and after

LOOP WEBM · 00:36Sequence in motionEntering the anomalous zone gives way to the pack's appearance: the threat blocks the route and rapidly shifts the pressure to close range.

Implementation

Turned audit findings into tasks for level designers, narrative designers, and other specialists. Carried solutions from definition and alignment through build integration and retesting.

−15%fewer exits during the wolf sequence

3 monthsaudit, implementation, and retesting

PCtarget platform

03 · Leadership case study

Official Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck key art

01 · Challenge

Define the VR project's direction and preserve the franchise identity throughout the full production cycle.

02 · Action

Established system and level design rules, led a team of more than five designers, and aligned decisions across disciplines.

03 · Outcome18 months

Full cycle from concept to release, followed by support with free DLC.

Context

Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck was developed as a standalone FPS Action-Adventure for VR. The project completed an 18-month production cycle, from concept and core systems through release and post-launch support.

Leadership challenge

The project needed a unified VR direction that preserved Breathedge's recognizable identity and expressed it through new forms of interaction without breaking the existing audience's expectations.

Preserve Breathedge's identity, adapt it to VR, and strengthen it through gameplay systems.

Area of ownership

From vision to build quality

Game vision

Established and maintained the project vision, defined system principles, and checked solutions against the intended experience.

Team

Led a team of more than five designers: assigned ownership, set tasks, reviewed work, and aligned solutions.

Production

Coordinated game design, engineering, level design, narrative, animation, UI, audio, and art.

Product quality

Carried mechanics from concept and documentation through implementation, testing, balancing, and release.

Franchise identity

Preserved and developed Breathedge's recognizable principles: its humor, absurd situations, environmental role, and the player's relationship with the chicken companion.

What I built

The project's systems foundation

Established the core game-system principles around franchise identity and the specifics of VR.
Defined the quest-system rules.
Defined level-design rules and the foundation of the game environments.
Contributed to combat-system and enemy-behavior design.
Balanced systems, analyzed player behavior, and iterated based on test results.
Developed the chicken companion concept and rules for its systemic interaction with the player, world, environment, and key mechanics.

Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck gameplay: the player moves among asteroids and vivid space objects in open space — LOCATION · VRAtmosphere of space environmentsScale, verticality, and contrasting landmarks create an expressive space for exploration and interaction in VR.

Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck gameplay: several robots attack from different directions in a VR environment — COMBAT · VRCombat and enemy behaviorEnemies are distributed across heights and directions, creating a group threat while keeping targets readable in VR.

Leadership process

Decision-making and implementation process

01Vision

02Design rules

03Task definition

04Implementation review

05Playtest

06Iteration

07Release

My role was not only to design individual solutions, but to preserve their integrity across specialists and successive production iterations.

Leadership mini-case

How I preserved Breathedge's identity in VR

The leadership challenge was not only to move a familiar universe to a new platform, but to preserve its character through game-system rules, world interaction, and the chicken companion's role.

01 · Challenge

Preserve the character, not just the visual language

Breathedge already had a distinctive identity: absurd humor, unusual objects, situations balanced between comedy and danger, and a unique bond between player and chicken. Moving to VR risked preserving the surface while losing the experience's character.

02 · Principles

Translate identity into design rules

humor emerges through player action;
the environment supports exploration, objectives, and comic situations;
familiar elements gain functional depth in VR;
the chicken becomes part of systemic interaction;
solutions account for player presence and gaze direction.

03 · Systems solution

The chicken as the project's connective element

Developed the chicken companion as the connective element between player, world, and franchise identity. It interacted with the environment, supported exploration and objectives, created comic situations, and became part of quests, levels, and scripted sequences.

04 · Leadership impact

Keep principles consistent across disciplines

Set the project direction, reviewed solutions, and ensured that mechanics, levels, quests, combat, narrative, and chicken interactions followed the same principles across design, engineering, art, animation, and audio.

Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck demonstrates my ability to lead development within an existing franchise: identify its core principles, translate them into concrete design rules, and maintain a cohesive direction through release.

Management mini-case

How I aligned the design team

Problem

Design disciplines could evolve in isolation, creating inconsistent rules and increasing rework.

Solution

Documented core principles for systems, levels, and franchise identity; assigned ownership; and introduced regular reviews and cross-discipline alignment.

Impact

The team aligned changes faster, reduced divergence between disciplines, and made production iterations more consistent.

18 monthsfull cycle from concept to release

5+ designersteam leadership and cross-discipline alignment

Release + DLCrelease and post-launch support

Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck shows that I can lead development within an existing franchise, preserve its recognizable identity, adapt its core principles to a new platform, and extend them through game systems.

Additional expertisePost-release · AI · Enemy Design

04 · Horror · PC · Unreal Engine 5

Zoochosis

RoleAI / Enemy Designer

Contributed to post-launch redesigns of enemy behavior, combat encounters, and bosses based on player feedback.

Enemies and bosses

Designed combat patterns, states, and behavior logic for five bosses.

Post-launch changes

Contributed to three major updates covering the horror system, bosses, and game fixes.

Player feedback

Analyzed post-launch feedback and translated recurring player issues into concrete changes to mechanics and enemy behavior.

LOOP · WEBMEnemy and boss designA short gameplay clip shows threat behavior and real-time combat interaction.

5 bossesbehavior and combat patterns

3 updatesmajor post-launch iterations

Post-releaseplayer feedback analysis

View on Steam ↗

Other experience05—06

05 · GAME PROJECT FOR IGN · 2021

Game design and production

Created a browser game: developed the concept, levels, mechanics, and narrative; prepared the roadmap and specifications; managed scope, quality, and client communication.

17 000+players in the first week without marketing

Play ↗

06 · VR NEUROREHABILITATION

Prototyping with clinicians

Designed VR exercises for cognitive rehabilitation, validated hypotheses with medical specialists, and collected improvement metrics.

What I bring to a team

From idea —
to a playable build

I connect creative vision with production reality: define what a mechanic must prove, build a prototype, test it with players, and carry the solution to completion with programmers and artists.

Systems design

I connect combat, progression, exploration, and environment into rules players can understand.

Combat design

I design risk and reward, enemy states, bosses, and readable feedback.

AI and enemies

Behavior Trees, Blackboards, FSMs, group roles, patterns, and combat archetypes.

Leadership

I shape the vision, decompose work, and align design, engineering, and art.

Prototyping

I validate hypotheses in Unreal Engine and Unity before expensive content production.

Player journey

I analyze onboarding, UX, difficulty, and retention through playtests and observation.

Tools and specialization

Unreal Engine 5UnityBlueprintC#GASBehavior TreeBlackboardFSMCombat DesignAI DesignProgressionLevel DesignGDDPlayer JourneyPrototypingPlaytestsJiraGitMiro

Three projects — three sides of my expertise

GRIMPS

PIONER

Breathedge:Cosmic Cluck

Combat lacked impact and a unified direction

Iterating on 3C, feedback, and enemy behavior

The issue stopped recurring in feedback

Improving FTUE inside an existing build

Diagnose friction and carry changes into the build

From observation to retesting

Problems, player impact, and implemented solutions

Learning sequence

Navigation and objective clarity

Interaction logic

Wolf chase

Transitions between cinematics and gameplay

Learning sequence

Predictable world rules

Readable gameplay sequences

Before → after

Wolf chase

From vision to build quality

Game vision

Team

Production

Product quality

Franchise identity

The project's systems foundation

Decision-making and implementation process

How I preserved Breathedge's identity in VR

Preserve the character, not just the visual language

Translate identity into design rules

The chicken as the project's connective element

Keep principles consistent across disciplines

How I aligned the design team

Enemies and bosses

Post-launch changes

Player feedback

Game design and production

Prototyping with clinicians

From idea —to a playable build

Systems design

Combat design

AI and enemies

Leadership

Prototyping

Player journey

Breathedge:
Cosmic Cluck

From idea —
to a playable build