GOOD IDEAS. BETTER GAMEPLAY
My name is Anton Sinitsyn, and I’m a fourth-year Game Design student at HSE University School of Design. My main interests are gameplay mechanics, level design, and game balance. I enjoy creating systems where simple rules lead to interesting challenges and meaningful player choices.
Ready to work on gameplay mechanics, level design, and game balance — from early prototypes to improving existing systems.
Tools & Skills
Game Mechanics Level Design Game Balance Game Documentation Gameplay PrototypingDocumentation: Google Docs, Google SheetsMy experience includes developing games in Unity and Unreal Engine, both independently and as part of small teams.01 / CUBE MATTERS
2D Puzzle Game | Unreal Engine | Team of 2CUBE MATTERS is a puzzle game where players guide colored balls to their goals by moving and rotating shapes. The balls cannot be controlled directly, so every move requires planning.
MY ROLE — GAME DESIGNER & LEVEL DESIGNER
Together with my teammate, I developed the core gameplay concept and rules for interacting with objects. My main responsibility was level design: creating puzzles, planning the order in which new mechanics appear, and gradually increasing difficulty.
Game design challenges
Making indirect control clear
The problem: players had difficulty understanding how shapes move and how balls transfer between them.The solution: each type of shape follows a clear set of rules. Squares move horizontally or vertically, while rectangles rotate by 90 degrees. The first levels introduce these interactions one at a time, allowing players to learn the controls before solving puzzles that combine different mechanics.
Building difficulty step by step
The challenge: keep the puzzles interesting as players learn the mechanics, without making the rules too complicated.The solution: levels gradually introduce new elements:Level 1: Basic movement Level 3: New types of squares Level 5: Rotating rectangles Level 8: Additional colors Levels 11–15: Combinations of existing mechanicsInstead of constantly adding new rules, later puzzles become more complex by combining mechanics that players already know.
Level 1 vs. Level 12: increasing complexity
Level 5: rotating rectangles
15 levels of increasing complexity
The game starts with basic movement and gradually introduces new shapes, rotation, and color combinations. Later puzzles bring these mechanics together, creating more challenging situations without changing the basic rules.
02 / SUI JURIS
3D Puzzle Platformer | Unreal Engine | Team of 4Sui Juris is a third-person puzzle platformer about an owl working in parliament. To earn a promotion, the player must complete a series of challenges involving movement, enemies, and environmental puzzles.
MY ROLE — GAME DESIGNER & LEVEL DESIGNER
Responsible for designing character abilities, the stamina system, and puzzles based on object interactions. Also worked on level design and game documentation, and configured character movement and the third-person camera in Unreal Engine.
Game design challenges
Making abilities meaningful
The challenge: the owl has several powerful abilities, including dashing and gliding. Without limits, players could use them too often and avoid many challenges.The solution: a stamina system limits dashing and gliding, making players think about when to use each ability. Carrying boxes also disables other abilities, so players must plan their actions during puzzles.Creating variety with simple mechanics
The challenge: create different types of puzzles using a limited set of interactive objects.The solution: the same boxes and buttons are used in two different ways. In one puzzle, players place boxes on buttons of matching colors. In another, they follow clues from NPCs to find the correct order. Changing the rules creates new challenges without adding new objects.
Connecting mechanics and level design
The levels introduce mechanics step by step, starting with a tutorial and moving towards more complex challenges. One of the later levels also allows players to choose the order in which they complete different rooms.
