I join teams as the person who not only makes the game work, but also gives it meaning.
Who?
Hi, I’m Tais!
Systems Game Designer · Level Artist · GeneralistI design game mechanics, build prototypes in Unity, Unreal Engine and Roblox Studio, and create the art and levels that hold them together.My games have been shown at GameDevFest, Game Future Fest and GraniCon, and reached the finals of the Horizon of Indie Culture festival. The games I designed for the Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics are now part of its exhibition.Based in Moscow, Russia
Open to game jams, indie projects and freelance collaborations
Why me?
I like starting from things nobody expects to play: a rock-paper-scissors match against your own brain, the menstrual cycle, or a burping contest in a Soviet pioneer camp. Sounds crazy, right? But I make it work!
SYSTEMS FIRST
Every idea develops from a core mechanic that I prototype and test on real players. My games have been played at festivals and exhibitions, my favorite kind of playtest.WORLDS THAT EXPLAIN THEMSELVES
I build levels, characters and UI so that players learn the rules from the world, not from a tutorial.I SPEAK BOTH LANGUAGES
In small teams, the space between code and art often belongs to no one. I work in that gap. I can discuss a state machine with a programmer and a color palette with an artist, so nothing gets lost in between.
I change my style to fit the idea, not the other way around.
Making the game work
Game design · Balance · Prototyping
SOCKRAPPERKISSERS
Arcade · Solo Development · Unity · PC & Arcade CabinetThe Task
Make rock-paper-scissors, a game everyone knows by heart, feel new again.
My Approach
I kept the rules and turned perception into the opponent. Original mixed-media collage graphics show every object as a photo, a gesture, a word or an icon, so players can’t memorize pictures and have to see the essence behind the form.
The Outcome
A complete solo game, from concept and code to art, playable on PC and on a custom arcade cabinet.
Prize Winner
DAFES CHOICE · OCTOBER 2025
Finalist
HORIZON OF INDIE CULTURE 2026
Showcase
GAMEDEVFEST 2026
LEVEL UP (MOSCOW VIDEO GAME CLUSTER) 2026
GAME PUNKZ'26 CONFERENCE
MONTHLY BASIS
Arcade · Solo Development · Unity · PC & Custom Controller The Task
Make players engage with reproductive health, a topic most people would rather avoid.
My Approach
Instead of copying biology, I turned each phase of the menstrual cycle into a simple arcade action and the cycle itself into the game loop. Soft watercolor visuals make the topic approachable, and a custom controller makes it tangible: a uterus model with tubes that players physically bend.
The Outcome
Festival players stayed for the gameplay and left knowing more about the body: learning and fun at the same time.
Finalist
HORIZON OF INDIE CULTURE 2026
Showcase
WASD ARCADE CENTER · GES-2
«THANKS FOR THE SIGNAL» GAME PUNK DESIGN EXHIBITION
DEEPER AND SALTIER
3D Underwater Shooter · Team of 2 · Unreal Engine
My role: Game Designer · Programmer · Balance DesignerThe Task
Make a shooter without violence: the diver doesn’t hunt fish but captures them with a camera for a research lab.My Approach
I built the gameplay around one resource: light. Every species reacts to the camera flash in its own way. Small fish flee, rays and octopuses are drawn in and damage your lenses, sharks are blinded, and corals change color to lure certain species. Two lenses, one fast but weak and one powerful with a long reload, create the core trade-off, which I tuned through balancing.The Outcome
Feedback called it a kind and atmospheric shooter where nobody has to be shot, with unusual movement that makes swimming feel natural.
Making the world speak
Level art · 3D/2D · Environmental storytelling
A COMPLETELY UNIQUE PIRATE OBBY!
3-Player Co-op Obby · Team of 3 · Roblox Studio
My role: Level Designer · 3D Artist · UI/UX
The Task
Build levels for a co-op obby where three pirates are chained to one cursed artifact, so the team has to move and act together.
My Approach
I planned the levels around the shared chain, built the blockout and then set-dressed the location myself: low-poly environment assets, props and characters, textures and UI. Hidden spikes, passages and inscriptions on the walls appear only to the artifact carrier, so the level itself tells the story of the curse.
The Outcome
A playable Roblox prototype where pirates can reach the ship only by working as a team.
