Hi! I’m Anna Tsoy

I’m a Game Designer with a passion
for system and gameplay design.

I’m currently looking for an internship~

Projects 

  • Game Project 3 / 15 People

  • Unreal Engine 5

  • 7 weeks

  • Gameplay / System / UX/UI

  • Prototype / Solo

  • Unreal Engine 5

  • 2 weeks

  • Gameplay / Technical

  • Prototype / Solo

  • Unreal Engine 5

  • 1 week

  • Gameplay / Technical

  • Game Project 4 / 10 people

  • Unreal Engine 5

  • 4 weeks

  • Gameplay / Technical / UX/UI

Other projects

Projects 

  • Game Project 3 / 15 People

  • Unreal Engine 5

  • 7 weeks

  • Gameplay / System / UX/UI

  • Prototype / Solo

  • Unreal Engine 5

  • 2 weeks

  • Gameplay / Technical

  • Prototype / Solo

  • Unreal Engine 5

  • 1 week

  • Gameplay / Technical

  • Game Project 4 / 10 people

  • Unreal Engine 5

  • 4 weeks

  • Gameplay / Technical / UX/UI

Other projects

About me

My Background

Before entering the game industry, I studied visual art and design, which led me to various creative fields. However, my fascination with interactive experiences never faded. Ultimately, my love for games guided me toward game development — a perfect fusion of art, technology, and storytelling that became my true calling.

That passion returned me to school, where I studied game design at Futuregames. I took every opportunity to learn as much I could and explore different roles in game development, from project management to prototyping and balancing mechanics.

What I Do Now

Lately, I’ve been focused on expanding my technical skills. Over the past five months, I’ve dived deep into coding and visual scripting, working on prototypes and improving my understanding of project architecture. There’s still a lot to learn, but I’m always eager to take on new challenges!

I find inspiration everywhere — not only from games but also from novels, manga, my hobbies, and everyday experiences.
My design philosophy revolves around player engagement and dynamic gameplay, making every interaction feel meaningful.

My Goals

I’m a goal-oriented person, and my next big step is launching my career in game design. I’m currently looking for an internship, eager to collaborate with talented teams, learn from experienced designers, and contribute to exciting projects.

If you’re working on something cool and think I’d be a great fit — let’s connect!


Reberryon

#System

#Gameplay

#Group

#RTS

Details

  • Team: 14 people

  • Engine: UE5

  • Scope: 7 weeks

  • Platform: PC, singleplayer

  • Gameplay time: 30 mins

  • Genre: RTS, 3D platformer

A third-person strategy game set in a cutesy fruitsy wonderland that combines platforming with RTS elements!


Roles x Responsibilities

System Designer

  • Units' stats

  • Player's resources

  • Level progression and difficulty

Gameplay Designer

  • Game loop

  • AI behavior

  • Combat scenarios

  • Player and enemies abilities

UX/UI Designer

  • Layout

  • Art

  • Control scheme



Process

∘⋆₊⟡𓈒 Prototyping phase 𓈒⟡₊⋆∘

AI behavior will be the best!


After defining our game’s core pillars, I have begun designing unit behavior for both close- and long-range combat scenarios.The first challenge was creating functional behavior—units often ended up stuck in loops.That is why I found myself diving headfirst into crunching (I know, not my proudest moment—but I was so excited (੭˃ᴗ˂)੭ !) just to get us playtesting as soon as possible.

Let the fruits fight (๑•̀ᗝ•́)૭


Speaking of combat scenarios, this might have been my favorite part of the project—mostly because it was both fun and relatively easy to work on.The difficulty progression was continuously refined until the deadline to ensure a smoother challenge curve and better unit introductions for the player.I loved brainstorming all possible scenarios and outcomes (but of course, nothing can replace playtesting!!!).

Traumatic control scheme


One situation I’ll never forget was deciding on a gamepad control scheme.I don’t typically play shooter games with a gamepad. Naturally, I came up with an "innovative" control scheme that (in my opinion) would be intuitive for beginners… but no one on the team agreed with it.In the end, I had to let go of my idea and revise it, but it was a valuable learning experience
ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ

∘⋆₊⟡𓈒 Defining gameplay 𓈒⟡₊⋆∘

I swear Excel is fun ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧


Excel was incredibly useful for balancing unit stats, including regular attacks and special abilities — especially given their rock-paper-scissors relationships.Tbh it had been a while since I last used Excel, and it felt great to dive back in — even if I had to google every function ദ്ദി ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ)

Our game is ... boring (˶°ㅁ°) !?


When you work on something for too long, your perspective becomes blurred — exactly what happened to me. After playtesting and Jury's feedback on alpha, I realized we’d overlooked many things.
That made design meetings longer and a bit stressful.
We managed to solve the biggest design issues by adding a second resource pool and player attack with a cooldown, which made a huge difference in the gameplay loop.

Endless iterations on UX/UI


Because the gameplay and systems kept improving, I constantly was updating the UX/UI. Every week, we rolled out a new version of the layout or adjusted button functionality to match the evolving design.Thank Harsh Istalkar for his patience and for helping me tackle all the technical aspects of it. His support made navigating these constant changes so much easier! (๑'ᵕ'๑)⸝*

Observer effect simulator


Here’s a fun fact I discovered while tweaking the units’ stats: the combat outcomes were sometimes so unpredictable that I started questioning whether we were building a game or a physics simulator. (,,•᷄ࡇ•᷅ ,,)?Turns out, it was just a bug in the blueprints!

Takeaways

  • Iterative Design Process: Constant playtesting and feedback are essential for refining mechanics and balancing gameplay.

  • Collaborative Effort: Team support and patience can help navigate technical challenges and make continuous improvements.

  • Adaptability: Being open to revising your ideas is crucial for team alignment and product improvement.

  • Bug Debugging: Unpredictable outcomes can often be traced back to simple bugs, reminding us to stay curious and methodical.

The team

Patryk Aleksandrowicz

Product Owner, Narrative/Gameplay Designer

Anna Tsoy

Gameplay/System Designer, UX/UI Designer

Erik Lofving

Level Designer

Andie Larsson

Technical Designer, 3C Designer

Robin Zeitlin-Talamo

Lead Gameplay Programmer

Markus Vikmanis

Gameplay/Sound Programmer

Harsh Kashinath Istalkar

Gameplay Programmer, Technical Artist

Eero Mutka

AI Programmer

Ambar Troya Zapata

Concept/Character Artist, UI Artist

Vera Jonasson

Environmental Artist, Composer

Wilma Wiiand

Animator

Frode Nilsson

Animator

Karl Lindblom

VFX Artist

Morris Levin

VFX Artist

Play through



Mitti Kitti

#System

#Multiplayer

#Prototype

#Brawler

Details

  • Engine: Unreal Engine 5

  • Scope: 1 week

  • Platform: PC, multiplayer

  • Gameplay time: 10 - ∞ mins

  • Genre: Brawler

Chaotic peer to peer multiplayer where players control cute cats
and engage in goofy combat across the arena.

What I wanted to learn

Server ❤︎ Client


I’ve been curious about how multiplayer works.So, I decided to dive in and learn about replication, authority, and how the server handles game logic while clients interact with the world.

Rapid prototyping


Once I felt more comfortable with Blueprints in Unreal Engine 5, I tried rapid prototyping.I wanted to quickly turn ideas into functional gameplay, focusing on iterating and testing core mechanics without getting bogged down in perfection.

3D art /ᐠ•⩊•マ


For 2D artist (me) starting 3D modeling always sounded a bit intimidating.But for this project, I finally decided to step out of my comfort zone and try creating a 3D character myself.

Process

Knock it!


For this quick and fun prototype, I took inspiration from cats knocking things off tables — but with a twist! /ᐠ. .ᐟ\ฅInstead of objects, players have to knock each other off. It adds a playful and competitive element, making it fast-paced and chaotic.

Why can't I replicate it? (≖_≖ )


During prototyping, I ran into some unexpected blockers.My original plan was to set random materials to all players, but material replication turned out to be more frustrating than I expected.I explored a few possible solutions, but due to time constraints, I went with a quick fix—spawning a random child of the player character instead.
P.S. It wasn’t the most elegant solution, but hey, if it works, it works!

From concept to rigging /ᐠ。‸。ᐟ\ ⟆


For concept art, modeling, retopology, UV mapping, and texturing, I used an iPad, which was surprisingly effective for the entire workflow. The only time I needed to switch to Blender was for rigging.It was a fun challenge to see how far I could go using just an iPad, and it proved to be a great way to work on 3D art in a more flexible and portable way!

Takeaways

  • Rapid Prototyping is Key: Quickly iterating on ideas—even with rough solutions—helps identify what works and what doesn't.

  • Networking is Tricky but Rewarding: Learning about replication and server-client interactions provided valuable insight into multiplayer game development.

  • Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone: Trying 3D modeling as a 2D artist was intimidating at first, but it turned out to be a fun and rewarding challenge.



Pikkis

#System

#Gameplay

#Prototype

#Sandbox

Details

  • Engine: Unreal Engine 5

  • Scope: 2 weeks

  • Platform: PC, singleplayer

  • Gameplay time: 10 - ∞ mins

  • Genre: Sandbox, Building

A first-person (level design simulator) construction sandbox,
where players have the freedom to build anything they can imagine.

What I wanted to learn

How to move and rotate things around (╯‵□′)╯︵┴─┴


I started improving my technical skills about five months ago.
One of my first tasks was to learn and understand how rotators and vectors work, as they are fundamental to game development.
I had some basic knowledge from high school, but applying math to game development was a bit confusing. However, it didn’t take me too long to grasp the concepts and create this prototype.

NO casting!


This project was part of the Advanced Visual Scripting course, where one of my biggest challenges was to avoid casting at all costs.This constraint pushed me to explore new concepts, such as Components, Function Library, and various useful nodes, ultimately deepening my understanding of visual scripting. ( ◡̀_◡́)ᕤ

What is TDD ∘ ∘ ∘ ( °ヮ° ) ?


This exercise allowed me to visualize the project architecture, practice translating abstract ideas into actionable steps, anticipate potential challenges, and streamline the development process by providing a solid foundation.Additionally, the Technical Design Document served as an easy introduction for others to my architecture, making it simpler to ask for advice or assistance when needed.

Process

What does Link's Ultrahand have to do with this?


Right before starting the Advanced Visual Scripting course, I was playing Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and was inspired by one of its core mechanics — Ultrahand, which allows players to grab, rotate, and attach objects together.Using this as my main reference, I designed my interactive system, which also lets players scale grabbed objects up and down.

Blessing refactoring


One of my first mistakes was separating all interactions into different functions within a single component, which turned out to be unnecessary and a major blocker. ( ,,⩌'︿'⩌,,)Another mistake I made with the grabbing interaction was using Physics Handle component, which didn’t allow me to rotate objects relative to the player's axis. Instead, I switched to working directly with Scene Component, which gave me much more control.

Just a bug that brings so much joy (๑˃́ꇴ˂̀๑)


A spawner for interactable objects accidentally ended up with a confetti effect instead. Some people loved it so much that I decided to keep it as a separate feature.Warning! It might crash your PC — don’t try this at home!
P.S. The spawners have been fixed and now work perfectly fine.

Potential development 🍰 (∩❛ڡ❛∩)


A first-person cute café arrangement game?
That sounds cozy and addictive! It will need some adjustments, polishing, and new mechanics, but it might be worth it.
For example, creating an inventory system for it can be fun and rewarding challenge!

Takeaways

  • Understanding Fundamentals: Master even trivial concepts like rotators and vectors.

  • Visual Scripting Challenges: Pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone, seeking challenges, and tackling areas where you're weak lead to significant progress.

  • Project Architecture: By planning (TDD), you can avoid unnecessary issues and make the development process smoother and more efficient.

  • Learning from Mistakes: Don't be afraid of repeating yourself.

  • Unexpected Joy: Sometimes simplicity is the key to making people smile.

Gallery

Me


(Level designer)

Edvard Stokstad
(Level Designer)


Lucas Hellberg
(System gameplay designer)

Mukund Narayan
(System gameplay designer)


A special thanks to

for his valuable advice and guidance


CV


Work Experience

Sept 2024 - Dec 2024

Game Collision Designer, Hazelight
Stockholm, SE
- Implemented and tested blocking, death, and camera volumes, ensuring seamless player experience and preventing gameplay interruptions for Split Fiction.

Oct 2022 - Dec 2023

Web designer/SMM/Manager, Golden Tour
Almaty, KZ
- Designed website for the company.
- Managed two social media profiles: created visuals, copywrited posts.
- Advised clients on services, reviewed paperwork for accuracy, and translated documents from Russian to English.

Nov 2021 - Dec 2022

Illustrator, Korean Simple
Seoul, RK
- Created over 100 original illustrations for use in lessons, blog posts, and social media.

Nov 2020 - Dec 2020

Editorial Designer, CES for you
Almaty, KZ
- Designed engaging editorial layouts and illustrations for children’s english language book.

Jul 2019 - Dec 2019

Project Manager/Mount Maker, Ainu
Paris, FR
- Contributed to the Carnavalet Museum’s renovation by measuring exhibit proportions and creating detailed technical notebooks for mount makers.
- Crafted custom mounts for temporary exhibitions at the Quai Branly Museum.


Education

Sept 2023 - Present

Game Design, Futuregames
Stockholm, SE
- 4 game projects.

2022

Narrative Design Course, XYZ School
Online
- Fundamental of dramaturgy, quest and dialogue system.

2021

Game Design Course, CALARTS
Online
- Introduction into game design.

2017 - 2020

Bachelor Degree in Vusual Art and Design, University of Strasbourg
Strasbourg, FR
- Visual art history, philosophy, theory and analysis.
- Practice in modern graphic/web/interior/industrial design.


Skills

Soft

  • Unity

  • Unreal Engine

  • Github

  • Perforce

  • Visual Studio

  • Adobe Creative Suite

  • Procreate

  • Figma

  • Microsoft Office

Hard

  • System

  • Gameplay

  • Content

  • UX/UI

  • Production

  • Narrative

  • Level

  • 2D Art

  • 3D Art


Languages

English

Russian

French

Korean


Favorite Games

Zelda BOTW

Oxenfree

Collar x Malice

Witch


Interests

  • Gaming

  • Reading

  • Drawing

  • Crocheting

  • Cats

  • Art

Professional work

  • Hazelight

  • Unreal Engine 5

  • 4 months

  • Collision design

Other projects

  • Project / Solo

  • Unity

  • 4 weeks

  • Level / Narrative / Gameplay

  • Prototype / Solo

  • Unity

  • 2 weeks

  • Gameplay

  • Group project / 14 people

  • Unity

  • 4 weeks

  • Product Owner / Gameplay

Art portfolio

  • Graphic design

  • Traditional art

  • Digital art

Split Fiction

#Collision

Embrace mind-blowing moments as you’re pulled deep into the many
worlds of Split Fiction, a boundary-pushing co-op adventure!


Role x Responsibilities

Collision Designer

  • Tested collision-wise gameplay to prevent any interruptions.

  • Implemented blocking, death, and camera volumes into the levels for a seamless player experience.

  • Worked closely with Game Designers, Environmental Artists, and QA to find the best solutions for each corner.


Takeaways

  • As a junior, I got to deepen my understanding of the gaming industry’s development pipeline and workflows.

  • I think the most important thing was building up my resilience by keeping myself motivated and focused, even during repetitive or sometimes boring tasks. (P.S. Collisions can be boring)

Wingman

Details

  • Team: 15 people

  • Engine: Unity

  • Scope: 4 weeks

  • Platform: Mobile

  • Gameplay time: 30 mins

  • Genre: Sport, Simulator

Take to the skies in Wingman – An arcade-inspired air racer!


Roles x Responsibilities

Product Owner

  • Team vision

  • Liaison

  • Final decisions

Gameplay Designer

  • Core gameplay loop

UX/UI Designer

  • Layout


The team

Anna Tsoy

Product Owner
Gameplay Designer
UX/UI Designer

Jan Björk

Lead Gamplay Designer

Emil Bernstorf

Level Designer

Hanna Wedmalm

Level Designer

Oscar Rosin

TechnicalDesigner

Kamila Kuźmiuk

Gameplay Programmer

Stevan Likusic

Gameplay Programmer

Vui Kent Chua

Lead Gameplay Programmer

Jonathan Ebsen Mäensivu

Systems Programmer

Tim Lindgren

QA

Mia Wall

Character Artist
Scrum master

Primus Engström

Environment Artist

Francesco Ortolani

Environment Artist

Jacob Segerdahl

Environment Artist
UI Artist

Melissa Prim

Environment Artist


Sour Security

#Group

#Gameplay

#Prototype

#Sandbox

Details

  • Team: 7 people

  • Engine: Unreal Engine 5

  • Scope: 6 weeks

  • Platform: PC

  • Gameplay time: 30 mins

  • Genre: Sandbox, puzzle

Twisted, dark-humoured puzzle sandbox game that puts you in the shoes of Merton, a paranoid, neurotic security guard who sees enemies around every corner!


Roles x Responsibilities

UX/UI Designer

  • Layout

  • Functionality

  • Shader outliner

Gameplay Designer

  • Onboarding level

  • Game mechanics

  • Content

Technical designer

  • Prototype


Process

∘⋆₊⟡𓈒 Prototyping phase 𓈒⟡₊⋆∘

!!! ONE of the thee prototypes for this Game Project !!!


Three designers split up to explore different ideas for the "Antagonist" theme. One of the prototypes for Game Project 4 was Ogami, where I designed a boss fight-centered concept with response system based on the player's actions.

"Adaptive" enemies


To create the illusion of smart enemy behavior, I designed a simple prototype for the system that tracks the player's actions during combat and applies specific changes to the next boss encounter.I also focused on establishing the core mechanics: 3Cs, player close-/long-ranged attacks, and a simple enemy AI for the first encounter.

Things to count ( ͡⎚— ͡⎚ )>✎


  • The ratio between the player's long-range and close-range attacks determines the boss's vulnerabilities.

  • The frequency of dashing influences the boss's AOE attacks.

  • And the ratio between the types of damage dealt affects the enemy's special effects in the final phase of combat.

Why it is a good and BAD idea for our team (ó﹏ò。)


+ Challenge: opportunity for designing complex progression systems
- Complexity: too many things to balance and make it work in time
- Novelty: not enough references to other games
- Iteration: not enough time to polish
- Skills: not enough C++ experience

∘⋆₊⟡𓈒 Defining gameplay 𓈒⟡₊⋆∘

Ok, let's see what I can do for the system here


Once the prototype was complete for the chosen concept (Sour Security), I began setting scenarios, and player's goals, also organizing everything to ensure it functioned within a unified system and that we had all the necessary elements.

Create gameplay problems and heroically overcome them


To maintain that sandbox feel and total freedom for the player, we,
as designers, ended up losing some control over certain elements.
For example, with the limited level and so many mechanics for the player to grasp, the onboarding process itself starts to feel like
a boss-level challenge even with all the step-by-step guiding! \ (˚☐˚”) /

NPCs


Setting up NPC routes was a bit tricky, especially with the limited
open-space office layout. I had to make sure they actually looked like they were "working" at the office rather than just wandering aimlessly. (๑﹏๑)
At the same time, their paths couldn’t overlap too much — otherwise, the player wouldn’t have the chance to knock them out without witnesses or find the perfect moment to hide their unconscious colleagues.

Multiple other hats


Designed the minimalistic UI/UX with a clean interface while still providing all the necessary information to the player without overwhelming the screen.In addition to development tasks, I also worked on creating marketing materials to promote the game. This included designing posters, the gameplay trailer, and ensuring the visual identity aligned with the game's theme.For a week, I stepped into the role of Product Owner. I was responsible for prioritizing tasks, ensuring smooth communication between teams, and keeping the project aligned with its goals.

Takeaways

  • Start Small, Iterate Often: Jumping straight into complex systems without rapid prototyping can lead to time constraints and missed opportunities for refinement.

  • Balance Creativity with Feasibility: Exploring innovative mechanics is exciting, but ensuring they are practical within the team's skill set, timeline, and resources is just as important.

  • Letting go of blockers: Shouldn't hold on to ideas that prevent from improving the player experience.

  • Wearing Multiple Hats Builds Perspective: Stepping into different roles provided a broader understanding of game development as a whole and how various elements come together.

The team

Alexander Busnyuk

Product Owner, Technical/System Designer

Anna Tsoy

Gameplay/System Designer, UX/UI Designer

Oscar Rosin

Technical Designer

Reyn Teru

Level Designer, Narrative Designer

Harsh Kashinath Istalkar

AI/Systems/Gameplay Programmer, Technical Artist

Jonathan Ebsen Mäensivu

Systems Programmer

Stevan Likusic

Systems Programmer


Cat Recipe

#Solo

#Level

#Narrative

#Coding

Details

  • Engine: Unity

  • Scope: 6 weeks

  • Platform: PC, singleplayer

  • Gameplay time: 15 mins

  • Genre: Horror

You will play as a kitten whom an Evil Alchemist abducted for his experiments with the Elixir of immortality. To escape from the laboratory, you must avoid poisonous spiders, and most importantly, not get caught by The Evil Alchemists.

What I wanted to learn

First ever game project ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡


This project was part of the Introduction to C# course at Futuregames.Beyond learning the fundamentals of coding, I wanted to explore gameplay design — defining win and lose conditions, player motivation, level design, and narrative storytelling. I was particularly interested in how games communicate with players and evoke emotions, shaping their experience through mechanics and design choices.

Process

A charming mix of adorable and eerie (˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )


Narrative, level design, and sound design were the core of this project.The touchy story provided emotional depth, while the level design ensured a balance of challenge and exploration, and the sound design reinforced the atmosphere to enhance tension.

Update level design


The level went through multiple iterations throughout the project, evolving from two simple rooms into a sprawling dungeon labyrinth.Each room was carefully designed to feature unique obstacles, adding variety and challenge while encouraging exploration and strategic thinking. ( • ̀ω•́ )✧

Potential development


I considered expanding this project into a larger game with deeper lore, additional side quests, more refined stealth mechanics, better sound design, and multiple levels. /ᐠ > ˕ <マ ₊˚⊹♡The goal would be to enhance player immersion by offering a richer narrative experience, greater gameplay variety, and more complex challenges.

Takeaways

  • Iterate Often: The level design evolved significantly throughout the project, showing the importance of refining ideas through multiple iterations.

  • Story Matters: Even in a short game, a strong narrative can enhance player immersion and emotional engagement.

  • Balancing Challenge & Exploration: Designing levels with varied obstacles kept gameplay engaging while ensuring a fair learning curve.

Play through

Happy Plushie

#Solo

#FPS

#Prototype

#Kid

Details

  • Engine: Unity

  • Scope: 2 weeks

  • Platform: PC, singleplayer

  • Gameplay time: 5-10 mins

  • Genre: Slapstick Comedy

Kid simulator where the player's mission is to bring joy back
to adults who are feeling unhappy.

What I wanted to learn

3Cs for FPS


One of the requirements for the Prototyping course at Futuregames was to work within the FPS genre. ̸/̸̅̅ ̆̅ ̅̅ ̅̅ Since I don’t typically play FPS games, recreating 3Cs was a challenge and an opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and learn something new.

Process

All grown-ups were once children… ʕ´•ᴥ•`ʔ


I'm not a big fan of violence, so I wanted to create an FPS with the playful, mischievous vibe of Untitled Goose Game or Rain on Your Parade.Instead of taking down enemies, the goal is to annoy them in the most wholesome way possible—by shooting plushies at them and spreading happiness!

Takeaways

  • Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone: An excellent opportunity to learn new mechanics and push myself to grow as a designer.

  • Designing for Non-Violence: I wanted to break away from the typical violence of FPS games by creating a lighthearted experience.