A lover of all kind of games, Kiryl uses his over 9 years of experience in the industry and game design to create new and innovative game concepts with a small and passionate group of people!
Read on to learn more about him and the things he gets up to in the Game Lab below!
Hi, Kiryl! Tell us about yourself.
Hey, everyone—pryvitanne! I am Kiryl, born and raised in Belarus, and for the last 5 years I’ve been working at Gameloft on every design position you can imagine from game designer to studio creative director.
Currently I am a senior game designer in the Game Lab in Paris, our R&D department dedicated to finding new game genres and mechanics that the world is craving for!
I think most of my life has been connected to mobile, video, and board games in one way or another. I used to create roleplaying scenarios for my friends in school and have built minigames for education project on iPads (this is where I finally fell in love with the industry, switched to a full-time game designer, and never had any regrets since).
I also make some board games as a hobby, watch every British panel show ever made (any Never Mind the Buzzcocks fans in here?), study languages with the elusive and beautiful French being a priority at the moment, and serve as a humble servant for my cat overlord.
What is your role, and what do you enjoy most about your job?
My main job is to test promising creative concepts and then help develop them into actual prototypes or even full-blown games!
With this job, every day looks like no other, and the amount of creativity and unexpected twists on well-known genres in the department is stunning. You can see one of our first games—Auto Defense—and the level of creativity we are aiming for.
I feel so lucky to work with such talented and creative people that bring both challenges and support. I learn something new every day!
We also have monthly global design sessions, write the design newsletter, host global game jams… It is always, always exciting.
What are some of your most memorable moments at Gameloft?
Having confirmed another wild idea via tests. Seeing our creative game Auto Defense released worldwide. Doing presentations and discussing game design with our global design community. So many things!
What advice do you have for people who want to work in gaming in a similar role?
Go with an open mind, and be ready to learn constantly because the gaming industry changes very fast and new projects will come your way.
Figure out what you like to do—be it more systems design or building levels or UX—and stick with it, but learn a bit about all the other disciplines.
And, of course, prepare to communicate a lot! Design is in itself a highly communicative discipline, and the ability to empathize with all involved parties, be it players or your leads, will be immensely helpful in your work.
Join Kiryl in the Game Lab and help them create the next new game genre! They're currently looking for a UX/UI designer, senior gameplay developer, senior game artist, market research intern, product manager, junior game data analyst, gameplay developer, and game economy designer. Apply today and stay tuned for another edition of Humans Behind the Game!
