What I do
A driven and enthusiastic games designer with technical knowledge and a hands on approach to design and implementation. I can sketch and design, or think of what needs to be done to make an idea a reality, then follow it up with working prototypes.
Game Design
I thrive when working in a team to create new ideas in a fun interactive environments inside and outside of the game. The Key to any game is how fun the end result is for both player and developer. This requires a lot of planning diagrams, iterations and most importantly; peer and user feedback.
Games Tech Design
Every game needs some brains behind it, and with my previous education dabbling in computer science, product design and media studies, I combine all my knowledge to create the best gameplay possible to challenge, impress and satisfy the player. Simple to understand but complex in depth.
Games UI
University and game play testing really showed me how important the view of the player was within a game. I took this and developed a few projects by myself learning and developing skills for designing and implementing UI and HUDs within games to give the player vital information to not only improve but enhance player experience.
I’m Haydn — a game designer who graduated with First-Class Honours in Game Design and Production from The Digital Institute London, Staffordshire University.
Where I Started
I build things that work. My route into design came through 3D modelling: my dad built 3D printers as a hobby, and I taught myself Fusion 360 to make use of them. Most of what I’ve designed has been solving someone’s actual problem. This includes a replacement hinge for a shower door, modelled from scratch with callipers and a broken hinge, so the owner could repair the door instead of replacing the whole unit. That’s the kind of work I like best: a real constraint, a specific requirement.
Gaming is where all of this started. Call of Duty, RuneScape and Destiny took up most of my teenage years, from Xbox to mobile to a PC setup I’m now firmly locked into. Playing games and constantly spotting things I’d do differently is what made me want to make them.
University
I studied during the pandemic, which meant delivering a degree’s worth of collaborative creative work almost entirely remotely. I shared techniques and helped troubleshoot other people’s projects, which raised the standard of work across the group — mine included. I came out of it with the grade I’d set out for, and with a lot more self-direction than I went in with.
Since Graduating
I graduated in 2023 and spent six months applying for games roles during a period of widespread industry layoffs. I kept building in the meantime — deepening my work in Unreal Engine, scripting and design — and I’ve carried that on since.
I took a full-time hospitality role to develop the communication and teamwork side of my skill set, and within six months was being encouraged toward a supervisor position. I left because an opportunity came up in technology, which is where I wanted to be.
I now work full-time in mobile and laptop repairs, covering inbound and outbound quality control, hardware and software diagnostics, physical repairs, parts ordering and delegation. It’s detailed, high-volume work where being wrong is expensive, and the part I’ve found most satisfying is improving the process itself. I wrote up flow charts and process documents to keep work consistent between people and reorganised the inbound and outbound workflow — cutting unnecessary steps and rethinking desktop layouts to reduce errors and reduce clicks.
Today
This site is where I document what I’m working on. If you want to see how I think through a problem rather than just the finished result, the dev log is the place to start — though it’s still a work in progress itself.
Games design remains the goal. I might not be where I want to be, but I’m not going to stop trying to get there.