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I'm Iakov Grebe, a designer focused on creating immersive and commercially viable game experiences. With 2+ years in the industry, I also love running tabletop games (3+ years) as a Game Master, which informs my approach to player agency, pacing, and emergent gameplay. I specialize in designing core mechanics, gameplay loops, prototyping, and data-informed iteration to balance player flow and engagement. I'm passionate about crafting engaging, immersive experiences across digital and tabletop formats, and I'm excited to keep building vibrant game worlds.…I'm Iakov Grebe, a designer focused on creating immersive and commercially viable game experiences. With 2+ years in the industry, I also love running tabletop games (3+ years) as a Game Master, which informs my approach to player agency, pacing, and emergent gameplay. I specialize in designing core mechanics, gameplay loops, prototyping, and data-informed iteration to balance player flow and engagement. I'm passionate about crafting engaging, immersive experiences across digital and tabletop formats, and I'm excited to keep building vibrant game worlds.

Iakov Grebe

Game Designer, UX Designer, Game Developer, +4

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I'm Iakov Grebe, a designer focused on creating immersive and commercially viable game experiences. With 2+ years in the industry, I also love running tabletop games (3+ years) as a Game Master, which informs my approach to player agency, pacing, and emergent gameplay. I specialize in designing core mechanics, gameplay loops, prototyping, and data-informed iteration to balance player flow and engagement. I'm passionate about crafting engaging, immersive experiences across digital and tabletop formats, and I'm excited to keep building vibrant game worlds.…I'm Iakov Grebe, a designer focused on creating immersive and commercially viable game experiences. With 2+ years in the industry, I also love running tabletop games (3+ years) as a Game Master, which informs my approach to player agency, pacing, and emergent gameplay. I specialize in designing core mechanics, gameplay loops, prototyping, and data-informed iteration to balance player flow and engagement. I'm passionate about crafting engaging, immersive experiences across digital and tabletop formats, and I'm excited to keep building vibrant game worlds.

Available to hire

I’m Iakov Grebe, a designer focused on creating immersive and commercially viable game experiences. With 2+ years in the industry, I also love running tabletop games (3+ years) as a Game Master, which informs my approach to player agency, pacing, and emergent gameplay.

I specialize in designing core mechanics, gameplay loops, prototyping, and data-informed iteration to balance player flow and engagement. I’m passionate about crafting engaging, immersive experiences across digital and tabletop formats, and I’m excited to keep building vibrant game worlds.

Skills

Experience Level

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Language

Russian

Fluent

English

Fluent

Italian

Fluent

Work Experience

Game Designer / Level Designer at Goethe-Institut e.V.

November 1, 2025 - January 31, 2026

Contributed to the early-stage development of a game concept for Goethe-Institut, defining core gameplay systems, mechanics, narrative direction, and level design vision. Designed early gameplay mechanics concepts and established overall gameplay flow; developed prototypes using Unity (C#); built early level structure, pacing, and player progression. Created a playable level prototype in Unity (graybox/whitebox) and supported environmental storytelling and visual composition.

Game Designer / Level Designer at MANIAC (Freelance)

July 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025

Designed and developed the River Split project from concept to final implementation, covering the complete level production pipeline. Identified emergent gameplay patterns through deconstruction and playtesting; translated them into gameplay dynamics to create new player experiences and deepen core mechanics. Balanced gameplay systems and event dynamics to achieve a consistent rhythm and sustain player immersion. Iterated through playtests to improve readability and player experience; created initial 2D level layout focusing on flow and navigation; built greybox, prototype, and final level with environmental storytelling and visual composition.

Narrative Designer / Game Developer at Itch.io (Freelance)

May 1, 2025 - June 30, 2025

Designed narrative direction and game concepts for indie projects hosted on Itch.io; collaborated with external creators to craft engaging stories and player experiences; remote work.

Game Designer / World Designer at TaleSpire (Patreon) / Self-employed

April 1, 2026 - Present

Designed a full open-world gameplay experience for an adventure game with a Bald Eagle player avatar, focusing on exploration, navigation systems, and player-driven discovery. Built a world with 11 biomes, 14 landmarks, and 20 points of interest; enabled non-linear exploration and player agency; authored GDDs and environmental storytelling; created 2D world layouts, streamlined prototyping, and validated gameplay structures.