I'm Steve McIvor, a game designer and producer whose career spans digital development, leadership, and standalone tabletop-oriented design. I cut my teeth on early RPGs with Sir-Tech, later steering teams at Starwink Labs, Oort Digital, Maliyo Games, and Tasty Poison Games, focusing on systems design, player psychology, and narrative integration. I thrive bridging complex mechanics with accessible player experience and a clear, tactile product language. I’m a lifelong tabletop enthusiast—D&D as a player and DM, and a dedicated collector of board games. This dual lens shapes my design philosophy: the tactile, social, and systemic elements of tabletop experiences inform my digital work, and I bring a data-driven, process-oriented approach learned through Google Project Management and Agile practices to every project. I’m excited to translate my technical discipline and love of the medium into compelling board games.

Steve McIvor

I'm Steve McIvor, a game designer and producer whose career spans digital development, leadership, and standalone tabletop-oriented design. I cut my teeth on early RPGs with Sir-Tech, later steering teams at Starwink Labs, Oort Digital, Maliyo Games, and Tasty Poison Games, focusing on systems design, player psychology, and narrative integration. I thrive bridging complex mechanics with accessible player experience and a clear, tactile product language. I’m a lifelong tabletop enthusiast—D&D as a player and DM, and a dedicated collector of board games. This dual lens shapes my design philosophy: the tactile, social, and systemic elements of tabletop experiences inform my digital work, and I bring a data-driven, process-oriented approach learned through Google Project Management and Agile practices to every project. I’m excited to translate my technical discipline and love of the medium into compelling board games.

Available to hire

I’m Steve McIvor, a game designer and producer whose career spans digital development, leadership, and standalone tabletop-oriented design. I cut my teeth on early RPGs with Sir-Tech, later steering teams at Starwink Labs, Oort Digital, Maliyo Games, and Tasty Poison Games, focusing on systems design, player psychology, and narrative integration. I thrive bridging complex mechanics with accessible player experience and a clear, tactile product language.

I’m a lifelong tabletop enthusiast—D&D as a player and DM, and a dedicated collector of board games. This dual lens shapes my design philosophy: the tactile, social, and systemic elements of tabletop experiences inform my digital work, and I bring a data-driven, process-oriented approach learned through Google Project Management and Agile practices to every project. I’m excited to translate my technical discipline and love of the medium into compelling board games.

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Experience Level

Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
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Language

English
Fluent
French
Advanced

Work Experience

Level Editor, Animator, Modeller, UI/UX Designer, Tester at Sir-Tech / Artech (Canada)
January 1, 1995 - January 1, 2003
Contributed to early RPG projects, performing level design, animation, modelling, UI/UX tasks, and testing across titles such as Jagged Alliance and Wizardry during 1995–2003.
CEO, Producer, Art, Game Designer at Baka Entertainment
January 1, 2004 - January 1, 2007
Led studio operations, product development and multidisciplinary teams in Canada from 2004 to 2007.
GM, Game Designer, Producer, Animation at Mann Made Games
January 1, 2008 - January 1, 2010
Directed game design, production and animation pipelines for SA projects from 2008 to 2010.
GM, Game Designer, Producer, Animation at Web & Circus
January 1, 2009 - January 1, 2010
Managed cross-functional teams and development processes, delivering mobile/web titles in South Africa from 2009 to 2010.
CEO, Game Designer, Producer, Animation at Tasty Poison Games
December 1, 2010 - January 1, 2021
Led the studio and produced multiple mobile titles, overseeing design, production and animation for clients and internal projects from 2010-12-01 to 2021-01-01.
Director, Lead Game Designer, Producer, Animation at Oort Digital
January 1, 2021 - May 1, 2024
Directed game development, design and animation; established game documentation and LiveOps strategies; led NFT/Web3 project awareness from 2021-01-01 to 2024-05-01.
Executive Producer / Game Designer at Maliyo Games
May 1, 2024 - November 1, 2024
Initiated Agile studio management, led daily scrums across three teams, contributed to game design and monetization; produced post-launch strategies during 2024-05-01 to 2024-11-01.
Executive Producer / Game Designer at Starwink Labs
September 1, 2025 - Present
Created and managed a mobile game (Jubble Pix), led team collaboration, designed rewards and monetization loops, and supported artists/programmers using Figma, PlayFab, and Spine 2D in 2025-09-01 onward.
Executive Producer / Game Designer at Oort Digital
January 1, 2021 - May 1, 2024
Managed the game development team utilizing Kanban and Agile methodologies; created and maintained game documentation; designed challenges and gamification; managed character pipelines for the RPG in Unity3D and Photoshop; facilitated NFT and brand design awareness in a Web3 environment.
Game Designer / CEO / Lead Production at Tasty Poison Games
December 1, 2010 - December 1, 2020
Managed the studio, its projects and clients; created and maintained game documentation across genres; designed levels and optimized workflows in Unity3D; led monetization methods and in-app purchases on mobile platforms.
Various Roles (Game Designer / Developer) at Sir-Tech / Artech (Canada)
January 1, 1995 - January 1, 2003
Early career contributing to Jagged Alliance, Wizardry, and other titles with level design, animation, UI/UX work, and testing across multiple projects.
CEO, Producer, Art, Game Designer at Baka Entertainment (Canada)
January 1, 2004 - December 31, 2007
Led R&D and product development; worked on AOL Chat Heads and other initiatives; directed cross-functional teams in design and production.
GM, Game Designer, Producer, Animation at Mann Made Games (South Africa)
January 1, 2008 - December 31, 2010
Directed mobile game design and production; contributed to multiple titles including Sally Williams, Life Stories, and Battle Story Dragoon.
GM, Game Designer, Producer, Animation at Web & Circus (South Africa)
January 1, 2009 - December 31, 2010
Leadership across startup titles; contributed to Pirate Climber, Castle Crunch, and other iOS/Unity projects.
GM / Game Designer / Producer / Animation at Tasty Poison Games
December 1, 2010 - December 1, 2020
Managed the studio, projects and clients; created and maintained game documentation; designed levels and optimized workflows in Unity3D; led monetization methods and in-app purchases on mobile games.
GM / Game Designer / Producer / Animation at Mann Made Games
January 1, 2008 - January 1, 2010
GM, Game Designer, Producer, Animation on multiple South African titles; contributed to animation pipelines and product design.
GM / Game Designer / Producer / Animation at Web & Circus
January 1, 2009 - January 1, 2010
GM, Game Designer, Producer, Animation; participated in startup operations and project development for mobile titles.
CEO / Producer / Art / Game Designer at R&D Baka Entertainment (Canada)
January 1, 2004 - December 31, 2007
CEO, producer, and artist; led game design and art direction on various projects including AOL Chat Heads and Zoo Vet initiatives.
Level Editor / Tester at Sir-Tech / Artech (Canada)
January 1, 1995 - December 31, 2003
Worked on Jagged Alliance (1995) as Level Editor and Tester; Jagged Alliance 2 (1999) as Tester; Wizardry 8 (2001) in animation, modeling, level design and UI/UX; contributed to various pitches (2001-2003).

Education

Project Management Certification (Google) at Google/Online Certification
January 11, 2030 - March 7, 2026
Agile Certification (Google) at Google/Online Certification
January 11, 2030 - March 7, 2026
Project Initiation Certification (Google) at Google/Online Certification
January 11, 2030 - March 7, 2026
Foundations Of Project Management at Google/Online Certification
January 11, 2030 - March 7, 2026
Scrum Master at Google/Online Certification
January 11, 2030 - March 7, 2026
AutoDesk Certification at AutoDesk
January 11, 2030 - March 7, 2026

Qualifications

Google Project Management Certification
January 11, 2030 - March 7, 2026
Google Agile Certification
January 11, 2030 - March 7, 2026
Google Project Initiation Certification
January 11, 2030 - March 7, 2026
Foundations Of Project Management
January 11, 2030 - March 7, 2026
Scrum Master Certification
January 11, 2030 - March 7, 2026
Autodesk Certification
January 11, 2030 - March 7, 2026
Project Management Certification (Google)
January 11, 2030 - March 7, 2026
Agile Certification (Google)
January 11, 2030 - March 7, 2026
Project Initiation Certification (Google)
January 11, 2030 - March 7, 2026
Foundations Of Project Management
January 11, 2030 - March 7, 2026
Scrum Master
January 11, 2030 - March 7, 2026
AutoDesk Certification
January 11, 2030 - March 7, 2026
Project Management Certification (Google)
January 11, 2030 - March 28, 2026
Agile Certification (Google)
January 11, 2030 - March 28, 2026
Project Initiation Certification (Google)
January 11, 2030 - March 28, 2026
Foundations Of Project Management (Google)
January 11, 2030 - March 28, 2026
Scrum Master
January 11, 2030 - March 28, 2026

Industry Experience

Gaming, Media & Entertainment, Software & Internet, Professional Services, Other, Education