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Hi there! I'm Kurt Santos, a budding game designer and artist based in Irvine, CA. I blend creative design with practical playtesting and market research to craft engaging tabletop and digital experiences. My freelance work has me wearing multiple hats: designer, artist, researcher, and team lead, collaborating with freelance artists to deliver cohesive themes and layouts. I'm currently pursuing a B.S. in Game Design & Interactive Media at UC Irvine, expected March 2026. I love turning ideas into accessible rules and art assets, and I'm always eager to learn new tools and grow my skills in marketing, production, and development.…Hi there! I'm Kurt Santos, a budding game designer and artist based in Irvine, CA. I blend creative design with practical playtesting and market research to craft engaging tabletop and digital experiences. My freelance work has me wearing multiple hats: designer, artist, researcher, and team lead, collaborating with freelance artists to deliver cohesive themes and layouts. I'm currently pursuing a B.S. in Game Design & Interactive Media at UC Irvine, expected March 2026. I love turning ideas into accessible rules and art assets, and I'm always eager to learn new tools and grow my skills in marketing, production, and development.

Kurt Santos

Game Designer, Designer, Graphic Designer, +3

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Hi there! I'm Kurt Santos, a budding game designer and artist based in Irvine, CA. I blend creative design with practical playtesting and market research to craft engaging tabletop and digital experiences. My freelance work has me wearing multiple hats: designer, artist, researcher, and team lead, collaborating with freelance artists to deliver cohesive themes and layouts. I'm currently pursuing a B.S. in Game Design & Interactive Media at UC Irvine, expected March 2026. I love turning ideas into accessible rules and art assets, and I'm always eager to learn new tools and grow my skills in marketing, production, and development.…Hi there! I'm Kurt Santos, a budding game designer and artist based in Irvine, CA. I blend creative design with practical playtesting and market research to craft engaging tabletop and digital experiences. My freelance work has me wearing multiple hats: designer, artist, researcher, and team lead, collaborating with freelance artists to deliver cohesive themes and layouts. I'm currently pursuing a B.S. in Game Design & Interactive Media at UC Irvine, expected March 2026. I love turning ideas into accessible rules and art assets, and I'm always eager to learn new tools and grow my skills in marketing, production, and development.

Available to hire

Hi there! I’m Kurt Santos, a budding game designer and artist based in Irvine, CA. I blend creative design with practical playtesting and market research to craft engaging tabletop and digital experiences. My freelance work has me wearing multiple hats: designer, artist, researcher, and team lead, collaborating with freelance artists to deliver cohesive themes and layouts.

I’m currently pursuing a B.S. in Game Design & Interactive Media at UC Irvine, expected March 2026. I love turning ideas into accessible rules and art assets, and I’m always eager to learn new tools and grow my skills in marketing, production, and development.

Skills

Experience Level

Expert

Expert

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Work Experience

Lead Game Designer at Heist in Progress

November 1, 2023 - Present

Managed a growing team by assigning tasks, hosting team meetings, brainstorming sessions, and playtests. Developed rules and gameplay that improved through iteration and consistent public and private playtesting, resulting in a balanced and replayable game. Researched market trends to determine the game style to attract a large audience.

Game Designer at UCI (Related School Projects)

September 19, 2021 - May 19, 2025

Treasure Island (Card Game): Created basic game concept and design; sketched beta art concepts for artists; led team through task assignments and deadlines. Dungeons & Dragons Module (TTRPG): developed a unique class type and weapons; wrote outlines of storylines for players and game masters to follow.

Designer / Artist / Team Lead at Heist In Progress

November 1, 2023 - Present

Acted as designer, artist, researcher, and team lead when freelance artists were involved; created rules and gameplay loop based on restrictions; researched market trends to determine the game's style; created initial art assets and approved further assets; personally designed all card layouts for optimal player experience.

Game Designer at UCI (Related School Projects)

November 30, 2025 - Present

Tested and developed a unique class with expansive subclasses; wrote the basic story outline; oversaw editing and theming; provided groundwork for teammates to expand on.

Demo Operator / Event Assistant at Blue Rondo Games (GAMA 2025)

February 26, 2025 - May 28, 2025

Invited to gain industry experience; helped run and sell copies of tabletop games through demos and sales with an elevator pitch; scheduled a public playtest of a card game.