Tomasz Kozera
Expert Game Designer
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Welcome!
In my work I believe in gameplay first approach and focus on player's perspective. Our responsibility as designers is to provide players with impactful and memorable experiences. Everything that we do and use is a tool to reach that goal.
As for my personal preferences, I like all sorts of progression systems - they reward players and open new possibilities before them, slowly introducing them to more complex elements of the game and allowing to customize gameplay to their preferences. I am also a big fan of systemic and organized approach. I believe it helps us to structure our creative, and thus chaotic by nature, work and allows us to seamlessly join gameplay features into one cohesive experience.
I take action and simply put: get things done. In our line of work we cannot let difficulties stop us or take 'no' for an answer. Based on my experience I can say that there's always a way - you just have to find it and keep pushing until your dream becomes a reality. I like working side by side with people from other departments - a lot of great things are born this way!
In my work I believe in gameplay first approach and focus on player's perspective. Our responsibility as designers is to provide players with impactful and memorable experiences. Everything that we do and use is a tool to reach that goal.
As for my personal preferences, I like all sorts of progression systems - they reward players and open new possibilities before them, slowly introducing them to more complex elements of the game and allowing to customize gameplay to their preferences. I am also a big fan of systemic and organized approach. I believe it helps us to structure our creative, and thus chaotic by nature, work and allows us to seamlessly join gameplay features into one cohesive experience.
I take action and simply put: get things done. In our line of work we cannot let difficulties stop us or take 'no' for an answer. Based on my experience I can say that there's always a way - you just have to find it and keep pushing until your dream becomes a reality. I like working side by side with people from other departments - a lot of great things are born this way!
Project 8
11 bit studios
The "Project 8" has so far only been teased so I cannot give specifics. With that in mind I have been working on:
- gameplay systems design
- documentation
- rapid prototyping on:
- game loops
- gameplay systems
- gameplay mechanics
- narration
For me the most memorable thing about the project was the rapid prototyping period. We've been designing and playtesting various elements on a weekly basis. It allowed us to quickly test completely different approaches to the topic and find out which ones did or didn't work. Great work on behalf of the team, fast progress and a lot of unconventional designs tested!
Cyberpunk 2077
CD Projekt Red
I have been working on Cyberpunk 2077 for over a year, designing fundamentals and prototyping gameplay systems and RPG elements:
- progression
- skill system
- item & character stats system
- foundations for combat & economy balancing
I am especially proud of creating various versions of the progression and skill systems (literally a dozen). It allowed us to explore possibilities of making the system to be have both classic elements and something fresh at the same time. Not all of the ideas made it into the final product but I strongly believe their development increased the quality of the final solution.
Working on the stats system was a big challenge. We had to take into consideration various gameplay possibilities, emergent behaviors, multiplayer data replication, future expansion packs, DLCs and NewGame+ mode. In the end I believe that the designed solution has a solid ground and will stand the test of time, for future projects too.This is some text inside of a div block.
Working on the stats system was a big challenge. We had to take into consideration various gameplay possibilities, emergent behaviors, multiplayer data replication, future expansion packs, DLCs and NewGame+ mode. In the end I believe that the designed solution has a solid ground and will stand the test of time, for future projects too.This is some text inside of a div block.
The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
CD Projekt Red
While working on The WItcher 3 and its expansions (Hearts of Stone, Blood an Wine) I was responsible for core RPG and gameplay systems:
- character development & skills
- damage system
- worked as RPG Design Team Coordinator for HoS and BaW expansions
- hit detection system
- tutorials
- achievements
- alchemy
- interactable objects
- bombs
- buffs
- runewords
- mutation system
- providing design & scripting mentorship for several members of Design and QA teams
- working with programmers and designers on API and tools for Design & Quest teams
- supporting producers with task estimates and flow
- writing documentation and specifications, including external partners
Initially the team size was very small (less than 100 people) - hence I got the opportunity to work on many key systems. With transition from Witcher 2 to Witcher 3 those needed to be brought to a new level, recreated or introduced. This enabled me to work on concept, architecture, pitching, prototyping and implementation. I am particularly proud of hit detection system which never had a serious issue and was able to provide all Game, Quest and Open World Designers' needs during the production of the game and expansion packs without any modifications.
I am very happy about coordinating the RPG team on its way to deliver features, bugfixesd and patches. The whole process was a great collaboration of people from multiple teams and we were able to get the job done without heavy crunch. I am also very proud of people that I was mentoring back then. All of them managed to complete internal hiring process and became game designers. As far as I know their technical skill and knowledge are regarded highly and I am happy I was able to have been a part of their transformation and growth!
While working on progression we had to connect all the main features from the witcher lore - different sword types, oils, potions, bombs, signs and mutations. I believe that we managed to find an elegant solution while staying true to the IP. Later when working on the EPs it enabled us to add new interesing features (like runewords and mutations). This enabled the players to try out different build types and have fun around some game rules via focused builds. The effect was a great success - players were able to try out completely new approaches, have fun with 'breaking' some of the game's rules and got incentivised to play the game again on NewGame+.
I am very happy about coordinating the RPG team on its way to deliver features, bugfixesd and patches. The whole process was a great collaboration of people from multiple teams and we were able to get the job done without heavy crunch. I am also very proud of people that I was mentoring back then. All of them managed to complete internal hiring process and became game designers. As far as I know their technical skill and knowledge are regarded highly and I am happy I was able to have been a part of their transformation and growth!
While working on progression we had to connect all the main features from the witcher lore - different sword types, oils, potions, bombs, signs and mutations. I believe that we managed to find an elegant solution while staying true to the IP. Later when working on the EPs it enabled us to add new interesing features (like runewords and mutations). This enabled the players to try out different build types and have fun around some game rules via focused builds. The effect was a great success - players were able to try out completely new approaches, have fun with 'breaking' some of the game's rules and got incentivised to play the game again on NewGame+.
Two Worlds II
Reality Pump
Working on Two Worlds 2 was very challenging but also very rewarding. It was the first commercial game I worked on, released in 2010. Being the only gameplay designer in the company I had a lot on my mind:
- design and implementation of game mechanics:
- skills
- magic system
- combat system
- items
- economy
- crafting
- alchemy
- balancing
- helping with managing monsters (workflow, testing, AI scripting)helping with managing monsters (workflow, testing, AI scripting)
- testing (gameplay, quests, levels)
- scripting gameplay mechanics
- creation and maintenance of GDD
- took active part in main story design
- I was also responsible for managing patches:
- maintaining contact with fans
- bug reporting
- support
- work management and organization
- overseeing patch testing, certifications, release
I am most proud of the magic system. The players had a blast with it and created a lot of interesting and fun spells - we even won the 2011 Guinness World Record Gamer's Edition award for most possible spells that the player can create, standing at 993 654. The most unbelievable and rewarding thing is that for years after the game released I kept on running into people who thanked me and said it was their favourite spell system of all time :). Fun fact: the video on the left was made in 2021... If people still have fun and talk about your design after 11 years then you know you've hit bullseye!
Edge Of Chaos
Metagravity
Edge of Chaos is the current game I work on with a very passionate and skilled team! The unique feature of the game is the ability to engage in battles with thousands of players at the same time.
In this project, I am spearheading the game design. An important part is finding the right balance between: designing well known game systems / features and experimenting with new, never done features that out technology allows us to do. HyperScale gaming opens a whole new world of possibilities but also challenges!
On a daily basis I work with game designs, GDDs, feature brainstorms and reviews, manage part of the team, take active part in planning, development, hiring, establishing pipelines and procedures.
I invite you to check out the game's page and to sign up for one of the tests to check it out!
https://www.edgeofchaos.io
Interests
I am a man of many interests - psychology, investing and personal growth are the ones I'm especially into right now. I like learning about human behavior and how various things affect why, what and how we do. I got in love with personal development and keep reading, listening a lot on the topic, as well as taking part in various workshops.Over the time I also increased my knowledge about finances, financial systems and got interested in investing, including cryptos.
I am an avid gamer and you can be sure that there's always something I play at any given time. I play games for pleasure, out of curiosity (all those indie games!) and as research for my work. I mix and match and it helps me to keep the balance while taking handfuls from each 'bucket'. I can always refer you to some weird game you didn't know existed ;).
In the past I used to play death metal (electric gitar), trained kendo, prototyped board games (initially on boring geography lessons in elementary school xD) and took part in the 'In the Wake of Gods' fan expansion to Heroes of Might and Magic III.
I am a man of many interests - psychology, investing and personal growth are the ones I'm especially into right now. I like learning about human behavior and how various things affect why, what and how we do. I got in love with personal development and keep reading, listening a lot on the topic, as well as taking part in various workshops.Over the time I also increased my knowledge about finances, financial systems and got interested in investing, including cryptos.
I am an avid gamer and you can be sure that there's always something I play at any given time. I play games for pleasure, out of curiosity (all those indie games!) and as research for my work. I mix and match and it helps me to keep the balance while taking handfuls from each 'bucket'. I can always refer you to some weird game you didn't know existed ;).
In the past I used to play death metal (electric gitar), trained kendo, prototyped board games (initially on boring geography lessons in elementary school xD) and took part in the 'In the Wake of Gods' fan expansion to Heroes of Might and Magic III.
Recommendations
I often get asked for recommendations:
books, materials, presentations etc. Here's a spreadsheet with my top picks regarding: gamedev, finance, investing, psychology, self-development and more:
spreadsheet link
books, materials, presentations etc. Here's a spreadsheet with my top picks regarding: gamedev, finance, investing, psychology, self-development and more:
spreadsheet link
Contact
