Kia Ora!
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I'm Zala, a Game Designer
in Wellington, NZ

I have a particular love for games that break the boundaries of conventional design - I love coming up with strange ways to tell stories. My heart lies in indie development, I love to work closely with team members in all fields and develop alongside enthusiasm both in the studio, and in the games we create!

I've explored every field of game development - from sound design to programming - to help support my design and work to scope down reasonably for my team(after spending some time in the clouds). This also aids in rapid prototyping ideas and merging designs with needs from other departments.

I also run Accessibility Unlocked with 3 others - an initiative to make the games industry more accessible to disabled devs and players alike.

I'd love to hear from you! Contact me at zala.habib@gmail.com

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Achievements:

• Granted NZGDA GDC Scholarship [2020]
• Granted NZGDA GCAP Scholarship [2019]
• Velocity Scholar, Women in Games Ambassador - IGDA [2019]
• Mentee - The Working Lunch [2019]
• LEGS - Media Design Excellence nominee, VUW [2018]
• Frame of Fancy - Media Design Excellence nominee, VUW[2018]
• Featured Artist - NeurIPS Workshop Gallery, Montréal Canada [2018]

Community/Volunteering:

• Co-Founder - Accessibility Unlocked [2019 - Present]
• Events Manager - New Zealand Games Festival [2020 - 2021]
• Volunteer - New Zealand Games Festival [2019]
• Exhibition Designer - Victoria University of Wellington [2018]
• Event Assistant - Mirimar Creative [2018]
• Robotics Teacher - Space and Science Festival [2017]

Skills:

// Game Design : Core Game Loops,  Narrative-Systems Design, Puzzle Design, Combat, Locomotion, Level Design, Prototyping, Communication, Collaborative Brainstorming, User Testing, Project Management, Research, Public Relations

// Art : Photoshop, Illustrator, Maya, Concept Art, Pixel Art, Illustration

// Technical : Unreal Engine 4/5, Unity, Blueprints, C#, Perforce, Git, Machine Learning, Neural Networks