EDUCATION

New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, New York Sep 2022 – May 2026

Major: Game Design;  Minor: Japanese
Degree: BFA  GPA: 3.7/4.0  Achievements: Dean’s List

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Game Design Intern, Beijing Garage Studio May 2025 – Present

Participated in Backfire Effect, a turn based strategy role playing game developed by GarageStudio (Beijing Garage Studio), combining narrative-driven adventure with turn-based strategy gameplay.
Built a playtesting tool in Tabletop Simulator to balance and test numerical values.

Community Management Intern, NetEase Games May 2024 – Jul 2024

Participated in the operation of Revelation, a flagship MMORPG by NetEase known for its immersive open-world design and strong community-driven gameplay.
Monitored Weibo, Xiaohongshu, TapTap and other platforms daily; compiled player feedback into internal daily and weekly reports to support product iteration.
Responded to hundreds of player inquiries, promoted discussions through targeted interactions, and boosted community engagement.
Collaborated with the development team to convert feedback into actionable improvements, contributing to three major feature updates.
Gained practical insights into large-scale online game operations and the feedback-to-product pipeline in top-tier online multiplayer game companies.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Algorithms for Game Design Research Course Jul 2025 – Present

Participated in a project-based graduate-level course under Prof. William Nace (Carnegie Mellon University).
Implemented game development algorithms (e.g., Dijkstra’s Algorithm) using Python and Pygame to improve pathfinding and in-game computational efficiency.

Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment in Games: Engagement, Believability, and Physiological Adaptation Jul 2025 – Present

Co-authored a research paper analyzing three DDA approaches: Probabilistic Dynamic Programming (PDP), Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS), and biofeedback-controlled systems.
Contributed to core sections, especially focusing on enhancing human-likeness in fighting games through aggressiveness-tuned MCTS.
Identified and developed the unifying theme of the paper and thoughtfully wrote the conclusion to synthesize team findings.
Coordinated team works through strong analytical and integrative skills and bridged diverse perspectives into a cohesive research.
Paper currently under preparation/submission.

Game Design Summer Research Program Jan 2021 – Sep 2021

Participated in a graduate-level research program led by Prof. Nicholas Fortugno (Columbia University).
Studied foundational game design theories including the MDA framework and dominant strategies.
Conducted in-depth analysis of Hades, evaluating its mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetic coherence.
A research paper studying Hades is accepted by the 3rd International Conference on Advances in Social Sciences and Sustainable Development (ASSSD 2021).

“Image Classification with Artificial Intelligence: Cats vs Dogs”, Co-author Jul 2020 – Dec 2020

Compared Support Vector Machine (SVM) with Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for classifying images of cats and dogs.
Evaluated SVM and CNN models, analyzing the effects of data augmentation, convolution kernel size, and activation functions.
Published at the 2nd International Conference on Computing and Data Science.

PROJECT EXPERIENCE

Programmer & Designer, Circus Mania (CUSGA 2025) Jan 2025 – Aug 2025

Developed the character shop and upgrade system.
Managed the pipeline of gameplay data: organizing stats in spreadsheets, integrating them into the game, and implementing how characters access and use these values.
Built the in-game economy system and added graphs to visualize key metrics.
Collaborated with artists on UI design and programmed it to function.

Programmer & Designer, Basic Slot Machine (GMTK Game Jam 2025) Aug 2025

Designed and created a basic slot machine to meet the theme of Loop.

Lead Programmer & Designer, Deepno (Boss Rush Jam 2025) Jan 2025

Designed a combat system combining turn-based command input and real-time boss attack patterns.
Implemented character behavior for three playable units, each capable of receiving commands (attack/defend/parry) and responding in real time to enemy cues.
Continued the game development post-jam to improve systems and balance.

Programmer & Designer, Snowball Billiards (GMTK Game Jam 2024) Aug 2024

Co-developed the game in Gumball Studio. Created gameplay where snowballs dynamically grow when rolling over snow and shrink when passing through puddles, aligned with the jam theme of “built-in-scale.”
Programmed physics-based interactions using Unity, including object scaling, collision behavior, and environmental modifiers.
Added a first-person aiming view on the screen’s right side, which incorporated subtle motion to simulate the tactile precision of aiming a real billiard cue.

Programmer, Potion Impediment (GMTK Game Jam 2023) Jul 2023

Designed the logic for a character-guessing game in which players role-play as a fantasy potion merchant, interpreting visual cues from heroes (appearance + external events) to determine potion needs.
Coded branching consequences: players’ decisions could result in characters becoming regulars or dying based on potion accuracy.
Focused on implementing the core game loop, user interactions, and conditional logic.

AWARDS

Most Surprising Game Nominee August 2025

CUSGA (China University Student Game Awards)

Dean’s List 2023, 2025

New York University

SKILLS & HOBBIES

• Programming & Engines: Unity, Unreal Engine, GameMaker; C#, Java
• Design & Art Tools: Davinci Resolve, HTML, Photoshop, Procreate, Maya, After Effects, Harmony
• YouTube Management: https://www.youtube.com/@yuya2358/featured
• Languages: Korean (native), English (fluent), Mandarin (fluent), Japanese (JLPT N3)