Kayleigh East
She/Her
Game Designer
Gameplay | Multiplayer | Combat
RIT Game Design BS '21
Games are a form of expression. A lot of love goes into each character, move set, and line of code. <3I'm a flexible designer and quick learner, working as an advanced designer at Schell Games. Before Schell, I was a gameplay designer for Ubisoft on XDefiant. In my downtime, I work on my personal game UpRooted!When I'm not making cool games (or gaming), I'm usually drawing or making puns.
Experience
Skills
Editors
Snowdrop, Unity, Unreal
Scripting
Visual Scripting/Blueprints, C#, C++
Documentation and Tools
Miro, Confluence, Jira, Trello, Microsoft Suite, Perforce, Git, Photoshop
Professional Work
Schell Games - Dragon Grove
Advanced Game Designer
2025 - Currentâ¨
Designing gameplay and levels for a Meta-published 3D puzzle game, Dragon Grove. I've designed core, signature, and shared mechanics. I've directed our level design approach, leading the design, tutorialization, and content ramping for 200+ levels. I've balanced this against longitudinal playtests, alongside director and client feedback. The game is slated to release in spring 2027 on the new Meta VR Glasses and Meta Quest.
Ubisoft - XDefiant
Game Designer
2021 - 2024
Designed faction classes along with core and limited-time game modes for Ubisoft's first-person hero shooter XDefiant. Every IP-inspired faction had its own passive, special abilities, and unique ultimate.I led the launch faction Dedsec and created abilities for future unreleased factions! I created core game modes Hot Shot and Bomb, and a Rayman mode, Lum Hunt.I regularly pitched to directors and stakeholders aligning goals, collaborated across disciplines, and authored detailed design documentation. I prototyped, implemented, and bug fixed my features within an Unreal-like engine, using visual scripting. I held playtests, gathering feedback to ensure balance and quality, while monitoring public opinion on socials.
Ubisoft - Rocksmith+
Game Design Intern
2021
On the music-learning game Rocksmith+ I had the opportunity to help prototype for the game's piano mode! I designed, pitched, and implemented features with visual scripting in Snowdrop.
Personal Work
UpRooted
Lead, Game Designer, Programmer
2020 - Present
UpRooted is a 2.5d action-adventure featuring a mage and a paladin fighting to hack a virus corrupting a forest. Play as two and fight as one, stunning as a mage and slashing as a paladin.
UpRooted's a Unity passion project I lead with a team and develop in my spare time! It features buddy AI, magic and sword combat, and puzzles.
A designer so nice she designs twice <3