Melissa Issaoun - Game Designer Portfolio
Game Designer
- systems design specialisation
- technical background
- used to unity, godot, and visual scripting
Excellence Program Student
- at Fontys IT Game Design
- graduates in 2.5 years
- two mandatory internships
Real Passion and Initiative
- founded 100+ member game dev club
- gives workshops in game design
- involved in the community
Hands-on approach
- works iteratively
- places focus on player feedback
- implements and tests
Choose Your Character
Alchemist - Major Project I
Experimenting with RPGs
Skills Used: Systems Design, Combat Design, User Testing, Godot/GDscript
Project I: Aurum
Reimagining turn-based combat
The Challenge
Turn-based combat often devolves into repeatedly using one overpowered move. I wanted to create a system that rewards creativity and strategic planning instead.
My Approach
I designed an item-focused combat system that functions like a reskinned deckbuilder:
- Combat is impossible without strategic item use
- Players customize their loadout before battle through an alchemy crafting system, making their path to victory feel personal and earned
- Multiple item combinations can lead to victory, but players must discover effective sequences themselves
The Result
Playtesters engaged with the prototype for around 15 minutes each:
- Each failed their first attempt
- All returned with refined strategies and different loadouts
- Players replayed voluntarily after victory to discover new combinations and optimize damage output
- The system successfully merged puzzle-solving with RPG combat, creating the "cozy meets challenging" experience I aimed for
View project blog post →
Fighter - Major Project II
Leaves a striking impression
Skills Used: Systems Design, Visual Design, Godot/GDscript
Project II: Dogfight!!
Simplifying a fighting game
The Challenge
I needed to create a button-mashy fighting game for events and web play—meaning short sessions where unskilled players could compete against skilled players with engaging social dynamics, without learning complicated mechanics.
My Approach
I designed a fighting game framework that simplifies gameplay by treating it as a resource management game:
- Players manage three core resources: screen space, meter charge, and health
- Each move either attacks the opponent's resources or defends your own
- The system functions like rock-paper-scissors, where strategy matters more than execution speed
- Success comes from positioning and decision-making rather than frame-perfect inputs
The Result
Playtesters engaged in strategic mind games rather than technical showdowns:
- Players attempted to corner each other into running out of resources
- Skill gaps narrowed—newcomers could compete by playing smart
- Social dynamics emerged naturally as players focused on outsmarting the opponent long term
Warlock - Mini Project
A pact with the unknown
Skills Used: Level Design, Systems Design, Unity/C#
Mini Project: The Third Day
Sensory horror in mechanics
The Challenge
I wanted to create a sensory horror-themed dungeon crawler that would feel stimulating and guttural to the player, but clicking to attack seemed very detaching for the user.
My Approach
I designed sensory mouse-movement based dungeon crawler combat, developed iteratively:
Prototype 1: Initial concept with FPS-like controls—players moved the camera with the mouse and clicked to attack.
Prototype 2: Players must physically move their mouse forward to stab enemies, creating a tactile nature to combat.
Prototype 3: Different attacks bound to vertical and horizontal mouse movement, with camera controlled by Q and E keys to increase the purposeful weight and clunkiness of the controls, and free the mouse to be able to slash sideways.
The Result
A disturbing, immersive, and sensory prototype that made combat feel visceral and personal through physical mouse movement instead of detached clicking.
Druid - Stakeholder Work
Shifting to support the team
Skills Used: Systems Design, Unity, Godot
Stakeholder Work
External work with a group
PARTY MORPH
I redesigned cutscenes and connective tissue in the gameplay loop for a Dogfood Studios game about wacky aliens holding their presidential elections as a reality show. I worked with 4 other developers to improve the demo.
ARTIFACT ESCAPE
I designed simple asymmetrical gameplay for a prototype requested by Enversed, a VR game installation in Eindhoven. Working with 4 other participants, I created a cross-platform capture the flag game where VR players stealthily explore a maze to find artifacts, while non-VR players track them down and spawn traps and enemies—allowing visitors uncomfortable with VR to still participate.
Barbarian - More Design Work
Smashes through design problems
Skills Used: Unreal Engine/Visual Scripting, GDScript/Godot, Python, Interaction Design
Miscellaneous Projects
Various small game experiments and prototypes
ROBOT EXPERIMENTS
I created a visual scripting experiment that treats the mouse as a controller for wonky party game controls. By connecting the mouse wheel to a robot's wheel, players "drive" using their mouse.
DUTCH DESIGN WEEK
In this physical installation about the internet, I translated journalistic requirements into an interactive installation that puts players in a God's seat, making decisions about how the internet should look. By breaking the fourth wall and empowering users to make value-based decisions, the installation explored internet regulation through choice and consequence.
INTERACTIVE SCREEN GAMES
I designed camera tracking games that adapt cult classics to use space and physicality. Developed for a giant 40' x 60' screen, I converted classics like Atari Breakout (where players run back and forth to control the paddle) and Mario (using webcam tracking to bring players into the physical world).
Bard - About Me
A creative mind, a friendly tune
Qualities: Empathetic, Enthusiastic, Resourceful, Energetic
About Me
My name is Melissa Issaoun.
I am 24 years old and a student at Fontys ICT in Eindhoven. There, I specialize in game design and pursue my passion for it as part of the Delta Excellence Program.
I’m a designer with a hands-on approach to my creations. I operate on respect for the player, iteration and receptiveness to feedback. I am a balance of technical and creative, and love to dig my teeth into difficult problems.
I've long been an avid enjoyer of games (my favourites being RPGs, narrative games, niche horror titles and cozy games). Once I came into contact with making them, it was love at first sight. For me, games are the perfect merging ground for my technical and artistic sides.
Besides my projects, I also have given Game Design workshops at Fontys, as well as started a club for game design enthusiasts ("The Loot Goblins") which currently stands at a proud 100+ goblin members.
I'm known to be bursting with energy and enthusiasm, much to the exhaustion of my teachers (kidding). I love to try new things, push boundaries, and surprise others and myself.
In need of some bardic (design) inspiration?
Game designer merging technical and artistic
(TT)RPG, narrative, adventure lover
Fontys ICT | Delta Excellence Program | Loot Goblins Game Dev Club Founder
Find me on LinkedIn