Presentation

Nodding Heads Games, India - Raji: Kaliyuga - TBA - Unreal Engine 5

I spent two years as a freelance senior game designer at Nodding Heads Games, an independent game studio based in India. I worked remotely with a team of 15 international members.

Being under NDA, I can't talk much about the project itself, but I can say that I was tasked with designing a game that didn’t feel like a rip‑off or a reskinned version of an existing title, and with creating mechanics and systems that were as original as possible—or at least not commonly seen in major triple‑A games.
It was a significant step up from their previous project, and we had to explore new approaches to meet the expectations in terms of management, workflow, and communication.

What I did

• Defined a large part of the overall vision for the game, based on the creative director’s initial intentions.
• Designed an innovative combat system built around weapon‑switching and character-switching mechanics.
• Designed both combat and navigation/exploration systems to ensure they would still feel “modern” at release, and established solid principles for core gameplay and level design.
• Maintained a strong connection between gameplay, lore, story, and Indian culture to ensure consistency.
• Collected references and conducted extensive research on Indian cultural elements such as martial arts, dances, objects, and more.