Bridging emotion and interaction through gameplay and systems.
Hello! I’m Gustav Sjölund, a Technical Narrative Designer and Game Developer with my background in multidisciplinary design, production leadership, and interactive storytelling.
I specialize in crafting systems that invite player interpretation, encourage emergent behavior, and create emotionally resonant gameplay through consequence, choice, and structure. Whether I'm working on co-op mechanics, branching dialogue frameworks, or environmental storytelling in systemic worlds, my goal is always the same:
'Design not for introduction, but reflection. Build worlds where meaning arises through action.'
My Strength Lies in the Intersections
Narrative Systems Design
I design player-driven narratives rooted in behavior, ambiguity, and player psychology. My writing is modular, systemic, and designed to serve gameplay first.
Gameplay & UX Design
I prototype mechanics, structure levels, and map experience flows that balance player freedom with clarity, drawing from a strong foundation in game feel and spatial awareness.
Production & Leadership
With experience in Producing and other Lead roles, I’ve led teams of 35+ across disciplines. I shape production ecosystems that enable creative autonomy, while keeping vision aligned and deliverables grounded.
Games as ecosystems of perception
I don’t approach design in isolation. I design systems, experiences, and emotions as part of a living whole - where mechanics, narrative, sound, structure, pacing, UI, and world-building aren’t departments, but languages in dialogue.
My background spans storytelling, production, gameplay design, sound, and art - and I carry all of it into every decision I make.
When I prototype a mechanic, I’m thinking of its rhythm in the soundtrack. When I build pacing into a level, I’m also thinking about the soundscape that will support it. And when I block out a scene, I’m imagining how lighting, animation, and narrative framing will intersect to affect mood and clarity.
“I’m not interested in preaching a story to my players - I’m interested in creating a world where they discover what story they’ve just been a part of.”
Where I am today
A year after graduating with a Master’s in Game Design from ArtFX, I have continued building experience across personal projects and professional collaboration.
Since graduating, I have contributed to indie productions, developed my own design work, and continued refining how I approach narrative, systems, worldbuilding, and player experience. Alongside this, I work part-time as a bartender, a role that not only brings balance to my work-from-home lifestyle but also strengthens my communication, adaptability, and collaborative skills.
I am now looking for a full-time opportunity in the games industry where I can contribute as a game designer, narrative designer, or creative collaborator, while continuing to grow within an ambitious team.
Let's Connect!
Whether you're building something unconventional, emotionally complex, or just full of mischief and potential - I'd love to talk.
MY STUDIES AT ARTFX
ARTFX - School of Digital Arts
I hold a Master’s in Game Design from ArtFX, one of Europe’s top-ranked game development schools, with an industry-focused education and emphasis on cross-disciplinary teamwork.
During my studies, I specialised in technical narrative design, gameplay systems, prototyping, and production management, developing the ability to take ideas from paper to playable experience while bridging creative vision with technical execution.
The curriculum combined design theory, production methodology, and collaborative game development. Over my initial years, I worked on multiple prototype-driven projects, rapidly iterating on systems, narrative concepts, and player experience through hands-on sprints and playtesting.
In my final year, I served as designer and producer for That One Otter Game, a couch co-op experience developed entirely in UE 5.
The project involved full-cycle production:
-
Conceptualising and prototyping the core player experience
-
Iterative level and system design
-
Narrative tone and worldbuilding
-
UI/UX planning
-
QA Testing
-
Cross-disciplinary team coordination
-
Polishing and shipping a stable title
This experience gave me a deep understanding of the full development pipeline, from early ideation through release-ready builds, along with essential collaboration skills needed to work with designers, artists, animators, audio teams, and programmers.
Combined with my independent prototypes and personal design practice, this education shaped my approach to systems-driven narrative, player agency, and iterative design thinking, key pillars in the work I pursue today.
https://artfx.school/en/courses/master-game-design/
