I am a Game Designer and Production Lead who builds bridges between creative vision and shipping reality. My background in systems and narrative design allows me to craft compelling mechanics, while my experience leading Agile production teams ensures those designs actually ship (with a 100% on-time shipping rate). Whether I'm designing puzzles or managing international roadmaps, I focus on clarity, emotional resonance, and unblocking teams to do their best work.
Below are selected case studies highlighting my work across all these aspects (both digital and analog). Read on, or click a link to jump ahead.
Narrative Design
Production Lead
3D Level Design
UI/UX Design
Puzzle Design
Narrative Design
Puzzle Design
Narrative Design
Puzzle Design
Technical Writing
Simulation Design
Systems Design
Production Lead
Narrative Design
Script Writing
Level Design
Puzzle Design
Systems Design
Puzzle Design
Level Design
Production Lead
Creative Direction
Narrative Design
Systems Design
Tabletop Design
Systems Design
UI/UX Design
Technical Writing
Games Portfolio
CASE STUDY 1
It's Alive! ...or Is It? Publisher: StrongMind
Product Owner & Lead Designer
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Project Summary
A narrative-driven point-and-click adventure teaching scientific inquiry and virology, delivered from concept to gold master in just 4 months. The game features interactive puzzles, branching dialogue, and character-driven storytelling to make complex STEM concepts accessible.
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My Roles
I managed the entire development lifecycle while executing the core design and technical implementation.
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Production: Scope management, cross-team coordination (art/QA), and regular executive stakeholder demos
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Design & Tech: Full systems design, puzzle logic, scripting, UI/UX, and complete in-engine implementation (Unity)
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Narrative: Co-authored branching dialogue
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Project Goals
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Ship a full product in 4 months: Manage strict scope to deliver a polished experience on a tight timeline.
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Gamify Inquiry: Make the scientific method feel like an adventure, not a lecture.
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Emotional Resonance: Use humor and character to drive engagement with educational content.
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Mechanic-Theme Harmony: Create puzzles that inherently reinforce real-world STEM concepts.​
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Key Achievements
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Delivered on Time: Successfully scoped and shipped a virtually bug-free experience within the 4-month deadline through aggressive prioritization
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Complex Systems Design: Built 6+ interactive scenes with layered hotspot logic and inventory progression
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Narrative Engineering: Implemented a complex branching dialogue system with consequence-based outcomes and thousands of lines of script.
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Technical Implementation: Handled all Unity implementation, bridging the gap between static art assets, animation, and gameplay functionality.
Awards
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Silver Award at the 2020 Serious Play Conference
Play It!
Origin Story: I originally validated this concept by teaching myself Unity and building a playable vertical slice over a single weekend. After successfully pitching the prototype to executive leadership, I secured the greenlight and resources to scale the project, leading the collaboration with our art and animation teams to deliver the final product.
Note: The fullscreen button is disabled for this embedded web build.
"Grant cares about the big picture in gaming just as much as the minute details, and he was passionate about everything from the home-screen navigation, to the sound design, to the little animations of characters' hair feeling as immersive as possible. His tireless work resulted in a full-feeling, living, breathing world that was as fun to play in as it was to look at and listen to."
Elizabeth Hollingshead,
ex-StrongMind
CASE STUDY 2
Heist Simulator Publisher: No More Robots
Level, Gameplay, & Narrative Designer
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Project Summary
A campaign for a heist-themed sandbox game developed in collaboration with Rare veterans. I designed and implemented the game's core 4-level narrative campaign, pushing the engine's limits to transform a sandbox tool into a story-driven experience.
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My Roles
I owned the full content pipeline, from narrative concept to final Unity implementation, and drove significant improvements to the game's toolset.
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Technical Design: Scripted complex event logic (Unity/level editor tools) for multi-stage quests, NPC behaviors, and fail states.
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Tool Development: Stress-tested the level editor, identifying critical feature gaps and collaborating with engineers to implement "impossible" new features.
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Content Design: Built 8+ hours of gameplay (campaign + standalone levels), balancing difficulty curves and user onboarding.
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Narrative: Wrote and implemented a branching British-comedy script, integrating backstories for existing sandbox characters.​
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Project Goals
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Showcase the Engine: Create "gold standard" levels that demonstrate the maximum potential of the user-generated content tools.
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Scaffold Complexity: Teach players complex mechanics (stealth, hacking, disguises) through gameplay, not tutorials.
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Narrative Agency: Prove that a physics sandbox could support a cohesive, emotionally engaging story.
Key Achievements
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Engine Innovation: My "novel ideas" and stress-testing led to new editor features that permanently expanded the game's capabilities.
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Massive Content Output: Delivered a full campaign solo, handling level layout, lighting, cameras and cutscenes, and scripting.
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High-Complexity Logic: Successfully implemented character-switching puzzles and multi-layered heist mechanics that required intricate state management.
(Pre-Alpha Footage - You may see visual glitches.)
"Grant excelled in his role as a level designer, consistently delivering high-quality and innovative designs that significantly enhanced our game. He came up with novel ideas in our level editor that allowed him to create things that we didn't even consider possible. Along with this, he recognized a need in the narrative department and seamlessly took on additional responsibilities, demonstrating exceptional versatility and dedication. His sense of humor and positive attitude made working with him a joy. Grant's contributions were invaluable, and he proved to be an outstanding team player and a pleasure to work with."
Play It?
Note: Heist Simulator is currently unreleased. However, the campaign and toolset are fully functional. I can provide a private walkthrough upon request.
"Through a stroke of luck we found Grant while building Heist Simulator. He went completely above and beyond what we expected from someone, and really transformed what we were making. As we worked through the project we kept on discovering his diverse range of talents everywhere from level design, to writing narratives, to sound design and engineering.
I've worked across both indie and AAA game dev, and I'd recommend him in a heartbeat for both.
10/10, would Grant again."
Dominic Lennon,
Games Global,
Skybagel, & ex-Rare
Matt Cavanagh,
Rare & RogueCode
CASE STUDY 3
Creative Director, Executive Producer,
& Narrative Designer
Project Summary
An emotionally driven sci-fi fairy tale exploring layered psychological states. Currently in active preproduction, I am leading a cross-functional team of 10 through concepting, prototyping, and vertical slice planning.
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My Roles
I serve as the studio head, balancing the high-level creative vision with the practical realities of indie production management.
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Production Leadership: Manage a team of 9, running regular sprints, cross-discipline reviews, and owning the milestone roadmap from concept to vertical slice.
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Systems Design: Architected the "emotional layering" mechanic, tying puzzle logic to narrative states.
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Rapid Prototyping: Established a "fail-fast" pipeline using low-code tools (ArcWeave, Lovable) to validate mechanics before committing engineering resources in Unity.
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Project Pillars
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The "Three-Tiered" Narrative: A story structure that reveals three distinct endings based on player exploration depth, requiring complex branching logic.
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Emotional Mechanics: A twist on Metroidvania gating where "feelings" (not gear) unlock new paths and interactions.
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Modern Point-and-Click: Modernizing the genre by removing "pixel hunting" and backtracking, replacing them with psychological perspective shifts.​​
To Be Decided Publisher: Cri Smile Games
​Production Wins
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Pipeline Coordination: Synchronized workflows across art, animation, programming, and narrative departments to ensure consistent asset implementation.
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Tools Strategy: Integrating ArcWeave to allow writers to test branching logic without needing engineer support.
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Zero-Crunch Culture: Built a realistic milestone plan that accommodates a remote, fractional team structure.
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Concept Art
Example of ArcWeave Scripting and Output
Technical Design: Narrative logic visualization to bridge the gap between "Writer" and "Programmer," I use ArcWeave to map complex branching state machines.
The window on the right is a fully playable logic test. It demonstrates the game's core loop: unlocking new emotions (rapidly simulated here) allows players to gain access to new takes on old abilities. ArcWeave allows us to test "game feel" before writing a single line of C#.
Play a Prototype!
Rapid Prototyping with Generative AI: As a small team, we have to prioritize velocity. I utilize tools like Lovable to generate quick, playable "greybox" tests of UI and mechanic ideas.
Below is a "throwaway" prototype used to validate the UI for switching emotional states. By testing this in a browser-based environment first, we identified UX friction points early, saving expensive engineering hours in Unity later.
"Grant was an absolute pleasure to work with and has been someone I've sincerely appreciated keeping up with through the years. I look forward to hearing about what Grant will work on in the future because I'm confident it'll be something great."
Industry Endorsement: Thomas Kastner, Rockstar Games, ex-Elephant Mouse
CASE STUDY 4
Tomorrow Publisher: Drunken Clan
Lead Narrative Systems Designer
Project Summary
A narrative prototype exploring "emotional inventory management." Commissioned by Drunken Clan, I designed the core gameplay loop where players must pack a bag from a musician's apartment under a strict time limit, forcing them to prioritize objects based on emotional value versus practical utility.
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My Roles
I architected the relationship between physical objects, narrative beats, and game endings.
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Systems Design: Created a "hidden weight" system where every object was assigned variables (Relationships, Purpose, Emotional Baggage) that tracked against a hidden scoreboard.
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Narrative Architecture: Wrote interaction dialogue for 50+ unique items, ensuring each contributed to the environmental storytelling.
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Spatial Design: Mapped the apartment layout (wireframe) to optimize player flow and ensure the "time vs. exploration" tension felt fair.​
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Project Goals
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Gamify Memory: Turn standard "examine" interactions into a strategic choice by attaching a time cost to every memory.
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Branching Complexity: Create a matrix of consequences where small choices accumulate into vastly different outcomes.
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Emotional Weight: Balance the mechanics so players feel the "heaviness" of the protagonist's baggage without explicit UI indicators.
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Spatial Design & Pacing: I designed the apartment layout to control the pacing. By placing high-value narrative items in the back rooms, I forced players to manage the 'time cost' of traversal.
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Key Achievements
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Logic-Driven Narrative: Designed a complex branching system resulting in 15 distinct endings, determined dynamically by the combination of "emotional tags" in the player's inventory.
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High-Volume Content: Wrote and categorized 50+ object interactions, maintaining a consistent character voice across all assets.
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Documentation: Delivered comprehensive design tables (see below) that mathematically mapped the narrative logic for the development team.
System Documentation & Logic Map: Below is the design bible I delivered to the client. It details the "emotional weight" database, a table I built to track how specific object combinations trigger different ending states. This document served as the single source of truth for the engineering team to implement the narrative logic.
Read It!
Industry Endorsement:
John Benyamine,
CEO at Moonrock
"I’ve known Grant Holzhauer for over two decades, dating back to my earliest days in the gaming industry. Even then, Grant stood out as someone who was dependable, smart, and always willing to step up when things got tough. He brings a calm confidence to everything he does which is a rare mix of strategic thinking, creative insight, and steady execution. Whether it was navigating chaotic editorial calendars or hashing out creative ideas that made a real impact, Grant was someone you could trust to deliver. He’s one of those people who makes teams stronger just by being in the room."
CASE STUDY 5
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Escape the Museum Publisher: Drunken Clan
Lead Puzzle & Systems Designer​
Project Summary
A 4-room narrative escape experience commissioned by Drunken Clan. I was commissioned to architect the complete player journey for a 3D virtual environment, delivering a comprehensive design package that detailed every mechanical system, logic flow, and asset requirement for the development team.
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My Roles
I owned the full design phase, translating abstract concepts into implementation-ready documentation.
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Level Design: Concepted logical gating and flow for 4 distinct rooms, ensuring a clean escalation curve for difficulty within the 3D space.
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Technical Writing: Authored the master design document, detailing the variable states, interaction logic, and win-conditions for every puzzle.
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Systems Logic: Designed multi-step dependencies where environmental assets (paintings, statues, light) functioned as inputs for digital keypads and gates.
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Design Pillars
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Mechanical Variety: Ensure each room centers on a distinct cognitive mechanic: pattern recognition, spatial manipulation, logic sequences, and environmental awareness.
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Diegetic Integration: All puzzles must utilize the virtual environment (museum artifacts) rather than arbitrary UI overlays.
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Fail-Safe Flow: Design puzzles that are self-guiding and resistant to "brute forcing" or player error.
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Key Achievements
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Complexity Scaffolding: Successfully mapped a difficulty curve that introduces mechanics in Room 1 (Elevator) and layers them into complex multi-stage puzzles by Room 4.
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Abstract System Design: Designed a light-and-mirror logic system (Room 3) entirely from scratch, mapping the interaction dependencies and causal chains (Mirror A must hit Mirror B) to ensure the puzzle was solvable via logic rather than trial-and-error.
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Documentation as Product: Delivered a design bible and implementation notes so comprehensive that the engineering team could build the entire experience without requiring further design input.
CASE STUDY 6
MetroTopia: Build for Balance Publisher: StrongMind
Lead Systems Designer & Producer
Project Summary
A replayable city-building simulation built for StrongMind. I served as the Product Owner, balancing complex resource management systems (economy, ecology, population) into an accessible, educational experience designed for high school biology and economics students.
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My Roles
I owned the core mathematical architecture and the production pipeline.
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Systems Design: Designed and balanced the economy, zoning logic, and conservation mechanics using real-world statistical models.
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Production Leadership: Managed the cross-discipline workflow (art, engineering, QA) and defined milestone timelines to ensure on-time delivery.
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UX Architecture: Created low-fidelity prototypes (Balsamiq) and defined the user onboarding flow to simplify complex data for players.
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Design Pillars
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"Sim-Lite" Depth: Capture the satisfaction of a city-builder (balancing budget vs. growth) within a condensed 15-minute session.
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Educational Stealth: Integrate biology concepts (wildlife conservation) as core gameplay mechanics rather than quiz interruptions.
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Failing Forward: Design a non-punitive failure state that encourages iteration and strategy refinement.
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Game Design Highlights
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Complex Balancing: Successfully balanced 7 interacting variables (satisfaction, budget, environment, wildlife, population, energy, pollution) to create a challenging but fair simulation loop.
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Replayability: Designed a randomized map generator and a building upgrade tech tree to ensure no two sessions played alike.
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Feedback Design: Created clear visual feedback loops (UI forecasting) that allowed students to understand the long-term impact of their zoning decisions.
OTHER DESIGNS
See a Systems Design User Flow for a Diner-Dash-Inspired Election HQ Game
Early UI/UX Mockups in Balsamiq (Link)
Play It!
Target Audience & Complexity: This version was the capstone module, designed specifically for a high school biology curriculum.
The design challenge was information architecture: providing all critical data up front without overwhelming the user, supporting a fail-fast loop where students could play, fail, and iterate within a single 30-minute play session.
"Grant's unique blend of technical and interpersonal skills made him an invaluable asset to our team and a joy to collaborate with. I witnessed him take complex educational concepts and turn them into amazingly fun and engaging interactive experiences. His talent for coming up with compelling ideas, creating wireframes and user flows, and then guiding projects through development demonstrates his comprehensive mastery of the creative process. Beyond his skills, Grant's infectious enthusiasm and energy made for a positive work environment which helped our team thrive. He consistently fostered cross-team collaboration, led productive meetings between developers and artists, and always found ways to make challenging work enjoyable."
Dwaine Matthew,
ex-StrongMind
CASE STUDY 7
Imagineers Publisher: Revelator Games
Lead Systems Designer & Co-Creator
Project Summary
Project Summary A theme-park design strategy game featuring 725,000+ possible attraction combinations. This project was developed as a high-fidelity prototype and formally pitched to Gamelyn Games (creators of Tiny Epic series) as a commercial product.
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My Roles
I designed the combinatorial economy and authored the rulebook.
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Mathematical Modeling: Built complex Excel simulations to stress-test the balance of 700k+ permutations, ensuring no "dominant strategy" broke the game.
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Technical Writing: Authored the complete rulebook and player aid flows to streamline onboarding.
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Rapid Prototyping: Produced physical mockups for cards and boards to facilitate iterative playtesting.
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Design Pillars
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Infinite Replayability: Drive longevity through a modular combo system where component interactions change every session.
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Market Volatility: Implement a "Trend System" (Design vs. Theme cards) that dynamically alters the value of assets turn-by-turn, forcing players to adapt strategies.
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Hybrid Appeal: Bridge the gap between "Party Game" creativity (building funny rides) and Euro-game crunch (min-maxing victory points).
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Key Achievements
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Economy Design: Successfully balanced a drafting and synergy mechanic where players must weigh immediate scoring against long-term engine building.
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Emergent Gameplay: Designed a scoring system that rewarded creativity, observing that playtesters naturally optimized for "fun concepts" over raw points without breaking the game loop.
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Pitch-Ready Product: Delivered a professional pitch package, including a polished prototype and sell sheet, demonstrating understanding of the publisher acquisition process.
Visualizing the Loop: The diagrams above illustrate the resource conversion flow. Players draft component cards (inputs), combine them into attractions (processing), and score based on the current market trend modifiers (output).
Test It!
Technical Demo: To manage the combinatorial explosion (700,000+ permutations), I built a logic engine in Excel to simulate gameplay and audit semantic consistency. This allowed us to stress-test the family-friendly content filters and ensure every random combination created a coherent attraction name.
Try It Live: The embed here runs a live script from that database. Right-click the window and select "Refresh Frame" to procedurally generate a new set of themed attractions in real-time.
ADDITIONAL CLIENTS & PARTNERS
J. GARCIA
WORLDGAME ENTERTAINMENT
Impartial
Scenario Design Consultation
Untitled RPG
ZELOS AND FABIEN
Nox City
C. BURMAN
Altar
Tori McCoy
Wires Crossed
General Game Design Strategy Consultation
Story, Scene, and Puzzle Design Consultation
Tabletop RPG Template Design
Level and Puzzle Design Consultation
Tori McCoy
"I had been developing a puzzle game project on my own for about a year and was losing steam and direction. Grant helped me sort through all the material I had so far, organized it in a way that actually made sense, and immediately jumped into action on writing, puzzle design, and providing me with general encouragement that I really needed. Before I knew it, the passion that I had for my project was back! I highly recommend Grant for any game dev or creative needs."