Swathi Sambasivam

Swathi Sambasivam

Game Developer  ·  UX Designer

Unity game developer with 4+ years of experience building therapeutic and narrative games, from a clinically-validated mobile app with thousands of users, to narrative experiences showcased at GDC, Play NYC, and Wonderville.

Based in Brooklyn, born and raised in India. Playing with visual storytelling is at the heart of everything I make. My work focuses on accessibility and representation, whether it's a fast-paced video game or a slow-burn board game, I like to push the boundaries of what's possible.

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Skills

Game Engines

  • Unity
  • Unreal Engine
  • GameMaker

Art & Animation

  • Maya
  • Blender
  • After Effects
  • Photoshop
  • Illustrator
  • Procreate
  • ToonBoom
  • Figma

Design

  • UX / UI Design
  • Level Design
  • Rapid Prototyping
  • Gameplay Balancing

Tools

  • GitHub
  • Jira
  • Confluence
  • Slack

Job Experience

Lead Game Developer & Strategist
Arcade Therapeutics (NYU Game Center Incubated)
2024, Present
  • Led development on StarStarter, a Unity-based therapeutic mobile game with 2,500+ users, clinically validated to reduce social anxiety in >90% of users (avg. 33% reduction).
  • Architected core gameplay systems including power-ups and a refactored map with cleaner state and camera control, increasing day-1 retention by over 60%.
  • Implemented in-app subscriptions and promotional offer codes, streamlining App Store/Google Play release pipelines and creating a new subscription revenue stream.
  • Mentored and managed a cross-functional team of 4 art and development interns.
  • Spearheaded onboarding design, creating a streamlined tutorial that led to a 150% increase in daily active users.
Adjunct Professor of Game Design
Pratt Institute
2023, 2024
  • Taught Level Design and Senior Project Studio (production capstone) to cohorts of 15+ students, covering game design, production, and portfolio development.
Adjunct Professor of Digital Arts
New York Institute of Technology
2024
  • Taught Independent Study and Art Development for Games to 10+ students, supporting portfolio development for industry placement.

Education

MFA, Game Design
New York University, Tisch School of the Arts
2021, 2023
B.Des, Animation Film Design
National Institute of Design, India
2016, 2021

Awards & Recognition

APA Labs Digital Badge NYU Game Center Incubator Grant GDC Showcase Play NYC Wonderville