Career Highlights

Scroll down if you are interested in seeing the rest of my portfolio.

About Me

My name is Maria Hejlek (she/her), I’m the owner of Eightfinity Games.

I specialize in helping developers bring their game visions to life.
I’m passionate about working with teams that share a strong commitment to their projects.
For me, it’s all about empowering others to achieve their vision and create something truly special.

I deliver results with efficiency and purpose – whether I’m guiding others toward a common vision, working seamlessly within an established team, or driving projects forward solo.

My colleagues often describe my work as “Maria Magic” because I have an innate ability to quickly adapt to new systems, frameworks, and challenges, consistently delivering high-quality results in record time.

My technical design and scripting skills are complemented by a strong background in programming, allowing me to build tools or address bugs as needed.

I’ve written extensive design documentation, organized and facilitated playtests, and excel at analyzing player feedback to formulate actionable insights and tasks.

Known as the “social glue” in teams, I place a strong emphasis on clear communication, resolving misunderstandings, and fostering a collaborative environment. I value direct, constructive feedback and believe in constant improvement.

My core values are kindness, directness, curiosity, and authenticity, and I only choose clients that share these principles.

This resonates with you? Let’s talk!

Portfolio

Lead Game Design

MyopiaX / Looking Good (2022)

• Working closely with product owners and scientists
• Leading the development team to work towards the shared vision (pun intended)
• Designing overall gameflow that adheres to scientific specifications
• Designing multiple minigames
• Designing various metagame elements, such as unlockable clothing
• Organizing playtests and analyzing player feedback

The Settlers Online (WebGL port) (2021)

• Analyzing the original game and experience
• Designing improvements that keep true to the original
• Guiding and organizing the team
• Testing the ported version
• See also “UI/UX Design”

Red Bull Mind Gamers Challenge (2016)

• Designing multiple seasons of cross-platform cooperative games
• Designing a competitive web game
• Designing a hardware structure for a four-player cooperative touchscreen game
• Designing a VR game
• Organizing playtests and analyzing player feedback
• Working closely with Red Bull and other partners for cross-platform storyline, marketing, and events
• See also “Level Design” and “Technical Design / Scripting”

Additional Game Design

The Flower Collectors (2020)

• Providing additional game design support
• Scripting support for interactables
• Assisted with prototype development
• Assisted with playtesting organization
• Playtested and provided feedback

The Lion’s Song (2016)

• Assisting Lead Game Designer
• Designing side characters
• Designing side storylines
• Designing events
• Designing episode connections
• Writing dialogs
• See also “Level Design” and “Technical Design / Scripting”

UI/UX Design

South Park: Snow Day! (2024)

• Providing Design support for Nintendo Switch port
• Analyzing existing UI/UX and providing designs for the platform
• Using Unreal Engine’s Blueprints to add gamepad support to existing UI
• Playtesting the game and providing feedback
• Fixing UI/UX bugs

Skull and Bones (2024)

• Working closely with Design
• Using a node-based editor and visual scripting
• Implementing mockups and designs
• Playtesting the game and providing feedback

Anno 1800 Console Edition (2023)

• Working closely with Design and Art
• Using a node-based editor and visual scripting
• Implementing mockups and designs
• Testing and improving UX of implementations

The Settlers Online (WebGL port) (2021)

• Analyzing previous Flash UI/UX
• Modernizing the experience
• Implementing new UI/UX
• See also “Lead Game Design”

Level Design

Howl (2023)

• Provided Level Design support
• Assisted with prototype development
• Assisted with playtesting organization
• Playtested and provided feedback

The Lion’s Song (2016)

• Setting up environments based on provided assets and designs
• Filling levels with interactables and events
• Designing, writing, and implementing side storylines and dialogs
• Implementing various improvements and bug fixes
• See also “Additional Game Design” and “Technical Design / Scripting”

Red Bull Mind Gamers Challenge (2016)

• Designing, implementing, and balancing multiple levels
• Tracking player data and adjusting level difficulty
• See also “Lead Game Design” and “Technical Design / Scripting”

Technical Design / Scripting

Working Title: Heirs of Eternity (unreleased)

• Freelance work
• Adjusting existing toolkit to fit the games needs
• Implementing unit abilities
• Implementing navigation
• Implementing various mechanics
• Adding various materials, shaders, and other visual effects
• Providing support and developing tools for art and audio
• Fixing bugs

The Lion’s Song (2016)

• Scripting dialogs
• Scripting events
• Scripting connections between episodes
• Scripting Connection Gallery – a showcase of connections and effects across episodes
• See also “Additional Game Design” and “Level Design”

Red Bull Mind Gamers Challenge (2016)

• Scripting levels
• Scripting sequences
• See also “Lead Game Design” and “Level Design”

Credentials

contact me via
mhejlek@eightfinity-games.com