Kelly Tran

Hi, I'm Kelly!I'm game designer, writer, and occasional educator. Drop by, explore my projects, or let's chat at the link below or on Bluesky!Please contact me on LinkedIn or through e-mail for a private profile link.

Game Design

Professional Experience

I'm currently a Senior Game Designer at Believer, where I'm working on some exciting things that I can't discuss yet. For a taste of other games I've worked on or am working on:

I was a Game Deisgner on Rolling Hills [2024] by Catch and Release Games, out now on Steam and Gamepass. I'm provided design support through various iterations.

As Principal Applied Designer at Evolved Play, I acted as the high level vision holder for game design, advocating for our design pillars and working across art, engineering, and narrative.

As a Game Designer at Tuxedo games, I pitched and concepted new features, performed research for the game, and communicated across all members of the team.I worked to ensure that game mechanics aligned with the overall user experience and intended learning outcomes while remaining fun, engaging, and delightful.

As a Principle Game Design Consultant at Mobile Game Doctor, I worked with a wide array of clients to help with everything from initial concepting and prototyping to balance and support of ongoing live games.

Personal Projects

The best way to find my personal projects is through my itch.io page, where I experiment with narrative and player experience in games.All in-engine design, art, writing, and narrative design by me.

Writing

Game Design Writing

You can find some of my writing about game design here. Please watch this space as I update it with recent writing.

TTRPG Writing

I write for tabletop games, including 5E and original systems. Fetch My Blade was recently named one of Polygon's Best TTRPGs of 2023.Below are links to personal titles, but I've done other professional that I can't share publicly at this time. Please contact me for samples or information about further work.

Media

If you're interested in projects I've worked on, I've compiled select podcasts, panels, and news interviews. (Images that don't have a play button lead to an external link to the content!)

Talks

GDC 2025
When Playtesters are Children: Lessons in Patience and Play