Open to long-term remote work

Gamified experience designer

Games and interactive learning, built with AI-assisted design and production.

10+ years in software engineering, most of it in remote teams.

Sergei Khlopenkov
Da Nang, Vietnam (UTC+7)
  • 20-40 h
    a week
  • 4-8 h
    a day
  • Within a week
    to start
  • Contract or employment
  • From $45
    an hour

Games & interactive experiences

Interlock combat with mecha fighting enemy swarms, partner upgrade panels and landscape touch controls

Own product, in development, browser demo live

A co-op game where teammates build each other's machines, with shared saves and reconnection.

I designed and built the simulation, multiplayer networking and interruption recovery with AI agents.

Auraheim gameplay with the character, learning quest and touch controls visible in a torchlit hall

Own product, in development, browser prototype live

A story-led 3D adventure connecting learning quests, exploration and combat.

I designed the game and built its rendering, progression and controls with AI agents.

What I solve

From player intent and the core loop to interaction design, playtesting and iteration.

Player intent and research

The game idea needs a clear player experience.

I define who the experience is for, what players should feel and do, and which assumptions need research before production.

Explore the game direction

Mechanics and core loop

Mechanics need to form a meaningful core loop.

I shape goals, choices, challenge and rewards into a playable loop. In Interlock, cooperation is part of choosing upgrades for a teammate.

Explore Interlock's mechanics

Onboarding and player journeys

New players need a clear way into the game.

I map the journey from first launch to the first meaningful action, then prototype instructions, menus and progression around what the player needs next.

Explore Auraheim's playable chapter

Feedback, controls and accessibility

Feedback and controls can get in the player's way.

I consider feedback, visual hierarchy and input demands together, and plan accessibility checks for the intended players and devices.

See the playable controls

Playtesting

A working build still needs real player feedback.

I prepare playtest questions, tasks and observations. AI personas help surface hypotheses to check with real players.

Read how I use AI personas

Iteration

Iteration needs a clear next decision.

I organize findings into priorities, revise the prototype, and define what to re-test, revisit or stop before expanding the scope.

Explore the evolving prototype

Experience

Jul 2026 to Present

IZIFIT

AI Engineer, hourly team contract

An hourly launch engagement within the IZIFIT team, extended beyond the initial one to two months. I built and evaluated AI coaching features and supported live users. IZIFIT's own developer carries the app on, and I work with them part time.

Sep 2025 to Present

GlobeSoul

Founder, independent products built with AI agents

Independent product development across games, applied AI and native tools. I set the product direction, design the systems and work with AI agents to build and test them.

May 2022 to Sep 2025

EonX

Frontend Software Engineer, financial technology

From November 2022 to February 2023 I led a three-person team that rebuilt the design system for the account-to-account payments product of one of Australia's biggest card networks: every component, for accessibility and consistent design, released in February 2023. From March 2023 I worked in the team building a multi-tenant, white-label loyalty and rewards platform, and took part in its architecture design and improvements, including the auth system.

2017 to 2021

Independent / Upwork

Full-stack Developer, commerce and marketplaces

I built Shopify commerce and ticket marketplace products for web, iOS and Android, using Ionic, Angular and Node.js. The work included Stripe payments, messaging, Google Cloud infrastructure and delivery pipelines.

Earlier engineering work covered data visualization, GIS, real-time web interfaces, testing and large technical environments.

Background

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science

Modern University for the Humanities, 2007 to 2011

Certifications

Google Project Management Certificate

Project Management Foundations; Mathematics for Machine Learning: Linear Algebra

Languages

English: professional working proficiency

Russian: native or bilingual
Business registrationKyrgyz Republic

Contracts are with my individual entrepreneur business, registered in the Kyrgyz Republic. I work remotely from Da Nang, Vietnam. Supporting documents are available on request for contract administration.

Business status
Individual Entrepreneur
Kyrgyz Republic
Registration number
003-2024-169-6399
Registered 06 September 2024
Legal name
Sergei Viktorovich Khlopenkov
Хлопенков Сергей Викторович
Jurisdiction
Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic
State Tax Service
Request registration documents

Let's build together.

Tell me about the game, learning experience or interactive product you want to build, who it serves, and what you want to test.

Hours

A fixed 4 to 8 hours a day, agreed with you, within 05:00 to 23:00 Vietnam time (UTC+7, no daylight saving), which is 22:00 to 16:00 UTC, or until 01:00 (18:00 UTC) for teams in the US.

Contract
Through Deel, or by bank transfer to my business account, against a monthly invoice in USD or EUR. I handle my own taxes.
Employment
Possible with relocation if you sponsor it. Proposals welcome.
Rate
From US$45 an hour, as invoiced; any platform fee, such as Deel's, is on top. Monthly rates and pay for employment on request.
Capacity
I prefer one long-term team at 30 to 40 hours a week. My own projects and my part-time work with IZIFIT don't take client hours.
References
Aidar Lukmanov, AI engineer and stakeholder at IZIFIT; Vyacheslav Kivaev, frontend team lead at EonX. Contact details on request.
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