ZAKARIA ELBAHI
DESIGNER
Designer with 7 years experience working in games, feature film, theatre, and commercials.
Level Designer on MindsEye, Everywhere, and Hitman: Arcadia.
Systems and Technical Designer on Squadron 42, and Star Citizen.
Major clients include Bernie Dieter, Mythos Theatre, Matt Hale, and Ministero della cultura.
I’m a technically focused designer who enjoys solving complex problems through robust systems and mechanics. I’ve worked with AAA game studios, internationally recognised performers, and corporate clients, contributing to projects where clarity, reliability, and creative intent all matter. My goal is to build thoughtful, well-implemented experiences.
PROJECTS
MEDIA SHOWREEL
GAME DESIGN SHOWREEL
PRIMARY skills
System & Gameplay Design
Designed and implemented game-wide combat, stealth, puzzle, lore, and quest systems.
Experienced in ensuring designs are modular and fit for purpose: to facilitate adjacent design teams in creating unique encounters that leverages existing mechanics.
Mentorship & Communication
Comfortable mentoring junior team members, and introducing incrementing challenges at a pace that suits each team members learning objectives.
Regularly check in and prompt team members to discuss challenges openly.
Experienced at aligning multidisciplinary teams to execute deliverables that compliment each teams strengths.
Level & Environment Design
Experienced in designing complex and engaging environments for single player and multiplayer scenarios
Proficiency working in multidisciplinary teams, collaborating with Art, Lighting, and Engineering departments to deliver cohesive experiences.
Strong understanding of level design principles, guiding player experiences to desired gameplay outcomes.
Stakeholder Management & Strategy
Regularly provide comprehensive reports to company executive teams, financiers, and shareholders.
Experienced in seed, pre seed, enterprise investment fundraising, and leveraging international tax incentives for media production.
Comfortable with high level deliverables ownership, communicating wins and blockers with executive teams, and planning production management to optimise for long term financial returns.
Cinematic Design
Scheduling and planning physical shoots
Camera and Lighting tech proficiency
Practical use of composition, framing, and blocking to optimise shoots and available screen time.
Experienced working in crew technicians to execute deliverables to the required standards.
Workflow Optimisation
Experienced reviewing and implementing sustainable, lean workflows.
Keen to create spaces where team members can voice concerns with processes, and cut through red tape as often as possible.
Passionate interest in learning team members strengths and weaknesses, and leaning into them to effectively complete tasks at the highest standard.
PRE-INDUSTRY PROJECTS
CONTACT
Email
zakaria@elbahistudios.com
Phone
(+44)7949312546
Location
Edinburgh, UK