Game Designer
Niels
Schroeder
In today's rapidly growing games industry, it's easy to forget what made us fall in love with gaming in the first place: those special moments and feelings that stick with us long after we stop playing. I'm passionate about bringing that feeling back. I want to create exciting, memorable experiences that truly resonate with players and remind them why games are such a powerful medium.
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Selected Work
Hourfall
A character-action RPG where you play the Clock Hand, the executioner of Time itself.
Champions of the Cosmos
A retro sci-fi RTS where heroes reshape the landscape itself.
Stargazer
A tragic point-and-click retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale The Star Money.
Nutrivise
Play cards, learn smart!
Cyberscape
A racing board game where the board itself spins and the fastest route never stays the same.
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Experience
Game Design Intern — Tropico 7
Gaming Minds Studios · 2026 · 6-month internshipSix months in the design team at Gaming Minds Studios, working on systems, features, balancing and, most importantly, testing Tropico 7.
“Niels is exceptional at finding errors in systems and improving them for the best possible gameplay feel. He often approaches problems from different perspectives and therefore uncovers solutions that keep the design intent but also improve the experience for players.”
“Niels analysed the game's features thoroughly and regularly, and often found hidden bugs and design problems. It was amazing to see him work efficiently and precisely through large chunks of work without needing guidance or input.”
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Skills
Design
- Systems Design
- Gameplay Design
- Technical Design
- Balancing
- Vision Keeping
- Content Creation
Engines & Tools
- Unity 6
- Unreal Engine 5
- Source Control (GitHub, Anchorpoint, Azure DevOps)
- AI Tool Integration (Claude Code, Codex)
Production
- Team Communication
- Problem-Solving
- Workflow Optimization
Languages
- German (native)
- English (C1)
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About
Games Production and Management
Hochschule Neu-Ulm (HNU)
6th semester · 7 game projects to date
Game Design Intern — Tropico 7
Gaming Minds Studios
2026 · 6-month internship
Hi, I'm Niels Schroeder, a game designer currently studying Games Production and Management at Hochschule Neu-Ulm (HNU). Right now I am doing a six-month internship as a game designer at Gaming Minds Studios, working on Tropico 7. I am in my sixth semester and have already been involved in seven different game projects. My main roles in these projects were systems design and gameplay design, but since the teams were small, I also contributed to technical design, content creation, balancing, and testing. This allowed me to build a broad and practical understanding of game development.
Games have always been a huge part of my life, and turning that passion into a career felt like the natural path for me. At the same time, I often found myself frustrated by games that kept making the same poor design decisions over and over again, and many other players clearly felt the same. Seeing that kind of missed potential made me want to take matters into my own hands.
I believe that, in today's fast-growing industry, games sometimes lose sight of what makes them truly great. My goal is to help change that by creating experiences that are immersive, memorable, and genuinely meaningful for players.
What makes shared worlds greatShared world games span many different genres, though the most common label is MMORPG. They offer an experience that does not just revolve around you; it connects you with other players online.
Sadly, a lot of these games have lost the formula that makes them great. They focus entirely on the online part, bolt live service systems onto everything, and lock players into a loop they are never meant to leave. Underneath lies a shallow experience that means nothing on its own. Player trust is one of the most important currencies in a live service game, and most studios spend it recklessly. That bill comes due later, in long-term growth, in retention, and in how willing players are to spend money at all.
For a shared world to work, you first need to give players an exceptional singleplayer experience, one they love and want to share with their friends. Story deserves the same care. Most studios bolt a story onto the game to give it some faint structure, and they miss the biggest opportunity of all: an epic, immersive story pulls players together, gives every update more weight, and can even help the game grow into a genuine community.
Once that foundation is solid, you can expand the world and give players the ability to actually connect. Now they have a meaningful world filled with fun gameplay and activities, and they get to share all of it with friends.
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