I MAKE GAMES HAPPEN
LET’S GET ACQUAINTED!
Hi! I’m Svetlana Nozdracheva, a Game Producer and Project Manager with four years of experience working on game projects. I’ve worked on everything from small independent games to larger projects with teams of up to 20 people. My experience covers team management, development planning, business plans, funding applications, and game promotion.I also create pitch decks and present games at festivals and industry events. Having experience in game design helps me understand both the creative and production sides of game development.WHY WORK WITH ME?
I turn ideas into real projects. Game development doesn’t always go as planned. Teams change, deadlines get closer, and some ideas turn out to be too ambitious. My job is to find solutions, set clear priorities, and help the team keep moving forward. I believe a good producer should understand the game, support the team, and know when it’s time to change the plan to achieve a better result.
The three projects below show how I put this into practice: from leading a team and making difficult decisions to finding new audiences and keeping development on track when plans change.
PETALFALL
Team Lead
Team: 9 members
Development: 10 months
Engine: Unity
Outcome: 30-minute playable prototype, showcased at the Horizon of Indie Cultures Festival (2026).Petalfall is a dark narrative 2D florist simulator set in a Victorian greenhouse. You inherit both the greenhouse and a terrible curse that changes your appearance. The flowers you grow are not just beautiful — they are dangerous. What starts as a cozy experience slowly turns into something unsettling.
MY ROLE
My main tasks were team management, planning, and keeping the game’s creative vision clear. We worked in two-week sprints using YouGile. Tasks were assigned based on each person’s skills, and I checked the results to make sure everything worked well together.
CHALLENGE
HOW DO YOU TURN AN AMBITIOUS IDEA INTO A PLAYABLE GAME?
KEY DECISIONS
Finding the right people instead of compromising the project
We chose Unity for our 2D game, but most of the team only knew Unreal Engine. We had a vision, but lacked the developers to build it. Instead of changing our technical approach, I recruited two Unity programmers who stayed throughout development and helped turn the concept into a working game.Cutting what didn’t work
Petalfall originally had a money system. But playtests revealed a problem: players didn’t understand its purpose. We could spend more time fixing it or admit that the game didn’t need it. I chose to cut it, even though we’d already invested time in development. This freed up resources for the story, atmosphere, and core gameplay. Sometimes, making a better game means removing what you’ve already built.Defending the creative vision
Our supervisor suggested adding mathematical puzzles to make the game more challenging. But Petalfall wasn’t about solving equations. It was about immersing players in an unsettling story hidden inside a cozy world. I argued against the change because it would distract from the experience our audience valued. We kept the gameplay focused on atmosphere and narrative rather than unnecessary complexity.
Game Screen: before and after removing the money and flower-growing systems
ARE YOU REALLY A PRODUCER?
Game Production
Team: 2 members
Development: 5 months
Format: Board game for 3–6 players, ages 12+
Achievements: Showcased at 3 festivals, winner of HSE CREATIVE OPEN’26, finalist of Board Game FutureAre You Really a Producer? is a competitive board game where players run their own film studios, hire actors, produce movies, and compete for prestigious awards.
MY ROLE
Together with my teammate, I worked on the game’s concept, mechanics, and rules. I created a communication brief, researching target audiences and competitors, defining product positioning, promotion channels, budget, and KPIs. Another part of my work was finding festivals, sending applications, presenting the game to players and potential investors, and collecting feedback.
CHALLENGE
HOW DO YOU BRING A GAME BEYOND UNIVERSITY?
KEY DECISIONS
Defining who we were creating the game forWe had a finished board game, but nobody outside the university knew about it. To take the project further, we needed to reach not only players but also potential partners.In communication brief, I identified three key target audiences:
• Film Enthusiasts (ages 25–30)
• Creative Young Adults (ages 18–23)
• Publishers & InvestorsTaking the game beyond university
Creating a product isn’t enough if nobody knows it exists. I researched festivals and submitted applications. As a result, we showcased the game at three events, including Granicon in St. Petersburg.At these festivals, I engaged directly with the audiences identified in my communication brief: explaining the rules, running gameplay demonstrations, presenting the project to potential investors, and collecting feedback.
What started as an unknown university project became a board game showcased at three festivals. We became finalists of Board Game Future and won HSE CREATIVE OPEN’26 in the Board Game Design category.
VENETS KNYAGINI
Game Producer
Team: 15 members
Genre: Historical strategy with management and adventure elements
Status: Spring 2026 — Present
Achievements: Secured a grant for a historical research expedition; pitched the game at Connect Art MarketVenets Knyagini (The Princess’s Crown) is a historical video game about Princess Olga and the rise of Ancient Rus'. Players take on the role of her trusted advisor, making decisions that shape the future of the emerging state.
MY ROLE
As the game’s producer, my responsibilities include coordinating a 15-person team, managing development workflows, and keeping the project aligned with its roadmap. To improve coordination between departments, I set up Weeek, organized tasks by priority, and started regular meetings with team leads. So far, 185 tasks have been completed.
