2025-0930-2344 cv cover letter
thatgamecompany
Haodong Liao
Here’s the ATS-optimized cover letter updated with an Education section (placed before the closing paragraph for better flow):
ATS-Optimized Cover Letter for CD PROJEKT (with Education)
YIRAN LI
📍 China | Open to relocate to Warsaw, Poland
✉️ gennnji.[email]@[…] | ☎️ +65 […] | Portfolio: [your-portfolio. com]
[Date]
Hiring Manager
CD PROJEKT S.A.
Warsaw, Poland
Subject: Application for Game Designer Position
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am thrilled to apply for the Game Designer position at thatgamecompany. With over three years of AAA experience at Ubisoft Shanghai, I contributed to Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (Main Game, DLC1 & 2, and Expansion), delivering core gameplay experiences ranging from boss fights and elite territories to wildlife encounters and spawning systems — from concept to final release.
My responsibilities included:
- Boss Fight Design: Designed and balanced a major boss fight centered on a rescue experience, integrating light shooting puzzles, environmental interactions, character behaviors, and voice-over.
- Open-World Point of Interests: Built 18 elite territories featuring fierce land and aerial predators, weaving traversal challenges, combat arenas, and environmental storytelling into each space.
- Wildlife-Related Content: Designed and implemented dynamic wildlife encounters to enhance the world’s sense of life, incorporating unique creature skills, environmental interactions, and narrative elements.
- System Design: Maintained and optimized the wildlife spawning system to maximize encounter frequency within performance constraints and improve iteration efficiency.
- End-to-End Ownership: Authored design documentation, implemented wildlife behavior and quest logic using visual scripting tools, and collaborated closely with Design, Narrative, Art, UI/UX, QA, and Production teams to ensure cohesive player experiences and timely delivery.
Beyond my professional experience, inspired by Jenova Chen, I am developing a personal framework called the Emotional Game Design System (EGDS) - a structured approach to crafting emotional player experiences. EGDS deconstructs subjective feelings into their objective design causes, offering actionable levers across narrative, gameplay, and aesthetics. In my spare time, I explore how games can help players uncover hidden aspects of themselves — a mission that deeply resonates with thatgamecompany’s vision.
I am passionate about emotional resonance, meaningful narratives, emergent gameplay, and universally appealing aesthetics - values that align closely with your studio’s creative philosophy. My background in player-centric design, playtest-driven iteration, and cross-discipline collaboration, combined with my drive to create games that foster genuine human connection, would allow me to contribute meaningfully to your next ambitious project.
Thank you for considering my application. I would love the opportunity to discuss how my experience and ideas can support thatgamecompany’s pursuit of creating timeless interactive entertainment that connecting people across the world. Please feel free to contact me at your convenience.
Sincerely,
Haodong Liao