Who am I?
My name is Nicolas Heiden. I’m a Swedish, American Game Programmer/Designer studying at YRGO Game Programmer in Gothenburg, Sweden. I love all things nerdy and love to compete in everything from games to sports. I used to be a Semi-Professional Basketball player but now I have picked up playing Flesh and Blood TCG (Trading Card Game) professionally to scratch that competetive itch. I’ve always had a love for gaming from playing the orginal LEGO Star Wars games to getting destroyed in Elden Ring. I have played almost every genre of video game as I love to try new things and learn about what we can accomplish as game creators. Making games has been a dream of mine for a long time and I hope to continue making fun and interesting games.
Contact
Let's make something cool together!
Email: nicolasheiden@hotmail.com
Itch: superguardian.itch.io
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nicolasheiden
CV: View CV (PDF)
Here are some of the Projects I’ve been involved with:
Projects
Shifting Order
My Roles
- Terminal Designer/Programmer
- Level Select Designer/Programmer
- Level Designer
Shifting Order is a 2D puzzle-platformer developed in Unity, starring a red panda who must manipulate the world through a Terminal to solve puzzles and reach the end of each level.
My primary responsibility was developing and refining the Terminal interaction system, the core mechanic around which the gameplay is built. My focus was on making the interactions intuitive, responsive, and satisfying to use, ensuring that manipulating the world felt natural and engaging for the player.
I also designed and implemented the Level Select system, inspired by an elevator button panel with multiple pages of levels. The system tracks the player’s completed levels and automatically selects the next level upon completion, creating a smooth progression through the game.
To bring the Level Select to life, I made extensive use of tweening to add fluid animations and responsive visual feedback. This helped give the interface a polished feel while reinforcing the elevator-inspired design.
Through Shifting Order, I gained experience in designing core gameplay interactions, implementing progression systems, and using animation to improve the overall feel and responsiveness of a game’s user interface.
Bullet Row
My Roles
- Shop Designer/Programmer
- Item Designer/Programmer
- Gambling Feature Designer/Programmer
- Gun Programmer
Bullet Row is a roguelike aim trainer developed entirely in Unreal Engine 5 using Blueprints. Set in a robotic Wild West, the game challenges players to visit a shooting gallery, take down robotic targets, and earn points in the form of Bounty and currency known as Bartender Bucks. These rewards allow players to purchase upgrades and keep pushing forward.
My primary responsibility was developing the shop system, allowing players to shoot items to add them to their inventory and sell them for currency. By utilizing Unreal Engine’s interfaces and event system, I created a functional and flexible system that integrated smoothly with the game’s mechanics.
Beyond the shop system, I designed many of the game’s items, ranging from straightforward upgrades to more complex and unconventional effects. One of my favorite contributions was designing the slot machine, a feature that lets players gamble their Bartender Bucks for a chance to win more money. Originally put together over a single weekend, it quickly became a favorite among our playtesters.
I also contributed to the development of the Gun Blueprint, which serves as the foundation for the player’s primary interaction with the game.
Through Bullet Row, I gained hands-on experience in gameplay systems, Blueprint-based development, and item design, while contributing features that helped shape the game’s identity and player experience.
Poggle Ascension
Poggle Ascension is a small, solo-developed mobile game created in Unity. Inspired by hearing about Peglin but never having played it, I set out to recreate the core concept based solely on what I knew about the game. I also designed and made all the art in the game using Asesprite.
The result is a short roguelike inspired by pachinko, where players launch Orbs onto a peg-filled board to earn enough points to progress to the next level. Between levels, players can purchase new Orbs and rearrange their firing order, adding a layer of strategy and progression to each run.
The project was an opportunity to explore a new gameplay concept independently while challenging myself to recreate a game experience from secondhand knowledge.
Guard of the Crossing
Guard of the Crossing is a 3 week long Unity project where we ventured into the realm of Virual Reality. It is a game where objects come flying at you and you need to slice through some with your sword, block some with your shield, and dodge certain other objects. My role was mainly working on some particle effects and working with the main slicing logic. The slicing works quite well and checks where you entered with the sword and where you left to leave a correctly oriented slice.
MAS-Q
MAS-Q is a Papers Please like where you’re an booth ticket inspector for a concert venue. Accept everyone on the Guest List and keep those not on there out. If you let someone in that you’re not supposed to, beware as their masks may be more real than you expect. This game was made in Unity for Global Game Jam 2026 where the theme was Masks. I handled the picking up of the tickets and how you accpeted and declined concert goers.
Drill Baby Drill
Drill Baby Drill is a Sokuban game made in our own hand built engine. Myself and a partner made the engine with SDL3 and programmed the game in C++. I also hand drew the playable character in Asesprite.