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Muhammed Budak · Arnhem, NL

Digital Project
& QA Specialist

I work on project coordination and quality assurance, with a background in game design. Most recently, I worked at Electronic Arts in Madrid on FC25, FC26 and Dutch marketing content for FC Mobile and other mobile games.

My latest chapter at EAExplore my projects
With the team at an EA Sports FC26 event in Spain
My latest chapter at EA Madrid · FC25 & FC26
Based in Arnhem, the Netherlands

My latest chapter.
Electronic Arts.

Dutch Localization Tester
Madrid, Spain · June 2024–February 2026

I tested Dutch text and audio for FC25 and FC26, including end-to-end responsibility for Dutch localization at the FC26 launch. I also checked Dutch marketing content for FC Mobile and other mobile games.

FC25FC26FC Mobileand other mobile games
Inside my role Text & audio · Coordination · Marcom

Text, audio and the FC26 launch

I tested Dutch text and audio in FC25 and FC26. For the FC26 launch, I was responsible for the Dutch version through each test cycle.

Coordination

I was a point of contact between developers, producers and external partners across countries and time zones. I managed two parallel workstreams, tracked progress in Jira and Confluence, and raised risks early so we could agree on priorities.

Marketing localization

I checked Dutch marketing text and video for FC Mobile and other mobile games before release in the Netherlands, reviewing translation accuracy.

With the team at an EA Sports FC26 event in Spain
EA Sports FC26 event · Spain
Group photograph of the full EA Sports FC26 localization team across all languages
The full FC26 localization team · All languages · Electronic Arts

Work

Selected work

Applied game · Air France–KLM · 2019–2020PaperBird

Lead game designer in a six-person team · Delivered

PaperBird card designs on a blue background

The challenge

Air France–KLM account managers needed a way to discuss how they prioritise their work. Our team developed a card game based on the Eisenhower prioritisation framework. Players place tasks on a board and explain their priorities to each other.

How the game works

  1. Start with a client. Read a client case and decide what you want to achieve.
  2. Make priorities visible. Place task cards on the board according to their importance for that situation.
  3. Compare the reasoning. Discuss the differences between players, or try to infer another player’s goal from their choices.

Commercial and Cargo teams use different task decks with the same underlying rules. The reverse of each task card explains the action, so players can look up unfamiliar tasks without filling the front with text.

Account managers arranging PaperBird cards during a playtest
Testing priorities with account managers.
Players comparing their PaperBird task cards at the test table
Comparing decisions and discussing the cards.

Playtesting and iteration

We replaced an early digital checklist with a physical game built around discussion. The team explored cooperative and competitive versions, tested with commercial and cargo employees, and adapted the content into separate decks.

We removed time limits after players focused on mathematical optimisation instead of discussion. We also replaced fixed priority labels with a gradient board and symbols, so players could express differences in priority instead of placing everything in an “important” box.

Commercial and Cargo decks

Testing with Cargo employees showed that one shared deck did not reflect both departments. We separated the Commercial and Cargo task cards and simplified the client cases with shorter text and imagery.

My part in the team

I led game design and helped develop the concept through weekly playtests and stakeholder feedback. The team worked together on the rules, task cards, visual design and production materials.

Delivery

We delivered a production-ready game and hand-off materials, and presented the project at KLM Sales Day and at HKU. We supplied separate task decks, a rule book and templates so account managers could bring their own current client cases into the conversation.

Watch the PaperBird video
Playful learning · HKU graduation project · 2021–2022Elif Ba

Research, game design and playtesting · Tested prototype

A set of colour-coded Arabic letter learning cards

A problem from my own classroom

While teaching weekend classes, I saw how hard it could be to keep a large, mixed group of children engaged in learning to read Arabic. That classroom problem became the starting point for my graduation project at HKU.

The research question

How could learning feel more approachable when children have different starting points and teachers have limited time? I looked at class sizes, age differences, teaching time and the parts of learning that students found confusing. Existing learning apps offered a useful comparison, but turning the book into a screen did not resolve the underlying design problem.

From an app to paper prototypes

I initially explored digitising the lessons into an app and a collection of mini-games. Reviewing existing apps, speaking with teachers and parents, and testing paper prototypes helped me see that simply adding game elements wasn't enough.

The first card-based version overwhelmed the children with too many cards and too little structure. I simplified the design in response to that feedback.

An early Elif Ba card prototype laid out on a deskElif Ba cards being used during a classroom test

Prototype and testing photographs from my graduation presentation.

Colour, numbers and card layout

I grouped similar letters through colour, added numbers and used both sides of each card for letters and explanations. The cards could be rearranged, discussed and used by teachers, parents or peers. Learners could remove letters they already knew from their stack.

Using the cards in a lesson

A teacher introduces the foundations, then learners practise with the cards. Learners can compare related letter forms, turn a card over for an explanation and help each other.

My contribution

I used my classroom experience to guide the research, prototype design and playtesting. To reduce the initial overload, I simplified the cards, made the groups clearer and gave learners more structure.

Testing and lessons

The end-term presentation records three different tests involving more than ten students. Shortening the overall learning time was a research aim, not a proven outcome.

On the side

Administration software · Built with AIAidat
Aidat financial dashboard showing demonstration records and charts
Dashboard · Test data

I’m building Aidat with AI to help non-profit organisations manage memberships and finances. It brings the day-to-day administration into one application, with both a Windows desktop version and a browser edition.

I’m working on how people enter information, find records and keep their administration organised.

The dashboard shows balances, income and expenses. The interface also includes member records, payments, bank statements and reports.

Community websiteArnhem Ayasofya
Homepage of the Arnhem Ayasofya community website
The community website

I made the website for Arnhem Ayasofya. It brings together community news, activities, membership information and the plans for the new mosque, including ways to contribute to its construction.

Visit arnhemayasofya.nl
Windows & AndroidDeskBridge
DeskBridge desktop interface with a demo connection and pairing controls
Desktop interface · Demo connection

A personal project connecting my Windows PC to an Android phone. DeskBridge combines desktop screen mirroring, touch controls and a virtual keyboard with a Claude Desktop companion.

I’m exploring how to adapt desktop navigation and input to a phone screen.

The desktop interface includes connection and pairing controls.

Minecraft modAtlas
The expanding Atlas map displayed inside Minecraft
Atlas in Minecraft

Atlas replaces a collection of separate Minecraft maps with one expanding map. It charts new areas as you explore, uses empty maps as its resource and can be held while you keep walking.

I wanted it to fit the game’s existing map system, with zoom and pan controls that make a larger world easier to navigate.

View Atlas on Modrinth

Each empty map adds another area to the atlas. A dedicated slot keeps it accessible while exploring.

View the source on GitHub
EU5 · Europa Universalis V modJapan Restored
Japan unified as the Great Japanese Empire in Europa Universalis VThe Sun Rises Over a New Japan event from Japan Restored
Map and event screenshots from the mod’s Steam Workshop gallery.

I started Japan Restored to fix parts of EU5’s Japan and Sengoku systems. The mod changes progression from unification to the Shogunate and Empire, and adds a samurai and dojo system.

It also includes interface improvements and an event guide. It’s available on Steam Workshop, with balancing and playtesting still part of the work.

View Japan Restored on Steam Workshop

The samurai and dojo system develops across six ages. Interface changes include castle upgrades and minting controls.

Student years

01Rise to SurvivePICO-8 / Tower defence
Pixel-art screenshot of Rise to Survive

Student team project

A short tower defence project made in PICO-8 with Nathan Flier. I worked on game design and public relations; Nathan worked on development and game design.

I also worked on social media and presented the game to an audience.

Screenshot from my 2018 student portfolio.

02Mayor RushCard game / Balancing
An early Mayor Rush paper prototype card

Student team project

An eight-week project that evolved from a board game into a card game. I used video blogs to document what I had made and what I wanted to change next.

My work covered balancing, paper prototyping and testing. I tested the rules by playing paper prototypes, an approach I later used in PaperBird and Elif Ba.

Early prototype imagery from my student portfolio.

03The Land of the Seven KingdomsApplied game / Research
The Land of the Seven Kingdoms game menu

Student team project

An applied game project for people with acquired brain injury, developed by a five-person team of four artists and me as game designer.

I worked on research, management and planning, with the needs of people with acquired brain injury guiding the design brief.

A student design project; no clinical outcome is claimed.

04A Rebel's HopeNarrative / Worldbuilding
Illustrated scene from the A Rebel's Hope student project

Student team project

A team project that revisited our first-year narrative work and developed it into a story pilot. My contribution combined story and gameplay, alongside teammates working on art, filming, editing and gameplay.

The work included scenario writing, worldbuilding and a paper prototype. In our narrative coursework, we explored how cultures, languages, beliefs and relationships in a fictional world affect a player’s choices.

Journey

  1. 2012–2016Application Development

    I studied Application Development at Rijn IJssel, where I learned skills I later used to prototype game ideas.

  2. 2016–2022Game Design at HKU

    BSc Game Design at HKU University of the Arts Utrecht. From first Unity experiments and storyworlds to playtesting, applied games and my Elif Ba graduation project.

  3. During HKUJapan exchange & Korea game jam

    A five-month game design exchange at Osaka Electro-Communication University, Japan, and a game jam at POSTECH in South Korea representing HKU.

  4. 2019–2020Exodus Burned & PaperBird

    Game design and testing on Exodus Burned, followed by leading game design on the collaborative PaperBird project for Air France–KLM.

  5. 2023–2024VR Learning Lab

    At VR Learning Lab, I taught computational thinking, CoSpaces and VR through practical activities.

  6. 2024–2026Electronic Arts

    Dutch localization testing on FC25 and FC26, including ownership of Dutch text and audio for the FC26 launch. Marcom work on FC Mobile and other mobile games. Read about my EA chapter.

  7. NowPersonal projects

    Building Aidat, DeskBridge and a community website, and experimenting with Minecraft and EU5 mods. Explore my side projects.

Photographs

Group photo from my exchange in Japan
JapanExchange · People I met along the way
With fellow students during my exchange in Japan
JapanExchange · Learning together
Group photo at the game jam at POSTECH in South Korea
South KoreaPOSTECH · Game jam
With the team at an EA Sports FC26 event in Spain
SpainEA Sports · FC26
A selfie in front of the giant Gundam during my trip to JapanHi, I'm Muhammed.

About

I'm a designer from Arnhem with a love for games, history and the way people see the world.

I like learning about cultures through travel. Teaching has shaped my interest in learning through play, and I draw on both when designing games.

Outside my professional work, I’ve taught weekend classes in my community and volunteered in Sudan and Gabon.

WorldbuildingHistory & cultureTravelAnime & mangaBloodborne enthusiast
A selfie with children during my volunteer trip in GabonA child blowing up a balloon in GabonShaking hands during my volunteer trip in Gabon
Volunteering in Gabon · July 2022
Distributing aid with fellow volunteers in SudanA group photo with volunteers and community members holding balloons in Sudan
Volunteering in Sudan · 2019

Volunteering

Photographs from my time volunteering in Sudan in 2019 and Gabon in July 2022.

Contact