Leander Burger
Technical, Narrative Designer & Storyteller
„Art exists in everything, and every piece of art tells a story.“
My journey into storytelling began in early childhood when I received my first camera at the age of six. Instantly captivated by its potential, I delved into stop-motion photography, spending countless hours creating short films with my Bionicles and other toys. Around the same time, my love for video games and 3d art blossomed. When my father introduced me to Blender at seven, I was hooked.
Self-taught through YouTube tutorials, I learned to create basic games in Blender, and my projects gradually grew in complexity. I embraced the world of 3D, producing a diverse array of animations, game prototypes and visual effects. In high school, my friends and I collaborated on short films, with several of our works receiving nominations and awards at youth film festivals in Germany. My game projects gained traction within the Blender Game Engine community, ultimately leading to an internship at the VFX studio Pixomondo, where I contributed to Season 7 of Game of Thrones right after graduating high school.
During this period, my fascination with the storytelling potential of video games deepened. Inspired by titles like Life is Strange and Firewatch, I embarked on story-driven game projects. After winning a Blender Game Jam, I committed to a larger game project and taught myself Unreal Engine to bring my vision to life. This marked the beginning of my professional journey in game development.
Over the years, I have mastered various tools to create immersive, narrative-driven experiences inspired by the games I cherish. My projects have evolved and currently culminate in my work at Nifty Llama Games on In Our Nature. To further my understanding of game design, I relocated to the Netherlands to study at Breda University of Applied Sciences, where I balanced my academic pursuits with several passion projects and participated in the Entrepreneurship track.
After graduating, I focused on completing and publishing my passion project, initially titled “Ruth’s Journey.” Following a year of solo development and numerous pivots, I partnered with my friend Sebastiaan Buwalda to expand the project’s scope. In 2023, we established a small studio at a Game Incubator in Breda, while I also took on a role as a Game Design Instructor at my university, teaching first-year students. This dual experience enriched my communication skills and deepened my understanding of game design principles, creating a beneficial synergy between teaching and development.
With my current project emphasizing (analog) photography, I have developed a keen interest in composition, lighting, and cinematic storytelling. To enhance my skills in these areas, I co-wrote, co-directed, and co-produced a short film named “WINGMAN”, which is now in post-production, collaborating with a professional crew. This experience taught me the nuances of working on a film set compared to video game production.
I continually explore new media to transform my ideas into art, including creative writing, painting, music, photography, film, and video games. My ambition is to be a versatile artist and storyteller, proficient in various audio-visual arts. I strive to balance technical expertise with artistic vision, creating works that resonate deeply with viewers and players alike.
Software
Unreal Engine
Articy Draft
Blender
Davinci Resolve
Perforce
ZBrush
World Machine
Unity Engine
Jira
Trello
After Effects
Premiere
Python Scripting
Git
Quixel Suite
Recommendations
„We are very fortunate that Leander joined AFTERNATURE productions as a freelancer and helped us with finishing the early playable of our debut title. His contribution was crucial in achieving a high-quality result in a very short period of time.
He is a very versatile and capable UE5 developer and technical game designer, with a broad set of skills. And most importantly he is genuinely enthusiastic and passionate about the art of game development itself, something that he brings with him to every project he joins! His positive and highly communicative spirit and attitude make working with him an easy and fun experience.
We know we will be working with him in the future, but we definitely recommend him to anyone who might need his contribution!“
– Leandros Ntolas, Game director & Founder at AFTERNATURE productions
– Nick Dry, Game Design Lecturer at Breda University of Applied Sciences