Ohad Barzilay / civax
Game Designer, VP Product. Exploring Games and AI. Currently building Playdreams.
Portfolio
Recent posts
All →Recent tweets @civaxo
𝕏 →About
Hi, My name is Ohad and I'm I'm a seasoned veteran in the game industry, with expertise in F2P game design and operation.
I'm currently mostly exploring the intersection between AI and game design and development.
I've been working since 2021 on games that clinically treat symptoms of depression and anxiety - clinically tested and approved at Mass General Hospital and gained considerable experience in the field, as well as working with neuroscience and scientific teams.
I alternate between doing hands-on game design and economy, and building/managing large teams developing and operating games. Some of my past positions include heading Mytopia before and after the acquisition by 888 (transitioned to COO/Chief Creative shortly after the M&A), Lead designer & producer on Rovio title Pet Monsters, VP Product & Data at Ilyon Dynamics (acquired by Miniclip) and later was a very active advisory board member of JustPlay.LOL (acquired by Playtika). In 2021 I took the role of Chief Product of Hedonia.
I was on the founding team of GameIS, the Israeli game development association, and served as a board member and on several committees over the years. I also continue to advise new gaming startups.
Lastly, I'm also involved in teaching game design and production. I currently teach at Reichman University in Herzliya, and was academic staff at Beit Berl College for 8 years prior.
You can find some of the games I was involved with on the Games page. You can find other projects I did or took part in on the Projects page.
More on the about page.
Experience
- 2024 — PresentFounder · Building · Playdreams
Founding and building Playdreams, an AI-powered game development platform for the Godot engine. The bet: the next decade of game-making will be a conversation between human craft and machine intelligence — Playdreams is an attempt to build the language for that conversation.
- 2021 — PresentChief Product Officer · Hedonia
Hedonia develops games that clinically treat depression and anxiety. More at hedonia.io.
- 2015 — PresentAdjunct Instructor / Mentor · Reichman University (IDC Herzliya)
Teaching in the IDC InGame program (Adjunct Instructor, Jul 2017 — present). Previously a mentor at the IDC's Game Design / Development workshop (Jan 2015 — Jun 2017).
- 2017 — PresentBoard Member / Audit Committee · GameIS
Founding team member; involved in different operations in the organization since its inception, including being a board member, organizing events, and serving on different committees.
- 2020 — 2024Advisory, Product & Monetization · JustPlay.LOL
JustPlay.LOL operates the massively popular and organically growing 1v1.LOL game. Advised on product, monetization, production, and company strategy — hands-on when required. JustPlay.LOL was acquired by Playtika in March 2022; was part of the M&A team doing the deal, and continued as advisor under Playtika.
- 2019 — 2020Operations, Product & Analytics · FGG — Feel Good Gaming
FGG is an entertainment company and games studio, releasing a new IP and video game — Dance Sparkle. Acting COO, heading Product, Liveops and Analytics day-to-day.
- 2017 — 2019VP Product & Data → Product Advisor · Ilyon Dynamics
VP Product & Data (Apr 2018 — Aug 2019): managed the Product Teams, Game & Level Design Team, and the BI / Economy Team, plus other teams periodically. As part of senior management, also involved in company operations, recruiting to my departments, and in strategy planning & structural changes. Reported on as the studio behind Tencent-owned Miniclip's $100M acquisition. Started as Product Advisor (Dec 2017 — Apr 2018).
- 2017 — 2018Head of Product · Tacticsoft Ltd
Managing all product activities for SuperMechs, including game design, balancing and liveops on mobile and web.
- 2013 — 2017Advisory Board Member · Planet of the Apps, Ltd
Advisory board member.
- 2012 — 2017Principal & Founder · Deepmist Studios
Game development studio. Designed and developed original and contracted games for mobile, web, and IPTV.
- 2014 — 2016Producer / Designer · Side-kick Games
Working on a Rovio title — Pet Monsters (Casual RPG). Oversaw production and operations and was the lead game designer, covering all game balancing, researching and adapting Asian RPG mechanics to the western audience.
- 2014 — 2015CEO, Co-Founder · New Legends Studios
New Legends was a team of experienced game professionals focused on creating mobile multiplayer games and running engaged communities around them — what eSports is all about. Also published the seed round deck to help other entrepreneurs in the field.
- 2012 — 2014Game Design, Consultant · Win Interactive LLC (bwin.party subsidiary)
bwin.party subsidiary developing and operating mobile/social games.
- 2009 — 2012COO & Chief Creative → General Manager · Mytopia (acq. 888 Holdings)
After Mytopia was acquired by 888 Holdings, took the role of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Creative (Jul 2010 — Apr 2012): managed studio operations, oversaw product development, led the content team (game design and art dept). Mytopia is a cross-platform (mobile, web, social networks) multiplayer online gaming network with a focus on social networks. Previously General Manager (Apr 2009 — Jul 2010): oversaw the studio's business activities and all operations; also acted as lead game designer. Managed the company during the acquisition by 888 Holdings, overseeing both the M&A and the post-acquisition process. Earlier held positions at Mytopia (when it was called Real Dice) as Senior Programmer and Lead Game Designer.
- 2005 — 2011Instructor · Beit Berl College
Academic Staff of the Gamology Program at Beit Berl College — The School for Multidisciplinary Studies. Helped construct the 2-year program and was a member instructor. Classes: Java programming (emphasis on graphics and games), 2nd-year Final Project workshop, miscellaneous lectures (mostly AI techniques), Advanced 3D Graphics Programming (OpenGL).
- 2008 — 2010Co-organizer · MobileMonday Tel Aviv
Core organizing team of MobileMonday Tel-Aviv, Israel.
- 2004 — 2009Editor in Chief · Mobile Game Developer Magazine
Editor in Chief of the online publication. Founded and edited it; later, due to other responsibilities, only oversaw operations and acted as director.
- 2003 — 2009CEO and Co-Founder · Deepmist Studios
General management, game design and development. The studio worked as a game developer — developed and designed original as well as contracted games for Mobile, Web, and IPTV. Brands and companies worked with include DreamWorks SKG, MGA (Bratz), BitBand, Eurofun, Orange, Nostromo, etc. Today Deepmist Studios mainly operates MobileGD Magazine and provides Game Design services.
- 2005 — 2006Mobile Team Lead · GamearraY (JVP Studio startup)
Team Leader of the Mobile Game Engine team. GamearraY was a JVP Studio startup that developed a rapid game maker for mobile phones. Users could create games for any phone via a website using a drag-and-drop interface and a rules system. The startup was eventually closed by JVP.
- 2002 — 2006Owner and Webmaster · CFXweb
Israeli demoscene portal — ran the site that documented and connected the local scene from 2002 to 2006.
- 1995 — 1999Main Organizer · Movement Demo Parties
Main organizer of the national Computer Art Festivals (Movement Demo Party) between 1995 and 1998. Got sponsorships, managed work teams, ran the event in cooperation with local municipalities. Also participated in ASSEMBLY '97 in Finland, managing the Info Desk.
