TETRIS® Mobile playSTUDIOS
Tetris: Evolving an icon inside a live system.
At playSTUDIOS, Tetris Mobile evolved with a bold new visual direction and a stronger focus on long-term retention through an adventure level-driven mode, improved stability, and a refined first-time user experience. Initiatives such as Block Quest, Level Race, Level Blitz, and the revival of Tetris Pass introduced structured progression and competitive layers, encouraging players to set, track, and complete objectives within core gameplay.
My role
playSTUDIOS Tel Aviv partnered with the Chile team to bring their casino expertise into Tetris, contributing to a major visual and product revamp aimed at better engaging both loyal fans and casual players. During the exploration phase, I collaborated as an advisor while remaining hands-on across monthly live events and integrating playSTUDIOS’ loyalty program into the experience.
After launch, I led the Chile-based creative team in scaling and operationalizing the new system, structuring the design framework in Figma, and aligning workflows with producers, designers, and marketing to elevate visual quality across features and live operations.
Visual Revamp Exploration
I collaborated during the revamp phase as an advisor and designer, working with the playSTUDIOS Tel Aviv and Serbia teams to redefine the game’s visual identity. As part of the broader exploration phase, I produced several distinct visual directions, informed by competitive benchmarking and references such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Brawl Stars (all created in Figma), combined with the teams’ creative input, expanded the range of aesthetic possibilities under consideration. Overall, we explored over 20 distinct styles. The final one combined dynamic angular forms, high-impact graphic language, vibrant color systems, halftone textures, and tactile 3D iconography.
Fortnite x Tetris — Tournament UX/UI
The Fortnite TETRIS Color Climb Challenge was a special crossover built in Fortnite Creative to celebrate Tetris’ 40th anniversary. The campaign connected Fortnite Creative with the mobile Tetris app, where players competed to top the leaderboard, earn a spot in the event, and unlock weekly Fortnite rewards.
I owned the UX/UI strategy and execution, working within Fortnite Creative’s strict guidelines and newly revamped visuals to design and implement a scalable tournament system capable of onboarding and supporting a large influx of players.
While the campaign successfully increased user acquisition and tournament participation, retention rates fell below expectations. The experience highlighted the gap between short-term competitive incentives and long-term player engagement, a key learning for future live-ops integrations.
Seasonal Live-Ops: Leadership & Retention
Following the tournament initiative, I led the creative efforts for the seasonal events as a lead designer, assembling and onboarding an 8-person cross-disciplinary team spanning UI/UX, motion, art, copywriting, and tech art.
While the product team focused on new features to improve retention and enhance FTUX, we sustained engagement through live seasonal content, helping stabilize retention during a phase of core gameplay improvements
This was supported by refreshed animations across the home screen, pop-ups, and transitions, aligned with classic seasonal themes such as Halloween, Christmas, Summer, and Rock Season.
It was a creatively dynamic phase as we started using AI tools (such as Midjourney and ChatGPT) to improve our mockup processes. We prove to be highly efficient; delivering a steady stream of tokens, avatars, avatar frames, banners, and cards, while supporting marketing and store initiatives with ongoing monthly content.
If you have access to Figma, you can review one of the seasonal design documents I led for Rock Season here.
Competitive Live Systems
During my final period at playSTUDIOS, working in parallel with seasonal events, I collaborated with the product team and led the creative team to design competitive live features, including Skip-its, Tetris Pass, Levels Race, Level Blitz, Block Quest, and Premium Levels. These time-bound, progression-driven features encouraged players to complete levels under clear rules, with visible leaderboards and structured reward tracks. Each feature was designed to create urgency while maintaining clarity and fairness during limited-time events.
If you have access to Figma, you can review one of the design document I led for Block Quest here.
The features delivered mixed results. More features don’t replace strong onboarding; they demand it.
Prior to my departure, I partnered with the product team to redesign the FTUE and tutorial systems and began creating a new area progression model alongside a reworked boss-level framework.
playSTUDIOS was a defining chapter in my career. It elevated me from visual execution to senior-level creative ownership, where I combined artistic direction with UX strategy, live-ops scalability, and cross-functional leadership. With the arrival of AI-driven tools (such as Midjourney, Leonardo.ai, and Nano Banana), that experience became even more valuable; it sharpened my ability to think systematically, critically curate outputs, and integrate emerging technologies without losing creative intent.
playSTUDIOS’ Testimonials
(...) Lando excels at both craft and leadership, with clean design-to-dev handoffs, thoughtful management, and strong UI instincts. He’s collaborative, low ego, and a pleasure to work with (...)
— Christian Rodriguez, GM, Tetris Mobile at playSTUDIOS
(...) Working with Orlando was an amazing experience, and I’m grateful I got the chance to learn from him. Any team would be lucky to have his talent, leadership, and energy driving their projects forward (...)
— Matías Kinderman, Video game producer at playSTUDIOS
(...) On a personal level, he is kind, respectful, and generous, making collaboration with him not only productive but also genuinely enjoyable (...)