Games Researcher: Player Behavior, Retention, and Human-AI Interaction in Interactive Systems
I use behavioral data from systems that are actually in use to understand how people interact with adaptive and AI-driven software, mostly in games and interactive media, where I read player behavior and retention data to see how a design shapes what people do. My FDG 2026 paper is one example: across 35 mobile game prototypes, how often players returned predicted Day 1 retention better than how long they played, and expert coding of design qualities such as creative confidence added predictive value the automated metrics missed. I've run the same kind of evaluation on AI systems I built, measuring how a medical-report assistant changed users' clarity, confidence, and trust. I want to read behavior to see how a system shapes the decisions people make with it, without taking the decision away from them.
Currently applying to PhD and research-master's programs in HCI, games research, and Human-AI interaction for a 2027 start. Open to research collaboration in the meantime. IELTS Academic 8.0 (CEFR C1).
In place of a master's: eight years of shipped R&D and a first-author FDG paper. Details under Academic Background.
Research
Session Architecture Predicts Mobile Game Retention: A Single-Studio Case Study
FDG '26: Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games
Looked at 35 mobile game prototypes from 2023 to 2025 to find which early behaviors predict Day 1 retention. Session frequency was the strongest predictor (r = 0.84), ahead of total playtime. Adding expert-coded design features, especially creative confidence (r = 0.63), added something beyond the automated metrics. Retention went up 71% over the 2.5-year window, alongside gains in design quality.
Medical Reports AI Assistant
A retrieval-based assistant that lets patients upload a medical report and query it in natural language, with every answer grounded in and citing the specific source passages it is drawn from. Implemented in Python with LangChain and the OpenAI API for parsing and summarization, plus OCR for scanned PDFs. Evaluated in a preregistered within-subject pilot (N = 5, non-medical participants) contrasting a manual search condition with the assistant across two sessions, measuring time-to-find, ease, and confidence.
Temporal Metrics and Perceived Fluency in L2 Speech: A Production-Based Analysis
Tests whether a duration-weighted disfluency metric matches human fluency judgments better than the usual rate- or count-based measures in L2 speech. It looks at how fluent speech sounds, not overall speaking proficiency.
Research Interests
Games & Player Behavior
How game systems shape what players do: session patterns, retention signals, and design qualities read from behavioral data.
Human-AI Interaction
How people build trust and get a clear picture of what an agent is doing when they work with it.
Agentic AI
Agent workflows for multi-step reasoning and tool use, built around evaluation rather than vibes.
Featured Projects
Data-Driven Evaluation of Player Behavior in a Mobile Shooter
Mobile game - 100k+ downloads
"Tuning features against the analytics lifted D1 retention 10% and playtime 22%."
Music VR Project
Audio-reactive virtual environment
"Letting the environment react to sound, not just play it, makes a VR space feel alive."
Surfing VR Game with Mechanical Surfboard
Physical peripheral driving in-game navigation
"A physical controller you move with your body pulls you into a VR scene in a way a handset doesn't."
Fine-Tuning vs. Prompt Engineering for Task-Specific Models
When customizing model weights beats prompting
"A 4B model on a gaming GPU beat a frontier model ~100x its size on this task, on accuracy and cost."
Brutal Learnings from Puzzle Games
Prototyping puzzle mechanics with Voodoo
"Puzzles live or die on rule clarity and input responsiveness. Fusing two mechanics that fit beats bolting one onto another."
Applied Educational Game Systems
Learning & Behavior Research Through Interactive Design
"How a game is built changes what players learn: when feedback lands shapes strategy, difficulty pacing sets the mental load, and the choices you offer steer behavior."
Speech Analysis API (IELTS-Aligned)
English proficiency assessment system
"After Whisper transcription and wav2vec analysis, it generates a score deterministically across the four rubrics, giving a reliable measurement of improvement."
Turning Dialogue into Deduction
LLM-driven detective game prototype
"Structured AI dialogue can drive reasoning-based gameplay, pushing players to think instead of following a branch."
Catching the Cow: Designing From a Cultural Moment
Runner game built from an Eid-ul-Adha moment
"Culture can replace complexity. When the context is shared, design can stay minimal and still feel rich."
Methods & Technical Experience
AI AND AGENTIC SYSTEMS
- OpenAI API
- LangGraph / LangChain
- AutoGen
- Claude API
- RAG pipelines
- n8n Automation
EVALUATION & BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS
- A/B Testing
- Retention Analytics (D1-D14)
- Statistical Analysis
- Behavioral Coding & Metrics
INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS & GAME DEV
- Unity (C#)
- Gameplay Architecture
- GameAnalytics
- Human-Computer Interaction
BACKEND & DATA SYSTEMS
- FastAPI
- Next.js
- Supabase
- Supabase VectorDB
- BackBlaze B2
Academic Background
B.Sc. in Computer Science & Cognitive Systems
Islamic University of Technology, Bangladesh
CGPA: 3.57 / 4.00 · Final-two-year GPA: 3.74 / 4.00
Relevant Coursework: Human-Computer Interaction, Machine Learning, Computer Graphics & Multimedia Systems, Artificial Intelligence, Pattern Recognition, Cognitive Psychology, Computer Vision, Statistical & Mathematical Analysis
I hold a BSc rather than a master's. In place of one, I bring eight years of applied R&D across five game studios, running A/B tests, retention analysis, and player-behavior studies on shipped systems, and a first-author FDG 2026 paper. I read this as an equivalent research trajectory and am prepared to discuss direct PhD eligibility with prospective supervisors.
Additional Training
Game Design & Gamification
Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Finland · 10 ECTS
English Proficiency
IELTS Academic · Overall 8.0 (CEFR C1) · Listening 8.5, Reading 8.5, Speaking 7.5, Writing 7.0 · September 2025
Professional Affiliations
Member, International Game Developers Association (IGDA) · Volunteer, Events Committee
Professional Experience
Digital Games Developer
Gameloops, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Led mobile games and interactive systems from prototype to release. Ran A/B tests on FTUE, economy balance, and which features to keep. Used retention (D1/D7/D14), engagement, and revenue data to decide what to change next. Built and tested agentic AI workflows for automation and internal tools.
Digital Games Developer
Lightneer, Helsinki, Finland
Built gameplay prototypes and revised them from player testing and UX feedback.
Digital Games Developer
KobGames Studios, Tel Aviv, Israel
Designed and built gameplay systems across several prototypes.
Digital Games Developer
Alienide Interactive, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Developed mobile applications, games, and AR/VR learning tools.
Applied Engineering
Client and product automation work and game design write-ups built and shipped outside of a research context, included for completeness, not as evaluated research.
Medical Reports AI Workbench
Upload a report, ask questions, get cited answers
Patients face a comprehension barrier when reading their own medical reports: results are scattered across dense numerical tables and clinical terminology. This work asks whether a retrieval-based assistant can lower that barrier without eroding trust.
Constraining AI Agent Behavior for Predictable Outcomes
Deterministic workflow with an AI interruption layer
Visual workflows break when users go off-script (changing passenger count mid-confirmation); pure AI agents handle that but are unpredictable for processes that need to follow rules. This tests a hybrid of the two.
AI Phone Receptionist with Shopify Checkout
Inbound calls to checkout links, no staff
An AI receptionist that does more than answer questions: take a phone call, recommend a product, and get a checkout link into the customer's hands end to end.
AI Property Maintenance Coordinator
Tenant report to contractor approval
One maintenance report spins off a lot of coordination for a property manager: judging urgency, chasing details, finding contractors, checking availability, comparing quotes, getting approval. This automates the repetitive parts.
AI Book Translator
Multi-language document translation system
A translation pipeline that keeps meaning intact and checks its own quality across several languages.
WhatsApp AI Customer Support System
Automated customer service chatbot
Can a chatbot handle customer support, sort incoming issues, and write useful replies?
Mafia Marksman: Thematic Progression in a Mobile Shooter
Mafia-rank progression driving retention
After Auto Cop's retention fell despite a rising CPI, this tested whether a mafia theme with intuitive, reward-linked progression and varied weapons could hold players and improve monetization.
Auto Cop: Three Iterations on a Cover Shooter
CPI vs. retention, a roguelite detour, and back to core
Publishers were seeing strong returns from cover shooters, so the team built one aiming for 200% ROAS. This three-part case study follows what happened when strong install numbers met weak retention.
Three Ways to Onboard Players in Mobile Games
Teaching mechanics without breaking flow
Developers need to guide players through new mechanics without disrupting immersion. This looks at how to teach rules while keeping cognitive load low.
Adding Meaningful Gameplay to an Arcade Idle Game
Mapping resource flows with Machinations
Arcade idle games are resource-flow engines. This asks where meaningful player choice can be added without breaking hypercasual accessibility.
Slice Disc: Path-Slicing Mechanics Case Study
First-person slicing meets bouncing-disc physics
First-person slicing games were gaining traction in hypercasual, and third-party slicing assets promised strong CPI. This tested whether a slicing plus bouncing-disc loop could scale.