Grid

Lead Interactive Developer

Hi, I'm Juris Savostijanovs, an experienced developer, a bi-lingual scholar and a published researcher¹ with a Masters by Research in Psychology. Currently leading development of games on the Meta Horizon Worlds platform, such as the recently launched Secrets of The Lost Temple. Which has amassed half a million impressions worldwide in its first month.

Clients I've Developed For

Skills & Technologies

Some of the relevant skills and technologies I work with.

Unity & C#

Proficient in C# for Unity game development; creating gameplay systems, implementing design patterns, and optimising for Mobile and XR performance.

Web Development

Worked with React, Node.js, and modern web technologies. As well as more niche libraries like PIXI.js and Phaser for developing 2D games.

Python

Experienced in Python, primarily using it for data analysis in research and AI/Machine learning projects.

VR Development

Well-vested in developing virtual reality applications and games, having several projects published in academic journals.

Git & Version Control

Actively using version control with Git (GitHub / GitLab), having set-up company-wide pre-commit hooks and CI/CD pipelines.

Coaching and Mentoring

Proficient in coaching and mentoring; advocating for design patterns, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement through code reviews.

Professional Experience

My journey through the tech industry and academia.

Lead Interactive Developer
Koffeecup | 2024 - Present
As a Lead Developer, I oversee the entire engineering side of the projects I'm working on.
Senior Interactive Developer
Koffeecup | 2024 - 2024
As a Senior Developer, I strove to elevate the company's projects and team; in this role, I assumed a leadership position with expanded responsibilities, driving innovation and efficiency across multiple areas of development.
Interactive Developer
Koffeecup | 2023 - 2024
As an Interactive Developer I got to lead my first project by conceptualising, designing, and developing a captivating virtual reality (VR) world brimming with intricately crafted mini-games and exciting prizes.
Junior Games Developer
Live 5 Limited | 2022 - 2023
As a Junior Games Developer at Live 5 Ltd, I had the opportunity to develop a commercially successful cabinet and web-based game, contributing to projects earning over £800 million internationally.

Featured Projects

A selection of my latest work in VR, gaming, and interactive development.

Mine Maniac

Mine Maniac was a quick-turnaround six-month project based on the success of Grow a Garden. Here you can: Buy veins, place them in your quarry, mine glowing ores, sell for SpaceBucks, and upgrade your gear to build a space mining empire whilst competing with friends!

Secrets of The Lost Temple

Secrets of The Lost Temple

A mixed-platforms creature-collecting puzzle adventure set in an enchanted temple, where players must rescue adorable creatures hidden deep within cleverly designed chambers filled with traps and puzzles.

Chaos Bots

A team-driven, fast-paced VR game where you are part of Boomer Industries, tasked with cleaning up retro-futuristic houses.

Wild West Saloon

Wild West Saloon

A VR experience featuring quick-draw shoot-outs, chicken shooting range, and interactive saloon activities such as darts and mixology!

Galactic Arcade

Galactic Arcade

A virtual reality, neon-lit, retro-cool venue in outer space for multiplayer games including darts, basketball and air hockey.

Divided Islands

Divided Islands

An immersive math game for KS3 students developed for the BBC, focusing on fractions, percentages, and ratios.

Eye of Horus

A grounds-up conversion project of a well-established slot game series featuring popular Egyptian artifacts.

ChatIt

A web-based chat application utilizing Web Sockets that allows random users to chat with each other.

BoatIt

A competitive boating game where players compete in picking up trash from a body of water.

PowerIt

A hyper-casual, wave-based tower defence game where the player juggles a 'power cube' to either power their defences against a continuous horde or collect resources.

HauntIt

A game following the tale of a grave-keeping wizard who uses an array of spells to ward off unwanted spirits.

Visual Perspective Taking (VPT)

Visual Perspective Taking (VPT)

An application designed to examine Theory of Mind through Visual Perspective Taking in Virtual Reality, with a focus on restricted interests present in the neuro-divergent population.

Balloon Analogue Risk Task

Balloon Analogue Risk Task

The Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) was designed to serve as an online-hosted measure of risk-taking behaviors when individuals are in a cooperative or competitive position.

Once Upon a Town: Ormskirk

Once Upon a Town: Ormskirk

A virtual museum hosting memories and experiences of those living in and around Ormskirk during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

VR Drumming Application

VR Drumming Application

An application exploring the effects of synchronous drumming on Theory of Mind with virtual agents.

Avatar Interactions and You

This project formed part of the Social Neuroscience module in the Psychology curriculum and sought to explore what features make or break virtual avatar assistants; then take it further by creating an actual virtual assistant.

Scoodle Play

A gamified educational platform designed to make learning more engaging for children.

Publications

My contributions to academic research and literature.

GrooVR: An open access virtual reality drumming application to improve prosociality using synchronous movement

Cross, L., Nixon, W., Smith, J., Tseng, C.-h., Kitamura, Y., Isamu, E., Savostijanovs, J., & Atherton, G.

Frontiers in Psychology, 2025

Gendered violence and sexualized representations in video games

Cross, L., Kaye, L. K., Savostijanovs, J., McLatchie, N., Johnston, M., Whiteman, L., Mooney, R., & Atherton, G.

New Media & Society, 2022

Get in Touch

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