Denitza Dramkin
Senior User Researcher
Hi there! I'm Denitza!
I'm a Senior User Researcher in the games industry, and I have 10 years experience designing, managing, analyzing, and synthesizing research!
I earned my PhD in Psychology from the University of British Columbia, where I worked with Darko Odic. My graduate work integrated perspectives from developmental and cognitive psychology, computational modelling, and vision sciences to answer questions about how language supports mathematic reasoning in number, space, and time.
Now, I work at Sprung Studios, where I leverage my expertise in research and data-driven problem-solving to make gameplay more intuitive, interactive, accessible, and (most importantly) fun for a variety of audiences!
In my free time, I like to doodle and create art! (You might even spot some of my illustrations throughout this website!)
Check out my resume to learn more about me!
Games Research
As a games user researcher, I develop and execute strategic research plans to identify friction points in the player experience. I specialize in working with cross-functional teams and distilling quantitative and qualitative data collected through a variety of techniques, including (but not limited to):
Daily Diary
Studies
Gathering daily insights to gauge player sentiment and churn across an extended period
Usability
Tests
Identifying barriers to players' understanding of a game's core loop and features
Accessibility &
Expert Reviews
Conducting heuristic evaluations based on usability and accessibility guidelines
Much of the work I do is on unreleased projects, and I don't want to spoil the surprise!
But check back in eventually, and you might recognize a few titles!
Working with teams like...
Case Studies
This work is featured with the permission of the developers!
Alien Frontier
Alien Frontier is a rogue-lite, third-person shooter game currently in development. Utilizing my expertise in heuristic evaluation and UX design principles, I:
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Provide critical design solutions to streamline the user experience and menu flow
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Design and report survey results on usability and sentiment from early access players
Academic Research
The human mind is capable of making quick, strategic judgments, including performing mathematical computations with seemingly little effort. For instance, without counting or measuring, we can estimate how many items are in our shopping baskets or the distance to the nearest grocery store! What cognitive "tools" support our abilities to reason in this way?
My PhD research focused on one key piece of this puzzle: the link between language and perception (e.g., how we attach number words to our sense of number, space, and time)! A few of my featured publications are below.
How do we interface language with mathematical representations?
Dramkin, D. & Odic, D. (2025). Children can map precise number words to approximate arithmetic prior to formal instruction. Developmental Psychology. doi:10.1037/dev0002041
Dramkin, D. & Odic, D. (2023). Children dynamically update and extend the interface between number words and perceptual magnitudes. Developmental Science. doi:10.1111/desc.13433
Dramkin, D. & Odic, D. (2021). Real Models: The limits of behavioural evidence for understanding the ANS. Behavioral and Brain Sciences.
How does language impact attention
to perceptual
features?
Dramkin, D., Bonn, C. D., Baer, C., & Odic, D. (2022).
The malleable impact of non-numeric features in visual number perception. Acta Psychologica.
Picon, E., Dramkin, D., & Odic, D. (2019).
Visual illusions help reveal the primitives of number perception. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
Ph.D., Psychology
2018 - 2023
University of British Columbia
Supervisor: Dr. Darko Odic; Committee: Drs. Janet F. Werker & James T. Enns
M.A., Psychology
2016 - 2018
University of British Columbia
Supervisor: Dr. Darko Odic; Committee: Drs. Janet F. Werker & D. Geoffrey Hall
B.Sc., Psychology
Minor: Medicine & Society
2012 - 2015
University of Houston
University Honors & Honors in Major
Summa Cum Laude, 4.0 GPA
Technical Skills
Statistical Analysis:
R, Python, JASP, SPSS
Design:
Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Procreate, Canva
Programming:
MATLAB, PsychoPy, JavaScript, ABAP (SAP), XML
Eye-Tracking Software / Video Software:
EyeLink, Tobii Studio Pro, Datavyu, Yarbus, Camtasia, OBS
Education & Skills
Want to get in touch?
Just use the form below! :)
Thanks for reaching out! I'll get back to you soon!
I live and work on the traditional, ancestral and unceded homelands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Stó:lō, and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh First Nations.