Stephan Tanguay is a veteran game designer and immersive media innovator with over 15 years of experience crafting award-winning VR, AR, and MR experiences. His work spans narrative-rich projects like The Book of Distance to action-heavy titles like Slugterra VR and Journey to Foundation. Stephan specializes in physics-based gameplay systems, spatial interaction, and deeply immersive mechanics that fully embrace the power of VR. As the founder of SuperPolygon and organizer of TorontoVRC—Canada’s largest VR meetup—he’s not only building next-gen experiences but also helping shape the XR community. His recent work explores telekinetic combat, emotional companion AI, and hand-tracked mixed reality interactions designed to spark delight and empathy.
Proven Expertise
Over 15 years of experience in game design and development, including numerous industry awards, I specialize in creating immersive and innovative experiences across VR, AR, and XR.
Comprehensive skill set including:
- Game Development
- Unreal 4/5 Blueprints & C++
- Unity3D C#
- Game Design
- Gameplay Design
- Combat design
- Game systems design
- Interaction Design
- Level design
- Experience design
Creative Vision
- Player-first, VR-focused mechanics and experiences that fully leverage the immersive power of XR. My goal is to deliver spatialized gameplay that captivates, excites, and creates lasting impressions.
- Identify what resonates with players and transform insights into unique and memorable experiences that maximize the potential of the medium. My collaborative process emphasizes continuous feedback, iteration, and alignment with player expectations and product goals.
- The outcome? Immersive, engaging, and unforgettable games that players are eager to revisit.
Technical Mastery
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- Leadership: Led and built multiple game development teams and architectures for several published games.
- Expertise: Extensive knowledge of Unreal Engine 5 and Unity3D, with proficiency in C++, Blueprints, Physics, Gameplay Development, and Level Design.
- Execution: Skilled at combining technical precision with innovation to deliver exceptional, high-quality results.
Let’s Create Something Extraordinary
I’m ready to bring my skills, experience, and creativity to your team. Whether it’s leading innovative gameplay design or developing groundbreaking systems, I’m excited to help shape the future of gaming.
Take a chance on me—and together, we’ll redefine what’s possible.
Quest 3 Light Design
Experimenting with some lighting setups on the Quest 3! Really happy with how it’s shaping up—great performance without compromising on atmosphere. Can’t wait to keep refining this. What do you think? 🤔 #VR #Quest3 #GameDev
Testing VR Physics with a Punch! 🥊
I’m having a blast experimenting with VR physics—watch me try to punch and manipulate a VR dummy! It’s incredible how fun VR physics can be.Check it out, and let me know what you think!
Do you want to pet a dog in VR?
Ever wanted to pet a dog in VR and have it feel like the real deal? 🐾🐶 I’m thrilled to share some research I’ve been working on in Unreal Engine 5 that brings this experience to life! Imagine being able to interact with a super cute, physically animated dog in VR. Using advanced physics simulation […]
Journey to Foundation – Now on Quest 2 & PSVR2!
I had the opportunity to work as a game systems designer on “Journey to Foundation,” contributing to combat design, enemies, weapons, and ability systems. This sci-fi narrative adventure game, based on Isaac Asimov’s acclaimed Foundation book series, offers an immersive look into a universe rich with intrigue and conflict. We are thrilled to announce that […]
Canadian Game Awards – Slugterra VR Nominated Best AR / VR Game
Dark Slope Studios’s Slugterra VR has been nominated by the Canadian Game Awards for best VR / AR game. Stephan Tanguay was privileged to be on such an amazing team at Dark Slope Studios as the lead game designer, level designer and technical lead. Great seeing this made for Hologate game nominated at the Canadian […]
VR Co-op Shooter Early Prototyping
Stephan Tanguay is working on a Co-op VR shooter rapid prototype to showcase some of the basic gameplay, level design and comedic narration. Hoping that this will help move this project in to a fully funded production aimed at the home VR market ( Steam VR / Playstation VR / Oculus Quest ).
Slugterra VR Launches on Hologate
Slugterra has finally launched on the Hologate platform. It was a pleasure to lead the game design on the hero based VR shooter Slugterra at Dark Slope Studios. Slugterra will now be available to over 300 Hologate locations!
Scarygirl Mission Maybe Launches on Zero Latency
Scarygirl is now officially launched on the Zero Latency platform and is available at 40+ locations around the world. I was honored to work on the level design of several environments as well as providing consultations on gameplay.
Book of Distance Wins Awards!
Exciting to see the VR interactive narrative “The Book of Distance” winning soo many awards! Stephan Tanguay had the pleasure of working at the National Film Board of Canada with director Randall Okita to produce several rapid prototypes for the Book of Distance virtual reality interactive narrative. Stephan contributed to the design process, ux, interaction […]
Virtual Intent: User Experience Design in VR / AR
Stephan Tanguay’s recent talk – Virtual Intent: User Experience Design in VR / AR from the AmuseUX conference is available for viewing. Discover how to use the cutting edge 3D design and abstraction to project user intention inside the landscape of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. Learn how to design compelling UX that is intuitive, […]
Blasters of the Universe VR ( Virtual Reality Game for the HTC Vive )
Stephan Tanguay had a blast working as a technical artist on the super cool virtual reality game Blasters of the Universe! This game was built from the ground up for the Steam VR and the HTC Vive offering a compelling action shooting experience with room scale game play.
Lexus Virtual Reality Multiplayer Racing Game Environment Design
Super Polygon Founder & CEO Stephan Tanguay was lucky to work on this multiplayer virtual reality driving experience at Globacore for the Montreal and Toronto Auto Show. He created the track and environments based on satellite data from the Fuji Speed Way in Japan. Loads of fun to work on!