Hello there. Cengizhan here!
Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft ·
MSc Computer Science & Engineering ·
and more!
This is my corner of the internet - portfolio and a bit of a time capsule. You’ll find projects, games and community stuff. Have a look around, and feel free to reach out if anything catches your eye!
After obtaining a Master's in Computer Science & Engineering, I joined Microsoft full-time as a Customer Engineer supporting Power Platform and Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement. My role evolved into Cloud Solution Architect‑Engineer in 2022 and subsequently into Cloud Solution Architect in 2023, maintaining core responsibilities with a shifted focus on new business priorities.
As a Cloud Solution Architect I provide in-depth technical support to Enterprise customers, facilitating product adoption through workshops, designated support, and technical guidance. My focus has been on Power Platform and mainly Dynamics 365 CE. Key responsibilities include assessing & envisioning, capability & service needs alignment, technology planning, implementation & operation, and adoption & quality management.
Dutch Game Marathon is a non-profit foundation based in Tilburg that brought people together through multi-day charity gaming marathons, broadcast live on Twitch. Every edition supported a different cause with donations, prize raffles, and guest appearances by popular Dutch streamers. Since its founding in December 2018, three editions took place: a 56-hour marathon in 2019 for Alzheimer Netherlands, a 60-hour lockdown stream in 2020 for the Heart Foundation, and a 72-hour event in 2022 for Pink Ribbon. The foundation still exists today, but no further editions are planned.
These were my official roles per edition, but responsibilities were fluid. As chairman I led board meetings, set the strategic direction for each edition, and coordinated decision-making across the team. As website coordinator I designed and built dutchgamemarathon.nl, keeping it updated with schedules, donation info, and live-stream embeds. I also handled guest relations - reaching out to streamers and influencers, onboarding them with schedules and technical details, and making sure they knew when and how to join, whether in-person at the venue or remotely from home. On top of that I helped with sponsorship acquisition, partnership outreach, and whatever else the team needed at the time.
Authored a comprehensive Pokémon transfer guide - built entirely in PowerPoint - that somehow evolved into the definitive roadmap for moving Pokémon across generations. Four editions (2019 - 2024), each more refined than the last, because people really do want their childhood teams to survive forever.
What began as a humble Reddit post quickly evolved into a resource that has been shared, reposted, and passed around (with or without proper credits). For longtime players, transferring Pokémon is not just a technical task but an emotional one: maintaining continuity with creatures raised years, sometimes even decades, ago.
Across its iterations, the guide has reached tens of thousands of players: earning thousands of upvotes, hundreds of comments, and widespread shares across Reddit, Discord, and social media beyond.
Development and community overlap for me in the same way games do - making things, testing them, following the people who shape the conversation, and backing the creators worth recommending.
My letter “Saving Sanity” was selected as Letter of the Month in EDGE, a magazine widely regarded for its in-depth criticism, design-focused coverage, and influence within the games industry.
Contributing to it felt like a small but meaningful milestone!
For me, a big part of it is connecting with the history behind the games that shaped me. The 84tour takes you to a a secret, members-only bar and mini-museum located in Shibuya. The space is full of rare memorabilia, signed art, and small traces of the people who made those games - turning games that are meaningful to me into something tangible.
What makes it even better is that you can actually talk to someone who was there in the early days. And it’s not just history either - industry legends like Kensuke Tanabe , Imakuni? , Satoru Shibata , and Shigeki Morimoto are still connected to the space through Chōkan, which gives it a kind of living continuity.
I joined the N1-UP Pokémon Legends: Arceus contest and submitted a Fire/Ghost take on Gengar with a bit of a twist.
Based on yakuza and yokai, a large family of Hisuian Gastly, Haunter, and boss Gengar moves through the trenches of the night. The Gengar sends the family out on important missions such as scaring children, burning down houses, and collecting souls in graveyards. They say that the brighter Gengar’s flame burns, the more successful the family is in their missions.
I didn’t win, but it was a fun excuse to play with tone, worldbuilding, and character-driven design!
Some creators I'd like to highlight, as I support them on Patreon too.
People Make Games
Investigative games journalism - curious, well-produced, and willing to take games culture seriously.
Patreon
My Life in Gaming
Preservation-minded work around hardware, displays, and classic games - careful and genuinely useful.
Patreon
MinnMax
Games discussion with a community-first feel that makes support feel like backing coverage I want to keep.
Patreon
The Creative Game Challenge was an annual competition by Utrecht University's Department of Information and Computing Sciences. High school students built original games in GameMaker around a set theme, judged by professional juries.
Magnact (2013) was my entry: a game built around magnetism, where movement, momentum, and puzzle-solving all flowed from a single mechanical idea. My first time programming, on super limited hardware that made every step a struggle, it was where my journey in computer science truly began.
Magnact revolves around the magnetic superhero Flux. In this game, the bad guy Dr. Badguy, has split Flux in two: one positive Flux and one negative Flux. By making clever use of his magnetic powers Flux makes or avoids contact with certain objects and tries to complete himself again. Magnact is a challenging 2D platformer. Even though the game has fairly simple mechanics, you'll need to be not only skillful with the keys on the keyboard, but you also have to keep your own actions under control and plan them accordingly.
It’s still up on IndieDB if you’re curious — and yes, it might run on modern hardware, though I make no promises. I haven’t touched the code since 2013, so any quirks you find are… historically accurate.
Pillo is a game controller shaped like a pillow - soft, approachable, and designed to make gaming accessible for anyone. In 2014, the creators hosted a 48-hour game jam to build new experiences for it. I joined with a friend, teamed up with three strangers, and we got to work.
We built CHARMA: a two-player game where one person controls the rotation of a chameleon’s head and the other decides when it sticks out its tongue. Simple concept, tricky coordination, and a lot of laughs.
It was awarded 1st place.
Twice I visited the Two Tribes office to test upcoming games and suggest refinements - first for Toki Tori 2+ in 2013, then for RIVE in 2015. I also contributed through an online feedback group. Short stints, but a hands-on look at the polish side of shipping games.
Into gaming culture, niche magazines, or creators worth knowing? Always happy to exchange recommendations and stories.
Let’s connect!Gaming expos, conventions, and events I've attended across the globe.
Going to gamescom, G-STAR, GDC, TGS or another event? I might be there too! Say hi!
Let’s meet up!It started in 2024 - a skateboard, some concrete, and a nickname that stuck harder than any landing ever did. Fat Burrito wasn’t supposed to be anything. Just a joke between friends. But jokes have a way of becoming real things when you commit to the bit. So we did. We’re taking the joke to the next level.
2022
2020
2020
2019
2019
2018
2018
2018
2018
2018
2017
2017
2016
2016
2016
other
other
other
other
other
other
other
other
2012
other
Fundamentals
App Maker Associate
Support me on Ko-fi
Videojuegos (WordPress)
Tenorshare
