Game Systems
Game Systems
A dive into a small selection of game systems I've designed, protyped, and implemented.
A dive into a small selection of game systems I’ve designed, protyped, and implemented.
AI Combat System
DESIGN
Built a target evaluation system used by AI Controllers to select and reassess hostile targets based on factors such as line of sight, distance, threat state, target condition, and current-target preference.
Designed and implemented combat states for pursuit, fallback, healing, close-range engagement, downed behavior, repositioning, and recovery, giving AI more reactive and characterful combat behavior.
Developed multiple attacking behaviors including firearm handling, melee traces, animation-driven attacks, projectiles, and grenade usage.
Created multiple AI classes and enemy archetypes to diversify the enemy sandbox with different combat roles and behaviors.
Built weapon spawning and assignment logic for different AI classes so archetypes could receive appropriate weapons and loadouts.
Designed environment-aware positioning using EQS to evaluate movement locations, sightlines, distance, pathing, and nearby allies.
Implemented melee engagement coordination to limit how many enemies can attack the same target simultaneously and reduce uncontrolled dogpiling.
Created reactions to changing combat conditions, including hazard avoidance, lost targets, traversal opportunities, and shifting engagement ranges.
Integrated combat decisions with animation systems for procedural look tracking, upper-body aiming, firing layers, melee animation, and locomotion-aware behavior.
Programmed NPC spawning and encounter tools for use directly in levels, exposing designer-friendly controls while using actor pooling for reusable combatants.
IMPLEMENTATION
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Unreal Engine
C++
State Trees
EQS
Blueprint
3D Math
Technical Animation
AI Combat System
DESIGN
Built a target evaluation system used by AI Controllers to select and reassess hostile targets based on factors such as line of sight, distance, threat state, target condition, and current-target preference.
Designed and implemented combat states for pursuit, fallback, healing, close-range engagement, downed behavior, repositioning, and recovery, giving AI more reactive and characterful combat behavior.
Developed multiple attacking behaviors including firearm handling, melee traces, animation-driven attacks, projectiles, and grenade usage.
Created multiple AI classes and enemy archetypes to diversify the enemy sandbox with different combat roles and behaviors.
Built weapon spawning and assignment logic for different AI classes so archetypes could receive appropriate weapons and loadouts.
Designed environment-aware positioning using EQS to evaluate movement locations, sightlines, distance, pathing, and nearby allies.
Implemented melee engagement coordination to limit how many enemies can attack the same target simultaneously and reduce uncontrolled dogpiling.
Created reactions to changing combat conditions, including hazard avoidance, lost targets, traversal opportunities, and shifting engagement ranges.
Integrated combat decisions with animation systems for procedural look tracking, upper-body aiming, firing layers, melee animation, and locomotion-aware behavior.
Programmed NPC spawning and encounter tools for use directly in levels, exposing designer-friendly controls while using actor pooling for reusable combatants.
IMPLEMENTATION
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Unreal Engine
C++
State Trees
EQS
Blueprint
3D Math
Technical Animation
AI Combat System
DESIGN
Built a target evaluation system used by AI Controllers to select and reassess hostile targets based on factors such as line of sight, distance, threat state, target condition, and current-target preference.
Designed and implemented combat states for pursuit, fallback, healing, close-range engagement, downed behavior, repositioning, and recovery, giving AI more reactive and characterful combat behavior.
Developed multiple attacking behaviors including firearm handling, melee traces, animation-driven attacks, projectiles, and grenade usage.
Created multiple AI classes and enemy archetypes to diversify the enemy sandbox with different combat roles and behaviors.
Built weapon spawning and assignment logic for different AI classes so archetypes could receive appropriate weapons and loadouts.
Designed environment-aware positioning using EQS to evaluate movement locations, sightlines, distance, pathing, and nearby allies.
Implemented melee engagement coordination to limit how many enemies can attack the same target simultaneously and reduce uncontrolled dogpiling.
Created reactions to changing combat conditions, including hazard avoidance, lost targets, traversal opportunities, and shifting engagement ranges.
Integrated combat decisions with animation systems for procedural look tracking, upper-body aiming, firing layers, melee animation, and locomotion-aware behavior.
Programmed NPC spawning and encounter tools for use directly in levels, exposing designer-friendly controls while using actor pooling for reusable combatants.
IMPLEMENTATION
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Unreal Engine
C++
State Trees
EQS
Blueprint
3D Math
Technical Animation
Hit Reaction System
DESIGN
Used 3D math to determine the direction of incoming damage and identify the affected limb/bodypart
Designed directional hit reactions that select and play root-motion animation montages based on impact direction and hit location.
Integrated vocal reactions alongside animation responses to reinforce hit feedback and character readability.
Authored physics assets, constraints, and body settings to create humanoid ragdoll and reaction profiles.
Developed a physical animation system that blends authored animation with physics influence, using interpolation to transition smoothly between animation-driven and physics-driven motion.
IMPLEMENTATION
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Unreal Engine
C++
3D Math
Vectors
Technical Animation
Blueprint
Hit Reaction System
DESIGN
Used 3D math to determine the direction of incoming damage and identify the affected limb/bodypart
Designed directional hit reactions that select and play root-motion animation montages based on impact direction and hit location.
Integrated vocal reactions alongside animation responses to reinforce hit feedback and character readability.
Authored physics assets, constraints, and body settings to create humanoid ragdoll and reaction profiles.
Developed a physical animation system that blends authored animation with physics influence, using interpolation to transition smoothly between animation-driven and physics-driven motion.
IMPLEMENTATION
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Unreal Engine
C++
3D Math
Vectors
Technical Animation
Blueprint
Hit Reaction System
DESIGN
Used 3D math to determine the direction of incoming damage and identify the affected limb/bodypart
Designed directional hit reactions that select and play root-motion animation montages based on impact direction and hit location.
Integrated vocal reactions alongside animation responses to reinforce hit feedback and character readability.
Authored physics assets, constraints, and body settings to create humanoid ragdoll and reaction profiles.
Developed a physical animation system that blends authored animation with physics influence, using interpolation to transition smoothly between animation-driven and physics-driven motion.
IMPLEMENTATION
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Unreal Engine
C++
3D Math
Vectors
Technical Animation
Blueprint
Stealth & Perception System
DESIGN
Built the stealth framework on top of Unreal Engine’s AI Perception system to detect and track sight, hearing, and damage stimuli.
Created distinct awareness states for Pre-Aware, Suspicious, Investigation, and Aware, with State Trees controlling how AI behavior escalates between each level.
Used EQS to generate and evaluate investigation locations, allowing AI to move toward relevant areas rather than searching predefined points.
Implemented environmental searching when AI loses sight of the player for an extended period or discovers a fallen ally, causing enemies to investigate and sweep nearby areas.
Designed delayed allied alerting so an AI that briefly detects the player does not instantly inform the entire group, giving players a short opportunity to silence the enemy before the alert spreads.
IMPLEMENTATION
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Unreal Engine
C++
AI Perception
EQS
Navigation
Stealth & Perception System
DESIGN
Built the stealth framework on top of Unreal Engine’s AI Perception system to detect and track sight, hearing, and damage stimuli.
Created distinct awareness states for Pre-Aware, Suspicious, Investigation, and Aware, with State Trees controlling how AI behavior escalates between each level.
Used EQS to generate and evaluate investigation locations, allowing AI to move toward relevant areas rather than searching predefined points.
Implemented environmental searching when AI loses sight of the player for an extended period or discovers a fallen ally, causing enemies to investigate and sweep nearby areas.
Designed delayed allied alerting so an AI that briefly detects the player does not instantly inform the entire group, giving players a short opportunity to silence the enemy before the alert spreads.
IMPLEMENTATION
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Unreal Engine
C++
AI Perception
EQS
Navigation
Stealth & Perception System
DESIGN
Built the stealth framework on top of Unreal Engine’s AI Perception system to detect and track sight, hearing, and damage stimuli.
Created distinct awareness states for Pre-Aware, Suspicious, Investigation, and Aware, with State Trees controlling how AI behavior escalates between each level.
Used EQS to generate and evaluate investigation locations, allowing AI to move toward relevant areas rather than searching predefined points.
Implemented environmental searching when AI loses sight of the player for an extended period or discovers a fallen ally, causing enemies to investigate and sweep nearby areas.
Designed delayed allied alerting so an AI that briefly detects the player does not instantly inform the entire group, giving players a short opportunity to silence the enemy before the alert spreads.
IMPLEMENTATION
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Unreal Engine
C++
AI Perception
EQS
Navigation
Navigation & Compass System
DESIGN
Built a reusable world-navigation compass to communicate nearby points of interest without relying on intrusive waypoint guidance.
Implemented compass positioning and cardinal-direction updates based on the player’s view rotation and each tracked object’s relative direction.
Created a component-driven POI system that allows world actors to define their marker type, display behavior, tracking range, and other presentation settings.
Implemented widget pooling by POI type to reuse compass markers instead of repeatedly creating and destroying UI widgets at runtime.
Created category-specific marker behavior, allowing different classes of points of interest to use their own widgets and tracking settings.
IMPLEMENTATION
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Unreal Engine
C++
Object Pooling
3D Math
Navigation & Compass System
DESIGN
Built a reusable world-navigation compass to communicate nearby points of interest without relying on intrusive waypoint guidance.
Implemented compass positioning and cardinal-direction updates based on the player’s view rotation and each tracked object’s relative direction.
Created a component-driven POI system that allows world actors to define their marker type, display behavior, tracking range, and other presentation settings.
Implemented widget pooling by POI type to reuse compass markers instead of repeatedly creating and destroying UI widgets at runtime.
Created category-specific marker behavior, allowing different classes of points of interest to use their own widgets and tracking settings.
IMPLEMENTATION
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Unreal Engine
C++
Object Pooling
3D Math
Navigation & Compass System
DESIGN
Built a reusable world-navigation compass to communicate nearby points of interest without relying on intrusive waypoint guidance.
Implemented compass positioning and cardinal-direction updates based on the player’s view rotation and each tracked object’s relative direction.
Created a component-driven POI system that allows world actors to define their marker type, display behavior, tracking range, and other presentation settings.
Implemented widget pooling by POI type to reuse compass markers instead of repeatedly creating and destroying UI widgets at runtime.
Created category-specific marker behavior, allowing different classes of points of interest to use their own widgets and tracking settings.
IMPLEMENTATION
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Unreal Engine
C++
Object Pooling
3D Math
RPG Systems Design
DESIGN
Psst — want to see it in action? I’d be happy to walk through the character system, progression, combat calculations, and move creation in a live demo. Because so much of the framework lives across interconnected spreadsheets, static screenshots can only show part of how everything works together.
Created universe-faithful RPG character systems built around player-controlled attributes, with derived statistics and skills calculated from those values.
Developed experience-based progression systems that allow characters to improve their capabilities over time via buying statistics/skills, learning/training moves or developing their special technique.
Designed hunger and thirst mechanics that feed back into actions, skills, rolls, and other character calculations.
Built an inventory and encumbrance system where carried weight affects character performance, including factors such as Dodge Score.
Designed speed-to-speed character comparisons that evaluate relative combat advantages and modify Dodge Score, attributes, damage, and bonuses to hit.
Created a custom move-development system for building attacks and abilities tailored to the setting, with configurable combat properties and effects.
IMPLEMENTATION
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Goolge Sheets
Google Docs
RPG Systems Design
DESIGN
Psst — want to see it in action? I’d be happy to walk through the character system, progression, combat calculations, and move creation in a live demo. Because so much of the framework lives across interconnected spreadsheets, static screenshots can only show part of how everything works together.
Created universe-faithful RPG character systems built around player-controlled attributes, with derived statistics and skills calculated from those values.
Developed experience-based progression systems that allow characters to improve their capabilities over time via buying statistics/skills, learning/training moves or developing their special technique.
Designed hunger and thirst mechanics that feed back into actions, skills, rolls, and other character calculations.
Built an inventory and encumbrance system where carried weight affects character performance, including factors such as Dodge Score.
Designed speed-to-speed character comparisons that evaluate relative combat advantages and modify Dodge Score, attributes, damage, and bonuses to hit.
Created a custom move-development system for building attacks and abilities tailored to the setting, with configurable combat properties and effects.
IMPLEMENTATION
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Goolge Sheets
Google Docs
RPG Systems Design
DESIGN
Psst — want to see it in action? I’d be happy to walk through the character system, progression, combat calculations, and move creation in a live demo. Because so much of the framework lives across interconnected spreadsheets, static screenshots can only show part of how everything works together.
Created universe-faithful RPG character systems built around player-controlled attributes, with derived statistics and skills calculated from those values.
Developed experience-based progression systems that allow characters to improve their capabilities over time via buying statistics/skills, learning/training moves or developing their special technique.
Designed hunger and thirst mechanics that feed back into actions, skills, rolls, and other character calculations.
Built an inventory and encumbrance system where carried weight affects character performance, including factors such as Dodge Score.
Designed speed-to-speed character comparisons that evaluate relative combat advantages and modify Dodge Score, attributes, damage, and bonuses to hit.
Created a custom move-development system for building attacks and abilities tailored to the setting, with configurable combat properties and effects.
IMPLEMENTATION
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Goolge Sheets
Google Docs