Galaxy Gang

How I combined hands-on Unreal Engine development with programming leadership to help move Galaxy Gang from an unplayable state to a fully playable build.

C++Unreal Engine 4/5BlueprintsLeadership

project.json

Organization: T'sarE LLC
Period: Mar 2023 — Apr 2025
My role: Game Developer from March to September 2023, then Programming Lead through April 2025; directed as many as 20 developers with the CEO.

01 // the production challenge

The production challenge

Galaxy Gang was an early-stage game with a large programming backlog spanning gameplay, AI, interfaces, levels, cutscenes, interactables, backend systems, and tooling. Programmers depended on models, animation, design, audio, and art arriving with enough technical context to implement each feature correctly.

My work covered both sides of that problem: building foundational systems directly and creating a delivery process that helped a mostly junior programming team finish work consistently.

02 // hands-on game systems

Hands-on game systems

Built reusable Unreal Engine C++ and Blueprint parent systems that other programmers extended for NPCs, enemies, bosses, enemy groups, interactables, UI, cutscenes, and minigames.
Built internal development tools, including development-mode UI overlays used while building and testing the game.
Profiled gameplay and backend systems with Unreal Engine's built-in performance and memory tools, then reduced redundant data access and deferred data and asset loading where appropriate.
Worked with the composer on Wwise integration and sound engineering, and contributed to materials and texturing when needed.

03 // programming leadership

Programming leadership

Worked with the CEO to choose and assign programming work, define implementation and completion requirements, review code, and participate in hiring and performance decisions.
Created one- to two-week implementation sprints and stepped into blocked work across gameplay, encounters, levels, interfaces, cutscenes, interactables, and backend systems.
Helped the programming team clear its backlog until art, animation, design, and 3D production became the limiting dependencies.

04 // cross-discipline delivery and milestone

Cross-discipline delivery and milestone

Led feature handoffs among programming, modeling, animation, and company leadership so artistic direction and technical requirements were understood together.
Helped take the game from an unplayable state to a fully playable build with working travel between its intended levels and worlds.
The public demo was released after I stepped away from the company; this case study describes the during-tenure build and does not attribute the later release to my work alone.