Fifteen years of engineering discipline, pointed at game code.
I'm a senior software engineer moving into games. Be clear-eyed about what that means: I have fewer engine years than a career gameplay programmer. What I have instead is fifteen years on the thing that's actually costing you weeks — architecture, tooling, build pipelines, and code that still holds up in year three.
If your prototype turned into your production codebase and every change now breaks two things, that's the problem I've been solving my entire career. It just wasn't in Unity.
Small teams. Scoped engagements. I'd rather do one thing properly than pad an estimate.
What I take on
Ordered by what I can do at senior level today, not by what sounds most impressive.
Tools & editor
Custom editor windows and inspectors, data-driven design tooling, asset pipelines — so your designers can iterate without a programmer in the loop.
Build, CI & release
Automated builds, CI for Unity and Unreal projects, test harnesses, multi-platform release pipelines. The boring infrastructure that stops eating your Fridays.
Codebase rescue
Your prototype became your production code and now every change breaks two things. Untangling that is literally what I've done for fifteen years, on codebases far older than your project.
Gameplay systems
Systems programming in Unity and Unreal: state machines, save/load, progression, input, UI plumbing. The scoped, well-specified pieces — where I can trade engine years for engineering rigour.
Case studies
Jam projects, written up for the engineering rather than the credits. Each one leads with the constraint and ends with what it means for your project.
Lanternal
A fast-paced bullet-hell shooter built in 72 hours for Ludum Dare 43.
I Wet My Plants
Breakout reimagined around a forest spirit watering an ungrateful garden.
Fractured Soul
A twin-stick survival shooter where you repair your enemies before you release them.
Everything above is Unity, from game jams — small in scope, deliberate about what it demonstrates. I also work in Unreal, and have used it at jams.
What people say
From people I've built things with.
I highly recommend Robert for his exceptional collaborative skills. His ability to seamlessly work with artists, sound designers, and game designers, combined with his open communication and adaptability, make him an invaluable member for any team. I am confident that Robert's collaborative spirit and commitment to excellence will continue to shine in future endeavors.
Jessica Wall
I've worked with Robert on a few projects now and I've been really impressed with his ability to take an idea to completion with very little oversight. He asks the right questions, and can be trusted to write great code.
Jeremy Ross
Why games
I've been making games at jams for years and shipping web systems for a living. I'm deliberately moving the balance. That's not a hedge — it's the reason I'll care about your project past the invoice, and the reason I'm pricing engine work to build a portfolio rather than to maximize a rate.
The other half of my practice is senior backend engineering — Symfony, APIs, security. If your studio needs that too, it's the same person and the same page.
Tell me about your project
Contract gameplay, tools and engineering work in Unity and Unreal. Small teams, scoped engagements.