Continuous support of mature live service AA MOBA built in Unreal Engine 3.
- Aided in unifying PC- and console-specific UI screens to be shared across platforms.
- Regularly worked with designers to determine the feasibility and scope of new UI features.
- Assessed nearly a decade’s worth of previous UI work in order to modernize, optimize, unify, and widgetize for future-proofing and reusability.
- Briefly aided the gameplay programming team to script assets, such as a flag, capture point, and stealth volume, implement the gameplay loop, and develop new HUD elements for a completely new game mode.
- Often utilized a robust database and corresponding config tool.
- Worked on a tight monthly release schedule, often in collaboration with external IPs.
After working at a support studio to port and remaster games for two years, I was ready to work on an original title that was continuously developing new content. Working at Hi-Rez would mark the first time I worked on both a multiplayer game and a live service game, both of which have their own unique challenges.
Like the last game I had worked on at this point, SMITE was developed in Unreal Engine 3 and used ActionScript 2.0, so I was great for the job. Due to the age of the game, a lot of the UI was already complete, so my job was often to modernize and improve existing screens. Likewise, if you know the franchise, you know that there are at least two or three big collaborations every year, which demanded completely bespoke event screens.
Towards the end of my tenure at Hi-Rez, in addition to widgetizing these screens for reusability, I also got to split my time with the gameplay team for the development of Odin’s Onslaught. I aided in making a capture-the-flag mode, as well as a flag scriptable asset. 🙂