GAME SUMMARY: 

ECH8 is a single-player narrative puzzle experience centered on uncovering the disappearance of an entire alien species. Players repair a damaged ship, translate alien languages, converse with a Personal AI companion, and explore a massive abandoned megastructure. The experience blends immersive exploration with narrative-driven mechanics, where communication with a different being becomes the core puzzle. At its core, ECH8 is about empathy and understanding different perspectives.

WORK SUMMARY:

• Contributed across the full development lifecycle of a narrative-first puzzle game in Unreal Engine 5, from ideation and prototyping to production implementation

• Engineered scalable gameplay and UI systems in C++ and Blueprints, using tools like GAS, UMG, CommonUI, etc.

• Participated in peer code reviews and Agile sprint cycles to refine gameplay systems

• Conducted playtests, gathered actionable feedback, and iterated on mechanics

• Debugged and refactored systems within a Perforce-managed production codebase

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WHAT I LEARNED:

• Game development requires forward momentum: progress toward a cohesive build matters more than endlessly expanding ideas (keep a decision doc)

• The importance of rescoping and balancing ambition with technical and production feasibility

• How to approach collaboration professionally, navigate difficult conversations, and resolve team conflicts constructively

• Designing gameplay systems that support narrative intent rather than compete with it

• Building modular mechanics from the ground up for scalability and iteration

• Deepened understanding of Unreal’s Actor lifecycle, memory management, and component architecture

• Strengthened cross-disciplinary collaboration between programmers, designers, and narrative leads