Gameplay, AI, and Tools Programmer
I enjoy building the systems behind games—gameplay, AI, and tools that make both the player experience and the development process better.
01 / Selected work
Production games, experimental systems, and technical deep dives across several disciplines.
01Lead Programmer · Unity
Led programming for a 15-person Unity capstone team, building reusable systems for a competitive boss-rush game. Developed designer-friendly boss AI, modular upgrades, status effects, UI, local multiplayer, and pooled projectiles. I also created balancing tools, profiled performance, maintained documentation, managed Steam builds, and onboarded new programmers.
02Gameplay & AI Programmer · Unity
Built a conversational AI NPC in Unity by combining speech-to-text, conversational AI, and text-to-speech in one asynchronous gameplay pipeline. Engineered prompts and response triggers for gameplay states, then created a reusable desktop-style UI with draggable windows and configurable microphone input.
03Engine Programmer · C++
Built a lightweight C++ game engine and ImGui level editor around a component-based object system. Implemented object selection and manipulation, configurable gameplay components, collision behavior, and scene serialization, allowing developers to create and edit levels without modifying engine code.
04Gameplay Programmer · Unreal Engine 5
Worked on a 10-person Unreal Engine team to build combat systems, enemy AI, player abilities, and supporting UI. Developed behavior-driven enemies and interconnected marking, recall, grabbing, throwing, and stun mechanics, including systems that safely paused and resumed AI during interactions. Refined combat architecture and balance through frequent playtesting with designers.
More projects
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Graphics ProgrammerSuzume Portals ↗A recreation of the film's portal effect using multiple cameras and Unity Shader Graph.
AI ProgrammerGoal-Oriented Action Planning ↗An implementation and technical breakdown of GOAP with a working Unity demonstration.
Network ProgrammerNetworked Connect 4 ↗A C++ Connect 4 game with a custom TCP client-server architecture for local-network play.
AI ProgrammerMin-Max Chess Bot ↗A C++ chess bot using Min-Max search, board evaluation, FEN state, and UCI moves.
02 / Selected work
A short showcase of games, tools, and systems I’ve helped build.
Technical insights
Breakdowns of the tools, systems, and technical decisions I’ve used to support designers and gameplay development.
Upgrade Selector Tool ↗A designer-facing Unity tool for testing and balancing upgrade values more efficiently.
Upgrade Pick Rate Tracking Tool ↗A data-tracking system that records upgrade selections and helps designers identify balancing trends.
Character Bark Tool ↗A narrative tool that allows non-programmers to create and configure contextual character conversations.
03 / About
I’m a gameplay programmer with a growing focus on tools and systems development. I enjoy building gameplay systems, AI, and developer-facing tools that make it easier for teams to create, test, and iterate on content.
I’m especially interested in tools programming, C++, and reusable technical workflows.
04 / Contact
Open to gameplay, tools, and technical opportunities.
jeffreypopek@gmail.com ↗