Samsara
Role: Freelance Programmer
I was responsible for creating an enemy for Samsara a souls-like action RPG inspired by Buddhist mythology
Dev Team Size: 6
Project Duration: Active
Outcome: Invited back for paid freelance
Key Contributions:
- Developed the Tiryag Charger enemy for Samsara, working from an existing design brief
- Collaborated cross-discipline with designers, artists, and directors to translate design pitches into gameplay features and refine combat through playtesting.
- Created custom C++ components and optimised AI, Niagara, and Blueprints, improving performance by ~15%.
- Followed an Agile Scrum workflow and used software such as Hansoft, Miro, Perforce. After completion I was invited back for paid freelance work.
Demo Fight
Work In Progress
Summary
During my Unreal Engine bootcamp, I worked on Samsara, a souls-like action RPG inspired by Buddhist mythology. My main task was to create a new enemy, the Tiryag Charger, a tank-type enemy designed to grab the player’s attention and open up opportunities for other Tiryags in the group to flank. Throughout the project I used industry-standard tools such as Perforce, Hansoft, and Miro, following an Agile Scrum workflow with daily stand-ups and sprint reviews.
Key Takeaways
- Learned to take feedback from playtests and mentors constructively, and apply it to improve quality and efficiency
- Improved cross-discipline communication by keeping producers updated and asking designers clarifying questions
- Keeping scope manageable during sprint planning and having the confidence to share work early instead of waiting until it felt “perfect”
- Embracing quick iteration and prototyping rather than committing too early to one idea
- Following coding conventions and documenting systems with comments and UML diagrams