Saulo Soares | Portfolio

Saulo Soares

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Saulo Soares

Game Programmer & Unreal Authorized Instructor

About

I am a game programmer driven by a lifelong passion for building games. Since my early years, I have continuously studied game development, allowing my career to evolve across academic research, professional game programming, and leadership.

These experiences shaped my focus on what I value most: writing clean, extensible, well-architected, and maintainable code. After years of hands-on experience, I am now prepared to contribute to larger-scale projects and complex codebases.

I thrive in the world of game programming, constantly seeking new challenges.

I am deeply passionate about game programming, finding joy in the intricacies of coding and the creative process of game development. Collaborating with others to tackle challenging problems energizes me. While I acknowledge that I have room to grow and gaps in my knowledge, I embrace these opportunities for learning and continually strive to enhance my skills.

Throughout my journey, I've refined my expertise with the following:

Game Engines:

> Unreal Engine 5 / 4, Unity

Programming Languages:

> C/C++, C#, Python

Version Control Software:

> Perforce Helix Core, Git

Project Management Tools:

> Trello, GitLab

Software:

> Visual Studio, JetBrains Rider

Throughout my academic journey, I've met amazing people and enjoyed opportunities to speak, teach, and learn.

My Master’s degree strengthened my ability to analyze complex problems and communicate ideas with clarity beyond academic contexts.

I taught undergraduate courses in Digital Games, mentoring students and applying my technical expertise in teaching.

Presenting at conferences and diverse audiences refined my communication skills through talks and workshops.

Education and Experience

Academic Background and Professional Journey

Education

May 2022 - June 2024

Universidade Federal de Goiás – Goiás, Brazil;

Master's degree, Computer Science, Computer Systems

Mar 2016 - Nov 2021

Universidade Federal de Goiás – Goiás, Brazil;

Bachelor's degree, Computer Science

Experience

Jun 2023 - Present

LabTIME/UFG

Lead Game Programmer

Mar 2020 - Jun 2023 (3 yrs 4 mos)

LabTIME/UFG

Generalist Game Programmer

Professional Projects

A selection of game titles I’ve contributed to throughout my career.

Internal UE5 Modular Gameplay Plugin

Lead Game Programmer

Unreal Engine 5 | Perforce Helix Core | Gitlab

Due to NDA restrictions, source code, visuals, and implementation details cannot be shared.

Internal UE5 Modular Gameplay Plugin

Lead Game Programmer

Unreal Engine 5 | Perforce Helix Core | Gitlab

Due to NDA restrictions, source code, visuals, and implementation details cannot be shared.

Internal UE5 Modular Gameplay Plugin

Lead Game Programmer

Unreal Engine 5 | Perforce Helix Core | Gitlab

Due to NDA restrictions, source code, visuals, and implementation details cannot be shared.

Lead Game Programmer

Project Management

> Led a team of five game programmers.

> Conducted code reviews to ensure coding standards and documentation compliance.

> Defined system architecture using Unreal Engine modules, subsystems, and SOLID principles.

> Facilitated weekly cross-disciplinary meetings with Animation, 3D Art, and Product Owner.

> Worked under Scrum methodology with bi-weekly sprints.

> Set up and maintained a Perforce Helix Core server.

> Documented and maintained team workflows using GitLab.

> Created and maintained UML class diagrams to support system design and documentation.

Coding

> Applied dependency injection to improve modularity and reduce coupling.

> Used a messaging system to enable decoupled, event-driven system communication.

> Implemented a Sims-like NPC system integrated with state machines.

> Developed minimap and world map navigation systems with waypoint tracking.

> Implemented a day/night and time-of-day system with dynamic actor reactions.

> Built an Object Pooling system to improve performance.

> Extended existing plugin modules and fixed bugs across multiple systems.

Unannounced Title

Lead Game Programmer

Unreal Engine 5 | Perforce Helix Core | Gitlab

(Windows)

Due to NDA restrictions, source code, visuals, and implementation details cannot be shared.

Unannounced Title

Lead Game Programmer

Unreal Engine 5 | Perforce Helix Core | Gitlab

(Windows)

Due to NDA restrictions, source code, visuals, and implementation details cannot be shared.

Unannounced Title

Lead Game Programmer

Unreal Engine 5 | Perforce Helix Core | Gitlab

(Windows)

Due to NDA restrictions, source code, visuals, and implementation details cannot be shared.

Lead Game Programmer

Project Management

> Managed a team of three programmers.

> Organized weekly meetings with the game design team and Product Owner.

> Made architectural decisions to structure the game codebase following SOLID principles.

> Planned and organized team tasks using a structured development timeline.

Gameplay Systems

> Implemented gameplay puzzles.

> Developed a narrative management system using state machines.

> Scripted narrative levels based on game design specifications.

> Configured NPCs with event-driven actions.

> Implemented gameplay and UI interfaces.

> Implemented a loading screen and asynchronous loading of MetaHuman NPCs.

Art

> Designed levels for a small city environment.

> Configured characters using MetaHuman.

Simulador Arduino

Gameplay Programmer

Unreal Engine 4 | Perforce (Helix Core) | Trello

(Windows)

Simulador Arduino

Gameplay Programmer

Unreal Engine 4 | Perforce (Helix Core) | Trello

(Windows)

Simulador Arduino

Gameplay Programmer

Unreal Engine 4 | Perforce (Helix Core) | Trello

(Windows)

Gameplay Programmer

Core Gameplay Systems

> Integrated the NGSpice third-party library for Arduino circuit simulation.

> Developed a system to translate user-created Arduino scripts into C++ using Regex.

> Integrated the g++ compiler to compile user-created Arduino scripts.

> Implemented a threading system to concurrently run translated Arduino scripts and NGSpice simulations.

> Developed a system for saving and loading circuit data.

> Created functionality for exporting and importing circuit data using JSON files.

> Enabled manipulation and interaction with circuit elements, including creation, rotation, property changes, and removal.

> Implemented UI elements.

> Refined the game code architecture by utilizing Unreal Engine's modules.

Users-support

> Provided player support for installation and game opening issues.

Ilha das Pedras Falantes

Gameplay Programmer

Unity | Perforce (Helix Core) | Trello

(Windows)

Ilha das Pedras Falantes

Gameplay Programmer

Unity | Perforce (Helix Core) | Trello

(Windows)

Ilha das Pedras Falantes

Gameplay Programmer

Unity | Perforce (Helix Core) | Trello

(Windows)

Gameplay Programmer

Core Gameplay Systems

> Developed an Easter egg system that unlocks hidden crossword puzzles.

> Created a system to give players a personalized card image with their name upon completing the game.

> Implemented a saving system to save the rewarded card image.

> Implemented the game progress bar.

> Tweaked character movement scripts.

> Developed and refined various UI elements.

Gameplay

> Scripted over 50 puzzles gameplay, including crosswords, drag-and-drop (2D/3D), connect-the-dots, and more.

> Developed gameplay sequences for maps, incorporating cinematic moments and puzzle interactions using the xNode plugin.

Personal Projects

Selected Personal Projects

WIP Unannounced Title

Solo Developer

Unreal Engine 5 | FPS | Multiplayer | Github | Trello

(Windows)

WIP Unannounced Title

Solo Developer

Unreal Engine 5 | FPS | Multiplayer | Github | Trello

(Windows)

WIP Unannounced Title

Solo Developer

Unreal Engine 5 | FPS | Multiplayer | Github | Trello

(Windows)

Solo Developer

Core Gameplay Systems

> First-person character movement logic.

> Weapons system integrated with Gameplay Ability System (GAS).

Networking

> Weapons' firing client-side predicition.

> (In-Progress) Weapons' firing server-side rewind for better accuracy and fair gameplay.

Coding

> Adherence to SOLID principles

> Javadoc-style code documentation

Reva

Solo Developer

Unreal Engine 4 | Github | Trello

(Windows)

Reva

Solo Developer

Unreal Engine 4 | Github | Trello

(Windows)

Reva

Solo Developer

Unreal Engine 4 | Github | Trello

(Windows)

Solo Developer

Core Gameplay Systems

> Simple follow-and-attack AI for enemies and bosses

> Simple follow-and-attack AI for enemies and bosses.

> Weapon firing and damage system

> Weapon firing and damage system.

> Health system

> Health system.

> Player interaction system

> Player interaction system.

> Simple follow-and-attack AI for enemies and bosses

> Simple follow-and-attack AI for enemies and bosses.

Gameplay

> Gameplay story scripting

> Gameplay story scripting.

> Gameplay props logic

> Gameplay props logic.

> Enemy wave level logic

> Enemy wave level logic.

> Cutscene scripting

> Cutscene scripting.

General

> Story & level design

> Story & level design.

Publications

Research Contributions: Scientific Publications

A Multiplayer Cloud Gaming Architecture for Scalable Physics

Published: 08 August 2024 | IEEE Xplore

This work proposes a service-oriented multiplayer cloud gaming architecture that decouples and scales the physics engine as an independent service. By leveraging cloud resources, the approach improves scalability and server performance, achieving up to 68% reduction in total physics processing time compared to monolithic designs.

Towards Scalable Cloud Gaming Systems: Decoupling Physics from the Game Engine

Published: 19 January 2024 | ACM Digital Library

Full paper published and presented at the Brazilian Symposium on Computer Games and Digital Entertainment (SBGames) 2023. In this paper, we evaluate the impacts of a distributed architecture in terms of system performance by employing the service-oriented architecture paradigm to offload the game physics calculations as a decoupled system.

DDA-MAPEKit: A Framework for Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment Based on MAPE-K Loop

Published: 19 January 2024 | ACM Digital Library

Full paper co-author published at the Brazilian Symposium on Computer Games and Digital Entertainment (SBGames) 2023. This paper introduces an approach that addresses some of these challenges by merging the knowledge of self-adaptive systems with the specific requirements of adaptive gameplay.

Técnicas de design de jogos, saúde e IoT: Uma análise de um jogo autoral aplicado para o autocuidado da hipertensão

Published: 10 October 2021 | SBCOpenLib

Full paper published at the Brazilian Symposium on Computer Games and Digital Entertainment (SBGames) 2021. This article focuses on the analysis of an original game designed to boost the engagement of patients dealing with hypertension in their medical treatment, utilizing the Elemental Tetrad framework.

Awards & Recognition

3rd. best full paper on Computing Track - Brazilian Symposium on Computer Games and Digital Entertainment (SBGames) 2023

Issued by SBGames · Nov 2021

3rd. best full paper award on Computing Track of the Brazilian Symposium on Computer Games and Digital Entertainment (SBGames) as co-author on the article "DDA-MAPEKit: A Framework for Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment based on MAPE-K Loop".

3rd. best full paper on Health Track - Brazilian Symposium on Computer Games and Digital Entertainment (SBGames) 2021

Issued by SBGames · Nov 2023

3rd. best full paper award on Health Track of the Brazilian Symposium on Computer Games and Digital Entertainment (SBGames) as co-author on the paper "Desenvolvimento de um jogo para hipertensão utilizando a metodologia Design Science Research: equilibrando a Ciência e a Arte".

Would love to hear from you!

devsaulosoares@gmail.com