STATUS: AVAILABLE
Disclaimer: This post is mostly up to date but it has been a while since I have been between projects, so some parts may be a bit outdated. I’ll keep updating it and will remove this disclaimer when I am done. Don’t hesitate to already contact me in the meantime though if you would like to discuss a project!
About Me
Born in 82, German, currently also located in Germany. I’m a versatile full-time freelancer primarily offering gameplay programming services, but also experienced with game- and UI-design, as well as general programming.
My approach to development is very much focused on the user experience, which means that I always look for the path of least resistance rather than getting lost in technical details. I believe that one of the keys to a successful (game) project is to identify opportunities to make the largest impact with the least amount of investment. I also care about the experience of my fellow developers and always make sure to keep my code clear and easy to maintain.
In recent years I have focused more on low-level programming and generally prefer to work with C/C++. I find that lean, custom solutions usually are a better long-term option than adopting the hidden complexity of generic abstractions, but I will always adapt to the specific situation in the most pragmatic manner.
Development Skills
• C++ and Blueprint Development
• UI / UX Design
• Game Design
• Comfortable with Source Control (Git / Subversion / Perforce) and other common project management software
• Shark taming*
Experience
• Over 20 years of general experience as a self-taught programmer with a large number of languages, frameworks, and toolkits
• Close to ten years of full-time experience as a freelance developer on Unreal Engine 4 (Blueprint and C++)
• Several years of experience as an independent game developer (Adobe AIR / Flash)
• Several years of experience working on open source projects (including work on the graphical aspects of a mobile operating system as a contractor for Nokia)
• Extensive knowledge about UI and game design principles as well as practical experience designing projects ranging from the former default theme of Ubuntu to complete games
Work Samples
As a fan of classic multiplayer shooters, one of the first things I did to familiarise myself with Unreal Engine 4 was to port Quake-like movement physics to the Shooter Game demo:
Unlike some other solutions floating around, this is implemented with pure C++ code which is cleanly integrated into the existing Unreal movement component, so it takes full advantage of Unreal’s advanced movement features and efficient multiplayer replication.
I also joined the Urban Terror project as a volunteer to help port the former Quake 3 total conversion mod to Unreal Engine 4. You can read about my contributions on my blog on the site, but this video showcases a lot of what I have been working on:
I have implemented classic arena shooter movement (strafe jumping, bunny hopping, etc) for several projects now and I’m extremely familiar with the ins and outs of it. So if this is something you are interested in, you should definitely contact me.
For Islands of Nyne I have created much of the UI, designed and implemented a rather unique and effective rating system for Battle Royale style games, and among other things worked on gameplay mechanics and lag compensation. One of the things people universally praised about the game were the responsive controls and gunplay, I dare say that I can take some credit for that.
Multiplayer FPS in general are a specialty of mine and I have a lot of experience with best practices regarding lag compensation, movement, gunplay, etc. But I’m just as comfortable working on any other genre. For other clients I have worked on RTS mechanics, survival game mechanics, space flight mechanics, and more.
For Gun Jam I have been the lead developer writing essentially all of the code for the final version of the game and also helped out with game design and UI. This includes all of the FPS gameplay mechanics, the beat matching mechanics, and low level audio file parsing for tempo estimation and beatmap generation.
Previous Work
Before working with Unreal Engine, I have been an independent Flash game developer. Battle Scribes and Wisp are two mini games I have released, but most significantly I have spent several years working full time as part of a two-man team to develop Fearless Fantasy which was eventually released on Steam and for mobile devices. Aside from all of the programming, I have also done most of the UI design as well much of the game design specifics.
The game has received quite positive reviews, especially on mobile devices:
Prior to that I got some experience with corporate environments and agile development inside Nokia’s headquarters in Helsinki, where among other things I’ve worked on the software for the Nokia N9:
Rates and Services
My rates are flexible and just one part of the package that makes me decide whether to take on a project, so please let me know what you have in mind when you introduce your project. I am particularly looking to work with experienced teams at this point, ideally under leadership that has already shipped at least one significant title. While I cannot offer the cheapest rates, I do always aim to offer the best value for your money.
That said, I am also always happy to help if you are just starting out and need some free advise, consulting at a low rate, or perhaps a prototype on a fixed budget.
If you are a similarly experienced developer/artist I would also love to hear from you, whether it’s just to share experiences or to discuss potential collaborations.
Contact
If any of this sounds interesting to you, then I’d love to have a chat with you so we can informally discuss your project and how I may be able to help you out!
You can best reach me by email to daniel.borgmann@gmail.com, or on Discord (_zenity). Forum messages and thread replies are also welcome.
Many thanks for reading all this, and have a great day!
