[PAID] Senior Unreal Engine Gameplay Programmer - Physics Driven Wakesurf Game (PC)

About the Project

Hello,

I’m the founder of Wake Surf Studios, an independent game studio that plans to develop Wake Master, a physics-driven action sports game for PC built in Unreal Engine 5.

The long-term vision is to create the definitive wakesports experience—something that captures the freedom, flow, and creativity that games like Skate, Session, and Riders Republic brought to their genres.

Rather than focusing on simulation for its own sake, the goal is gameplay that feels intuitive, rewarding, and satisfying while still grounded in believable physics.

This is intended to become a commercial Steam release and, if successful, eventually expand to console.

Early Development Goals (Phase One)

The first milestone is intentionally focused.

I am not trying to build a complete game immediately.

The goal is proving that the core gameplay is genuinely fun.

The first prototype should include:

  • AI-controlled tow boat following a spline path
  • Dynamic procedural wake generated behind the boat
  • Physics-driven rider and board
  • Carving and pumping mechanics
  • Balance system
  • Wake pocket interaction
  • Basic trick system
  • Camera system
  • Simple scoring
  • Prototype environment

The player controls the rider, not the boat.

Boat gameplay is not the priority.

If controlling the rider is enjoyable for hours, the project succeeds.

Long-Term Vision

Over time I want Wake Master to evolve into a complete wakesports platform featuring:

  • Wake surfing
  • Wakeboarding
  • Water skiing
  • Wakeskating
  • Multiple boats
  • Boat customization
  • Rider customization
  • Different boards
  • Rope physics
  • Dynamic weather
  • Different lakes and rivers
  • Progression system
  • Challenges
  • Career mode
  • Online leaderboards
  • Multiplayer (future milestone)

The goal is to build something with depth and replayability rather than a simple sports demo.

What I’m Looking For

I’m searching for a senior Unreal Engine gameplay programmer who has experience building high-quality gameplay systems.

Ideally you have contributed to shipped Unreal Engine PC or console titles.

I’m particularly interested in developers with experience in:

  • Gameplay programming
  • Physics systems
  • Character movement
  • Chaos Physics
  • Animation systems
  • Camera systems
  • C++
  • Blueprints
  • Performance optimization

Experience with sports games, racing games, character controllers, or advanced movement systems is a significant plus.

Please Include

When responding, please include:

  • Links to up to three Unreal Engine PC or console projects
  • Gameplay videos
  • Engine version used
  • Platform (Steam, Epic, PlayStation, Xbox, etc.)
  • Your exact role on each project
  • Which gameplay systems you personally built
  • Whether you worked individually or as part of a team
  • GitHub or technical portfolio (if available)

If you have shipped commercial titles, please include links.

Development Approach

I prefer to develop iteratively.

Rather than attempting every feature immediately, we’ll build a polished gameplay foundation first and expand only after the core experience feels exceptional.

I’m looking for someone interested in helping shape the technical direction of the project—not simply implementing tasks from a checklist.

Important Notes

  • This is a paid position.
  • Long-term collaboration is preferred if the project progresses well.
  • Quality is significantly more important than speed.
  • Strong communication is important.
  • English preferred.

The goal isn’t to make the first wakesurf game. The goal is to make the first wakesports game that people continue playing because the movement feels so satisfying that every session creates new challenges and memorable moments.

If this sounds like a project you’d enjoy working on, I’d love to hear from you.

1 Like

Hello,

Wake Master is exactly the kind of project I am interested in: a physics-driven game where the success of the entire product depends on how satisfying the player feels moment to moment.

I am an Unreal Engine gameplay and systems engineer with more than four years of experience building gameplay systems in C++ and Blueprints across Unreal Engine 5.1, 5.2, 5.4, 5.5, 5.7, and 5.8. My strongest areas are physics-based character control, locomotion and animation blending, advanced movement systems, camera behavior, multiplayer architecture, and performance optimization.

For Wake Master, I would not treat the rider as a conventional character placed on top of a physics board. I would design the rider, board, wake, balance, animation, and camera as one connected gameplay system.

The first milestone should answer one question: does controlling the rider feel good enough that players want to keep experimenting?

My proposed technical direction would include:

  • An AI tow boat driven along configurable spline paths, with reusable speed, turning, and acceleration parameters.
  • A procedural wake representation that exposes usable gameplay data such as wake height, direction, slope, velocity, pocket position, and push force.
  • A physics-driven board controller combining Chaos Physics with controlled gameplay forces to maintain responsiveness.
  • Rider balance, carving, pumping, edging, and recovery systems built around tunable curves rather than hard-coded values.
  • Animation Blueprint integration for procedural leaning, board alignment, balance correction, tricks, falls, and recovery.
  • A camera system that responds to rider speed, carving direction, airtime, wake position, and trick states without becoming unstable.
  • Modular trick and scoring systems that can later support wakeboarding, wakeskating, water skiing, progression, and multiplayer.
  • Profiling and debugging tools that make forces, contact points, balance values, wake interaction, and board behavior visible during development.

I prefer the same iterative approach described in your post. I would begin with the minimum boat, wake, board, and rider systems required to establish the core feel. Once carving, pumping, balance, and wake-pocket interaction are enjoyable, we can add tricks, scoring, environments, progression, and additional wakesports without rebuilding the foundation.

Relevant Unreal Engine Work

1. Custom CitySample Gameplay and AI Systems

Engine: Unreal Engine 5.1, upgraded to 5.2
Platform: PC
Role: Gameplay and Systems Engineer
Working structure: Personally owned the systems within a broader project

I implemented a customized CitySample AI crowd system, character framework, AI traffic behavior, city-level systems, cinematic sequences, and custom Animation Blueprint logic. I also handled the upgrade from UE 5.1 to 5.2, including dependent C++ plugins and compatibility issues.

This required coordinating C++, Blueprints, AI, animation, level systems, and performance-sensitive runtime behavior.

2. WowMetaworld

Engine: UE 5.2, upgraded to 5.3
Platform: PC online experience
Role: Gameplay Systems Architect and Programmer
Working structure: Team environment with personal ownership of core gameplay systems

I architected the main game logic and developed gameplay systems across multiple environments, including the street area, samurai dojo, shopping mall, and online lobby. I also implemented multiplayer functionality and reusable systems shared across these areas.

This work strengthened my ability to create modular, data-driven gameplay architecture that can grow from an initial prototype into a larger connected experience.

3. TRAHA Global

Platform: Steam and Epic Games Store
Role: Gameplay Programmer
Working structure: Commercial development team

I contributed to character movement, camera shake, combat mechanics, interaction systems, and quest functionality.

4. Other Work

TPS Shooting | Locomotion + AI

Locker Blend In Animation

Cinematic Level Sequence

In 2024, I also developed a GPU-instancing and CPU draw-call reduction solution in Unreal Engine 5.2 for a large-scale multiplayer project displaying approximately 100,000 characters while maintaining more than 35 FPS in the target test environment. At the time, mature off-the-shelf solutions for that specific requirement were limited, so I had to design, profile, and refine the rendering approach directly.

My technical portfolio and gameplay showcases are available here:

My development philosophy is to build gameplay systems that are modular, object-oriented, data-driven, measurable, and suitable for long-term expansion. However, architecture and optimization only matter when they support enjoyable gameplay.

The physics do not need to be perfectly realistic. They need to be believable, readable, responsive, and fun. That distinction is especially important for a game inspired by Skate, Session, and Riders Republic.

I would be interested in helping define Wake Master’s technical direction, prototyping the rider and wake interaction, and refining the movement until carving and pumping feel satisfying on their own—not simply completing features from a checklist.

Best regards,
Troy

github: wolfofRome (Senior Gameplay/System Enginner) · GitHub

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prideofguardian0607@gmail.com