Worlds Apart - Unreal Engine 5
Senior collaborative UE5 project: character controller, TDD authorship, fire puzzle mechanic, SFX animation notifiers, and UI implementation in a team of 15+.
Senior Programmer (Blueprints) | Unreal Engine 5 | 2026 | Tools: Unreal Engine 5, Blueprints, Blender, GitHub, Microsoft Teams
Worlds Apart is a WW1-set sidescroller where a child switches between the war-torn reality and an imagined world to navigate puzzles. I joined as Senior Blueprinter on a 15+ person team (RadioSilence / DevAlot Games) for the Senior Collaborative Development module. My contributions spanned a modular character controller, the Technical Design Document, a fire puzzle mechanic with imagination-world variant, SFX animation notifiers, and UI art implementation.
Character Controller
Built the base character controller in Week 1, prioritising modularity from the start: open camera input slots, a configurable Input Mapping Context, and crouch groundwork ready for the character model. The controller was designed so any team member could extend it without needing to understand its internals - an approach I carry from previous collaborative projects.
Technical Design Document
I took ownership of the TDD early, creating a structured Word document that outlined how each system worked with clear sections, comments, and diagrams. The intent was to ensure every mechanic - mine and others - was documented for the full team to build upon without guessing how something was constructed.
Fire Puzzle Mechanic
Designed and implemented the fire puzzle mechanic: a water bucket pickup, a fire collision box, and a Blueprint Interface (BPI) reusable by other puzzle types. I also created an imagination-world variant and a placeholder Blender bucket model (rigged for animation) to give the game visual form while final art was in progress.
SFX & UI Implementation
On returning to the team in Week 7, I placed Meta Sound notifiers in animations (walking, jumping, pushing, throwing) and implemented available UI art assets into the engine. I also conducted a playtest of the latest build and sent detailed notes on glitches and improvement areas to the Tech Lead.
Highlights
- Modular UE5 character controller with open extension points
- Technical Design Document owner for a 15+ person team
- Fire puzzle mechanic + imagination variant with reusable BPI
- Blender placeholder model (rigged) for bucket pickup
- SFX via Meta Sound animation notifiers; UI art implementation
- Playtest report with bug notes to Tech Lead