Santiago Salvador
Technical Systems Designer & Resilient Gameplay Engineer
Bridging 30+ years of creative expertise with advanced Unreal Engine technical mastery to deliver high-fidelity, polished gameplay systems.
Professional Skills Summary
I am a multidisciplinary developer, technical artist, and systems engineer with a deep passion for crafting immersive, polished experiences. Combining decades of professional experience in QA and creative production with proven mastery of the Unreal Engine pipeline, I bridge game design, advanced programming, technical art, and audio production. Agile, methodical, and inspired by the philosophy of Kaizen, I embrace the full creative cycle, turning conceptual vision into robust, shippable code.
---
I. Game Development & Systems Engineering
Advanced Gameplay Architecture: Expert in designing and implementing complex, high-fidelity core mechanics entirely in UE5 Blueprints and C++. Proven mastery in creating rewarding combat loops, AI pathfinding, and intricate state management systems.
High-Fidelity Combat Systems: Engineered a fluid, multi-layered melee combat core featuring:
• Contextual Input: Polished Block/Dodge system with contextual control (strafe vs. camera-relative dodge) and automatic soft-lock rotation for reliable target acquisition.
• Visceral Feedback: Developed a proprietary system for Hitstop/Hitlag and coordinated Time Dilation effects, ensuring every hit delivers multi-sensory feedback (Camera Shake, Controller Rumble, VFX).
• Unique Mechanics: Designed and partially implemented the AdrenoHealth (Shadow Health) System, rewarding aggressive play and defining core gameplay pacing.
Asset & Animation Pipeline Mastery: Established a high-efficiency pipeline for AI-Generated Model integration, including expertise in custom rigging (AccuRig, Mixamo) and reliable IK Retargeting for seamless animation transfer and use across various skeletons.
System Refinement & Resilience:
• Core Game System Management: Implemented and managed critical game systems within the Game Instance (for persistence across levels) and established robust Save/Load functionality.
• Resilience & Problem-Solving: Demonstrated superior crisis management by successfully recovering from multiple project corruption events and PC rebuilds, proving the ability to rapidly diagnose, isolate bugs, and rebuild complex features (shotgun, wave spawner) with higher quality.
---
II. Technical Artistry & Environment
Advanced Material Authoring: Expertise in Unreal's Material Editor, including the creation of complex materials using World-Aligned Textures, Texture Variations, and optimized Double-Sided Shaders for realistic world-building elements (e.g., foliage, fences).
Rendering & Optimization: Proficient in leveraging Procedural Content Generation (PCG) for efficient environment creation. Applied optimized lighting techniques and demonstrated proficiency in inspecting and utilizing next-gen rendering features like Nanite, while actively managing the Texture Streaming Pool to ensure performance stability.
High-Fidelity Character Pipeline: Experienced with high-fidelity character creation and integration, including the use of MetaHuman Creator to anchor the project's emotional narrative and showcase next-gen character capabilities.
III. Music, Audio, & QA
Audio Production: Composer, multi-instrumentalist (guitar, drum machines), and producer focused on emotional and atmospheric soundscapes. Designed dynamic audio feedback synced precisely to gameplay events.
Software QA & Compliance: Strong QA background leading compliance testing and automation across AAA and indie platforms, improving stability using tools like Selenium, Appium, Jira, and TestRail.
---
IV. Tools & Technologies
Game & Creative Software: **Unreal Engine 5**, Unity, GameMaker, Blender, Photoshop, GIMP, Vegas Pro, Audacity.
Programming & Scripting: Unreal Blueprints, C++, GML, XML/HTML.
Platforms & Workflow: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Git version control, Jira, TestRail, Slack, Discord.
---
V. Personal Philosophy & Approach
Grounded in the Japanese principle of Kaizen—continuous, incremental improvement—I combine a fierce creative drive with methodical patience. My technical work is directly inspired by my artistic pursuits: the rhythm and composition of music (including playing guitar) informs my system design, while the critical analysis of great video game experiences (as a player) fuels my pursuit of polished gameplay. Beyond the screen, I find balance through cooking and deep philosophical inquiry, cultivating the resilience and innovation required to push solo game development boundaries. My approach is to cultivate mastery in every facet of a project, transforming setbacks into stronger code, and vision into tangible reality.
