Unity Certified Expert Game Play Programmer

Gameplay Programming professionals focus on the execution of the game design. Gameplay Programmers bring the game to life by adding scripts to assets created by the art team.

They are responsible for implementing the user interface (UI), environment, characters, and objects, as well as optimization and scripting necessary to execute the game mechanics. They also bring functionality to the non-player characters (NPCs) that populate the game.

Gameplay Programmers work side by side with designers (or they might be designers themselves) and reference the Game Design Document (GDD) to make the game a reality. These people are highly technical, and they understand what is required to bring ideas to life.

This includes knowing when and how to use Unity components, writing their own components, configuring Prefabs, and properly organizing each scene. They do all of this with the Technical Design Document (TDD) in mind.

Core Skill:

• Prototyping
• Create and evaluate prototypes of core gameplay for rapid iteration
• Design and implement GameObjects to prove game mechanics’ functionality
• Create a library of Prefabs based on the GDD, using assets generated by the art team
• Organize and set up the folder structure for a Prefab library Level Design
• Design and create interactive-level prefabs using colliders and Rigidbody components
• Set the appropriate layer for physics masking on interactive prefabs
• Set up runtime-spawned Prefabs, and implement dynamic gameplay
• Set up and implement event triggers and scripted events using Colliders as triggers
• Create and script custom logic components for GameObjects to link state machines to interactions/triggers in scene
• Place and configure effects throughout the scene, including both static and runtime-generated placements
• Configure levels of detail (LOD) per platform specifications
• Evaluate GameObject placement and dependencies per platform specification
• Evaluate scene for streaming versus static scene-loading
• Construct game levels with multiple scenes
• Set up cinematics to enhance gameplay Non-Player Character (NPC) Design
• Design and create NPC logic and artificial intelligence (AI) scripts
• Implement navigation and pathfinding for NPCs using NavMeshes, NavMeshAgents, NavMesh obstacles, and Off-Mesh links
• Set up NavMesh area types and costs
• Set up triggers to enable/disable NavMesh areas
• Implement NavMeshAgent avoidance and crowd simulation
• Evaluate NPC placement and dependencies per platform specification
• Set up frame-based audio and effects in animation clips User Interface and Game Mechanic Design
• Use the Animation System for animator controllers, state machines and logic scripts for game mechanics
• Evaluate and optimize colliders, Rigidbody components and physics materials for interactive GameObjects
• Implement gameplay-related user interfaces, such as heads-up displays, mini-maps, radar systems, health bars, and other data-driven elements Performance Optimizations and Target Platforms
• Implement AssetBundle download and placement in game levels
• Design and modify input and controller schemas for different platforms and/or virtual reality (VR)
• Analyze GameObjects and scenes for runtime and storage optimization per platform specification
• Optimize occlusion culling throughout scenes
• Debug and test game levels during runtime Unity Services Implementation: Ads, In-App Purchases, and Analytics
• Implement simple and rewarded Unity Ads
• Implement Unity In-App Purchasing (IAP)
• Design Unity Analytics integration in the GDD and TDD
• Set up monitoring of custom data events using Analytics to monitor player behavior
• Analyze and evaluate existing levels and recommend changes based on Analytics data
• Use Unity Performance Reporting to modify and optimize game builds per platform