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Hi, I'm Derek John Thornton, an Unreal Engine 4/5 and Unity Specialist with over 6 years of experience creating AAA-quality games and real-time 3D applications across a variety of platforms. I love optimizing gameplay systems, developing advanced shaders, and building seamless multiplayer experiences. Collaboration is a key part of my work, and I enjoy working closely with artists, designers, and other developers to bring projects to life with clean, maintainable code. My passion extends beyond game development into VR/AR apps and innovative technical solutions, always striving to improve performance and user experience. I'm always eager to learn and mentor others in fast-paced, agile environments where creativity and technology meet.…Hi, I'm Derek John Thornton, an Unreal Engine 4/5 and Unity Specialist with over 6 years of experience creating AAA-quality games and real-time 3D applications across a variety of platforms. I love optimizing gameplay systems, developing advanced shaders, and building seamless multiplayer experiences. Collaboration is a key part of my work, and I enjoy working closely with artists, designers, and other developers to bring projects to life with clean, maintainable code. My passion extends beyond game development into VR/AR apps and innovative technical solutions, always striving to improve performance and user experience. I'm always eager to learn and mentor others in fast-paced, agile environments where creativity and technology meet.

Derek John Thornton

Game Developer, Game Designer, Developer, +2

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Hi, I'm Derek John Thornton, an Unreal Engine 4/5 and Unity Specialist with over 6 years of experience creating AAA-quality games and real-time 3D applications across a variety of platforms. I love optimizing gameplay systems, developing advanced shaders, and building seamless multiplayer experiences. Collaboration is a key part of my work, and I enjoy working closely with artists, designers, and other developers to bring projects to life with clean, maintainable code. My passion extends beyond game development into VR/AR apps and innovative technical solutions, always striving to improve performance and user experience. I'm always eager to learn and mentor others in fast-paced, agile environments where creativity and technology meet.…Hi, I'm Derek John Thornton, an Unreal Engine 4/5 and Unity Specialist with over 6 years of experience creating AAA-quality games and real-time 3D applications across a variety of platforms. I love optimizing gameplay systems, developing advanced shaders, and building seamless multiplayer experiences. Collaboration is a key part of my work, and I enjoy working closely with artists, designers, and other developers to bring projects to life with clean, maintainable code. My passion extends beyond game development into VR/AR apps and innovative technical solutions, always striving to improve performance and user experience. I'm always eager to learn and mentor others in fast-paced, agile environments where creativity and technology meet.

Available to hire

Hi, I’m Derek John Thornton, an Unreal Engine 4/5 and Unity Specialist with over 6 years of experience creating AAA-quality games and real-time 3D applications across a variety of platforms. I love optimizing gameplay systems, developing advanced shaders, and building seamless multiplayer experiences. Collaboration is a key part of my work, and I enjoy working closely with artists, designers, and other developers to bring projects to life with clean, maintainable code.

My passion extends beyond game development into VR/AR apps and innovative technical solutions, always striving to improve performance and user experience. I’m always eager to learn and mentor others in fast-paced, agile environments where creativity and technology meet.

Skills

Experience Level

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Language

English

Fluent

Work Experience

Unreal Engine 4/5 Developer at PlaySide Studios

September 1, 2024 - May 31, 2025

Led core gameplay system development for Unreal Engine 5 mobile and PC titles, writing optimized C++ and Blueprint code reducing tick overhead by 30%. Created advanced Niagara particle effects and dynamic VFX systems, improving player feedback by 17%. Migrated legacy assets to UE5, leveraging Nanite and Lumen for increased detail and real-time global illumination. Built modular UMG UI frameworks, cutting UI bugs by 25% and improving consistency. Performed extensive profiling and optimization of large-scale scenes, reducing CPU/GPU load by 22% for smooth performance across devices.

Unity & Unreal Technical Artist / Developer at Mighty Kingdom

September 1, 2023 - August 31, 2024

Designed advanced shaders, lighting systems, and asset pipelines for mobile and PC games using Unity and Unreal Engine, reducing GPU load by 20%. Authored custom HLSL shaders for terrain, water, and foliage, achieving 25% reduction in draw calls while enhancing quality. Built automated asset validation pipelines using Python and C#, cutting artist error rates by 35% and streamlining QA. Integrated Unity Addressables and Unreal Asset Manager for dynamic content updates.

Unity Developer at SMG Studio

May 1, 2022 - August 31, 2023

Developed core gameplay mechanics including physics-driven object handling and player abilities using Unity 2021.x, URP, and C#, improving level build speed by 25% with custom tools and prefabs. Integrated online multiplayer co-op with Photon Fusion and Unity Netcode achieving sub-100ms latency across regions. Reduced draw calls by 35% and optimized asset streaming for Nintendo Switch and PS4, ensuring consistent 60 FPS. Automated localization string updates for 23 languages, reducing manual QA effort by 40%.

Unity developer at Big Ant Studios

January 1, 2021 - April 30, 2022

Developed and optimized gameplay mechanics for AAA sports titles using Unity 2020 LTS, resulting in 15% frame rate improvement across platforms. Implemented multiplayer networking with Photon Unity Networking (PUN), enhancing online stability and reducing latency by 30%. Collaborated with artists and designers to integrate 3D assets and animations, streamlining asset pipeline and reducing integration time by 25%. Conducted performance profiling to identify memory leaks, reducing crash rates by 40%. Developed custom editor tools to automate repetitive tasks, increasing development efficiency by 20%.

Unreal Engine 4/5 Developer at PlaySide Studios

September 1, 2024 - May 31, 2025

Led core gameplay system development for Unreal Engine 5 mobile and PC titles, writing optimized C++ and Blueprint code that reduced tick overhead by 30%. Created advanced Niagara particle effects and dynamic VFX systems, increasing positive player feedback by 17% during beta testing. Migrated legacy assets and levels to UE5, leveraging Nanite and Lumen for 40% higher geometric detail and real-time global illumination. Built modular UMG UI frameworks, cutting UI-related bug reports by 25% and improving user interface consistency. Performed extensive profiling and optimization of large-scale scenes, reducing CPU/GPU load by 22%, ensuring smooth performance across target devices.

Unity & Unreal Technical Artist / Developer at Mighty Kingdom

September 1, 2023 - August 31, 2024

Designed advanced shaders, lighting systems, and asset pipelines for mobile and PC games using Unity and Unreal Engine, reducing GPU load by 20%. Authored custom HLSL shaders for terrain, water, and foliage, achieving a 25% reduction in draw calls while enhancing scene quality. Built automated asset validation pipelines (Python, C#), cutting artist error rates by 35% and streamlining QA. Integrated Unity Addressables and Unreal Asset Manager for seamless dynamic content updates.

Unity Developer at SMG Studio

May 1, 2022 - August 31, 2023

Developed core gameplay mechanics (physics-driven object handling, player abilities) using Unity 2021.x, URP, C#, improving level build speed by 25% via custom tools and prefabs. Integrated online multiplayer co-op using Photon Fusion & Unity Netcode, achieving <100ms latency for smooth play across regions. Reduced draw calls by 35% and optimized asset streaming for Nintendo Switch and PS4, ensuring consistent 60 FPS performance. Automated localization string updates for 23 languages, reducing manual QA work by 40% on text updates.

Unity developer at Big Ant Studios

January 1, 2021 - April 30, 2022

Developed and optimized gameplay mechanics for AAA sports titles using Unity 2020 LTS, resulting in a 15% improvement in frame rate across platforms. Implemented multiplayer networking features utilizing Photon Unity Networking (PUN), enhancing online gameplay stability and reducing latency by 30%. Collaborated with cross-functional teams, including artists and designers, to integrate 3D assets and animations, streamlining the asset pipeline and reducing integration time by 25%. Conducted performance profiling and optimization, identifying memory leaks and reducing application crash rates by 40%. Developed custom editor tools to automate repetitive tasks, increasing development efficiency by 20%.