Technical Artist & Unity Developer with over a decade of experience in game development, spanning mobile, console, and interactive media. I combine a strong artistic foundation with deep technical expertise in C# and Unity to bridge the gap between engineering and art. My work focuses on establishing efficient art pipelines, optimizing rendering and performance, and ensuring artistic integrity across all production stages. I have led multidisciplinary teams to deliver cohesive visual identities and maintain stylistic consistency across complex projects. My leadership style is rooted in servant leadership — empowering teams to work autonomously, sharing knowledge openly, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. I strive to be an output multiplier by streamlining workflows, building robust toolchains, and encouraging artists to focus on creative fundamentals and transferable skills, protecting them from an overreliance on tools and applications.

Mathias Gabriel Hackenberg

Technical Artist & Unity Developer with over a decade of experience in game development, spanning mobile, console, and interactive media. I combine a strong artistic foundation with deep technical expertise in C# and Unity to bridge the gap between engineering and art. My work focuses on establishing efficient art pipelines, optimizing rendering and performance, and ensuring artistic integrity across all production stages. I have led multidisciplinary teams to deliver cohesive visual identities and maintain stylistic consistency across complex projects. My leadership style is rooted in servant leadership — empowering teams to work autonomously, sharing knowledge openly, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. I strive to be an output multiplier by streamlining workflows, building robust toolchains, and encouraging artists to focus on creative fundamentals and transferable skills, protecting them from an overreliance on tools and applications.

Available to hire

Technical Artist & Unity Developer with over a decade of experience in game development, spanning mobile, console, and interactive media. I combine a strong artistic foundation with deep technical expertise in C# and Unity to bridge the gap between engineering and art. My work focuses on establishing efficient art pipelines, optimizing rendering and performance, and ensuring artistic integrity across all production stages.

I have led multidisciplinary teams to deliver cohesive visual identities and maintain stylistic consistency across complex projects. My leadership style is rooted in servant leadership — empowering teams to work autonomously, sharing knowledge openly, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. I strive to be an output multiplier by streamlining workflows, building robust toolchains, and encouraging artists to focus on creative fundamentals and transferable skills, protecting them from an overreliance on tools and applications.

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Experience Level

Expert
Expert
Expert
Intermediate
Intermediate

Language

German
Fluent
Spanish; Castilian
Fluent
English
Fluent
Dutch
Advanced

Work Experience

Technical Artist & Technical Artist Director at Swoove Studios
November 1, 2025 - November 1, 2025
Founded the mobile app Swoove, designed to empower users to create, edit, share, and view 3D animations directly on devices. Led the art team, built and refined pipelines, and implemented tooling to streamline asset creation, rendering, and quality review. Implemented rendering enhancements (including height-based fog and faux volumetrics), developed hand-textured 3D assets, automated art review processes, and established an art pipeline that significantly improved performance and fidelity. Collaborated with backend engineers to support remote video rendering, and contributed to branding/visual development strategy. Mentored artists to promote modular, non-destructive workflows and maintain stylistic consistency across complex projects.
Programmer, Project Architecture, Design & Art (solo project) at Based Interactive
January 1, 2022 - November 12, 2025
Based in Antwerp, Belgium, operating as a one-man micro-studio under the umbrella for the solo project Cosmic Dawn. Developed project architecture with a focus on deployability and CI/CD practices, implemented AI state machines and navigation, and built tools to facilitate collaboration among artists. Conducted extensive AI and gameplay design work to enable a richer player experience and contributed to visual storytelling through cinematography-informed techniques.
Developer & Technical Artist at 3D Realms
January 1, 2022 - January 1, 2022
Extended the game engine with a focus on graphics programming, shader authoring and optimization, and in-house productivity tools. Supported technical art challenges, improved rendering fidelity and performance for real-time projects, and contributed to cinematography-driven visual storytelling. Built tools to accelerate asset creation and integration for artists, while collaborating with teams across engineering and art to maintain cohesive visual identity.
Programmer, Project Architecture, Design & Art (solo project) at Slipgate Ironworks
January 1, 2022 - November 12, 2025
Developed project architecture with a focus on deployability and CI/CD practices. Responsible for programming, design and art for a solo project within the studio, including AI state machine and navigation algorithms, UI asset design, and tooling to support rapid iteration. Extended engine functionality to facilitate multi-artist collaboration, optimized workflows, and contributed to toolchains and pipelines for art production. Collaborated with artists to address technical art issues and created cinematography-informed visuals for enhanced storytelling.

Education

UI/UX Design Seminar at Ironhack, Berlin
January 1, 2017 - January 1, 2017
Concept Design & Product Development at University of Twente
January 1, 2010 - January 1, 2013
Visual Communication at European School of Design
January 1, 2009 - January 1, 2010
German Civil Service at German Civil Service
January 1, 2000 - January 1, 2009
Maths & Science focused education; Applications & Methods at Johannes Gymnasium Lahnstain
January 11, 2030 - November 12, 2025

Qualifications

Add your qualifications or awards here.

Industry Experience

Gaming, Media & Entertainment, Software & Internet, Education, Professional Services

Experience Level

Expert
Expert
Expert
Intermediate
Intermediate