Roles
Junior Gameplay SE
Team Size
5
Tools
Unreal Engine 5
UE C++
Blueprints
Visual Studio
Diversion
Production Time
October 2025 - December 2025
Genre
FPV Drone Milsim
Platform
Windows
The ByLight FPV Drone Simulator is a Military Drone Simulator created in tandem with Cole Engineering Services Inc. for use by the U.S. Marines and other branches of the DOD in training switchblade drone pilots. I was contracted out by Good Game Devs as a Junior Gameplay Software Engineer and over the course of the 3-month project timeline, I was tasked with designing and implementing parts of the flight controller, input system, configuration menu, and the Time Trial level/game mode, among other things. The final product of the team's work was showcased at ByLight's booth at IITSEC 2025 in Orlando, Fl.
The drone simulator at Cole Engineering's booth at the I/ITSEC 2025 showfloor
Time Trial Game Mode
Challenge
Cole Engineering required a high-engagement, "pick-up-and-play" demo for the IITSEC 2025 show floor. The objective was to create a gameplay loop that demonstrated the high-fidelity flight physics of the Switchblade Drone while remaining accessible enough for a non-gamer to complete in 60-90 seconds.
Solution (The Pitch)
I proposed and architected a Time Trial Obstacle Course. This mode challenged users to navigate a tactical flight path while engaging targets, providing a clear beginning, middle, and end to the user experience. By focusing on a "Goldilocks" difficulty curve, the mode ensured that attendees felt the thrill of the simulation without the frustration of steep learning curves.
Technical Implementation
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State Machine Logic: Designed and implemented the core game mode lifecycle—handling everything from pre-countdown initialization to real-time objective tracking and end-of-session data reporting.
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Dynamic Feedback Systems: Developed a modular UI suite including a precision timer, objective counters (obstacles/targets), and a performance-based final grading system.
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Performance Optimization: Ensured the game mode logic maintained a stable frame rate for a smooth attendee experience, utilizing event-driven triggers rather than expensive per-frame checks.
Debugging/Performance Optimization
Challenge
The project was initiated from an early-stage prototype that relied on expensive per-frame logic (Tick-dependent) and hard-coded references. As the scope expanded for the IITSEC 2025 showcase, the lack of a data-driven architecture led to significant performance bottlenecks, resulting in an inconsistent frame rate that threatened the stability of the demo.
Solution
Working alongside senior software engineers, I led a systematic refactoring of the codebase to transition the project into a Data-Driven and Event-Based architecture.
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Decoupling Logic: I replaced redundant per-frame checks with a robust Delegate and Event-driven system, ensuring that expensive calculations (like UI updates and scoring logic) only executed when state changes actually occurred.
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Data-Driven Migration: I migrated hard-coded drone configurations into Unreal Engine Data Assets, which allowed for dynamic asset loading and significantly reduced the memory footprint on the Heap.
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Debugging & Profiling: I utilized Unreal’s profiling tools to identify "hot spots" in the game thread, optimizing flight physics calculations and collision checks to maintain a consistent, high-performance frame rate suitable for a professional trade show environment.
Result
The refactor turned a fragile prototype into a modular framework. This not only stabilized the frame rate for the IITSEC showcase but also allowed the team to iterate on new drone variants and game modes in hours rather than days. This experience provided me with deep insights into professional debugging workflows and the critical importance of scalable system design in a collaborative environment.
Presentations, Meetings & Agile Production
Each week, I would take part in daily meetings with the team discussing project milestones, problems encountered and what needs to be solved/focused on for each weekly sprint. Given the short timeline of the project, it was important that everybody on the team was on the same page in regards to task priorities.
Additionally, I would also partake in client meetings with Cole Engineering discussing project goals such as what needed to be show-ready in time for I/ITSEC such as custom controller inputs, drone configuration and other components.
Key Takeaways
While this project had a short timeline, given this was my first exposure on a military training application and the fact that I had the opportunity to work with and learn from some very talented senior developers, I learned some invaluable lessons such as in regards to software development and project timelines:
1.Favor Composition Over Inheritance
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Weapons, characters, vehicles = composition-based systems, not class trees.
2. Centralize Data,,
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WeaponData → one place.
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CharacterStats → one place.
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Spread-out data = bugs and sync issues.
3. Use Explicit Ownership,,
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Every piece of data should have one owner.
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No ambiguity whatsoever.
4. Avoid Circular Dependencies,,
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Subsystem depends on weapon → weapon depends on subsystem → character depends on weapon → etc.
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BAD.​
5. Create Debug Tools,,
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Console commands, drawers, gizmos, logs.​
Conclusion
My time with Cole Engineering on the Switchblade Drone project was a series of pivotal "firsts" in my career: my first professional contract in the military simulation space, my first time delivering a product for a major international stage like IITSEC 2025, and my first time receiving a paycheck for doing what I love.
Beyond the technical milestones, the most valuable part of this journey was the opportunity to work alongside and learn from hardened industry veterans and senior software engineers. Refactoring a prototype into a performant, event-driven system within a strict two-month window was a massive undertaking. What our team accomplished in such a condensed timeline was nothing short of a miracle. I am incredibly proud of the modular framework we built and the successful public showcase we delivered, and I am eager to carry these lessons into my next role.