Dead Alien Cult - Viking Ghost
Three-month contract as the lead/sole developer on Viking Ghost (Steam Greenlit), upgrading an inherited Unity/C# codebase into scalable core systems—procedural levels, behavior-tree AI + pathfinding, data-driven weapons, bosses, movement, and loot/inventory—working closely with two industry-veteran technical artists.
During a summer between years at DigiPen, I joined Dead Alien Cult as a contract developer on Viking Ghost — a Steam Greenlit top-down roguelike shooter built in Unity (C#). I was brought on as the only/lead developer, inheriting an existing codebase and pushing it from a prototype-style MVP into a more scalable foundation suitable for a public-facing release.
Trailer: Viking Ghost
Role & Collaboration
I worked side-by-side with two industry-veteran technical artists responsible for modeling, animation, and the broader content pipeline. A core goal of my work was making systems that non-engineers could extend — so new weapons, enemies, and levels could be created largely by adding content and tuning behaviors, not rewriting code.
Key Contributions
- Modernized and stabilized an inherited Unity/C# codebase for scalability and release readiness (reduced brittleness, improved consistency, and strengthened core systems)
- Built a data-driven weapons system so new weapons could be added by attaching models/effects and defining firing behavior (artist-friendly content workflow)
- Extended and hardened procedural level generation so the team could build new map types by composing modular pieces and configuration, not bespoke code changes
- Developed enemy AI using behavior trees, backed by a pathfinding/navigation solution that adapted to generated terrain
- Implemented three unique bosses with distinct behavior patterns on the behavior-tree framework
- Improved character movement and responsiveness for a top-down shooter feel
- Built loot + inventory systems (chests, pickups, item management) to support progression and replayability