Case study / 05

Commercial Game Engineering

Unreal / C++ / Lua / Gameplay Systems

Commercial client engineering across large-scale Unreal game production at Tencent Games and mobile game development at Bilibili.

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Commercial game systemsUnreal Engine
C++ × Lua
Map & navigationGameplay UIInventory
Client stateServer events

Production pipelines / Perforce / Design & QA

RoleGame client engineer
ContextTencent Games and Bilibili production teams
StatusCommercial / confidential

Challenge

Ship maintainable gameplay and interface systems inside established production pipelines and distributed teams.

Contribution

Developed map and navigation systems, gameplay UI, inventory and item systems, client-server flows and a C++ to SLua UI workflow migration.

Delivery process

How the work
came together.

From the first model of the problem to checking how the system behaves.

01

Own a system

Took responsibility for map and navigation features spanning UI presentation, coordinate conversion, effects and pathfinding.

02

Integrate with production

Worked within established client-server interfaces, content pipelines, code review and cross-site collaboration.

03

Improve iteration

Helped migrate UI work from a compile-heavy C++ path toward SLua hot updates to shorten iteration time.

04

Deliver cross-functionally

Coordinated implementation and debugging with game design, art and QA instead of treating the client in isolation.

Engineering evidence

The details
that matter.

  • Map, minimap, pathfinding and coordinate systems
  • Login, inventory and dungeon-entry UI
  • C++ to SLua workflow migration
  • Cross-discipline delivery with design and QA
  • Perforce and code-review production workflow
  • Experience in a distributed team of approximately 240 people

Inside the decisions / Expand to read

01Separate the map view from navigation rules

The map and minimap present world coordinates, routes and player state at different scales. Keeping conversion and navigation rules distinct from the view makes those responsibilities easier to reason about together.

02Shorten the UI iteration cycle with SLua

A compile-heavy C++ UI workflow slows frequent presentation changes. I contributed to a move toward SLua hot updates while working within the game's established client architecture.

03Debug across client boundaries

A visible UI defect can originate in network state, data, assets or client logic. Production debugging means following the state across those boundaries and coordinating the fix with the relevant team.

04Build within a shared production pipeline

Perforce, code review and coordination with designers and QA were part of feature delivery. The public case study explains my responsibilities while the teams' commercial source and assets remain protected.

Outcome

Map, navigation and gameplay UI work for Tencent's shipped NIZHAN: Future built the commercial engineering foundation I now bring to independent games and operational software.

My Tencent work contributed to NIZHAN: Future, which has since shipped. The earlier Bilibili mobile project was cancelled before release. This case study describes my responsibilities without publishing commercial source or protected assets.

  • Unreal Engine
  • C++
  • Lua / SLua
  • UMG
  • Perforce
  • Client-server

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