MindsEyE

Overview

MindsEye is an action-adventure shooter that follows Jacob Diaz as he tries to make sense of his memory gaps and flashbacks, all centred around a neural implant and the company that created it. Over eight years, I worked on an array of features that shipped in the final game on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, spanning tools programming, system design, gameplay scripting, level design, the live-ops pipeline and in-house tool integration. Along the way the project moved engine mid-production, from Lumberyard to Unreal Engine 4 and then Unreal Engine 5.

What I Built

• Helped architect the integration of Arcadia, the in-game UGC editor, into MindsEye.
  • Designed the hybrid sandbox level, which merged an empty sandbox with the Red Rock City map so builders could create on top of the MindsEye environments with the full range of functionality, from mass pedestrian systems and weather management to the dynamic scenes used in missions.
  • Co-designed the spawn system that layers lightweight, Arcadia-built scenes on top of the main campaign, enriching the levels and bringing the environment to life.
  • Implemented 3D visual scripting tools that let players create their own gameplay experiences without needing to program.
• Supported the pipeline that exported standalone, online-only content from the backend and made it accessible offline, as required for a single-player game package. This was developed hand in hand with the backend and live-ops teams. I was responsible for manual nightly exports and debugging until a fully automated pipeline was in place, which I continued to support whenever a failure was flagged.
• Working from a high-level brief, developed a system that let players step through portals into alternative experiences. Players would walk through a portal, play the content, then return to the mission with that content unlocked to replay at any time.

Lessons

• MindsEye had a difficult launch, and working through it taught me a great deal. Communication is the backbone of any pipeline; without a shared understanding from top to bottom, setbacks are unavoidable. That is why the three qualities I value most in the people I work with are trust, reliability and accountability.
• Most importantly for my personal development, I worked with a lot of very intelligent people. I always try to talk to the colleagues that inspire me about their own core principles that have helped them get to where they are, in life and in work, then take the best and fuse them into mine.