Available for game studio roles & contracts

I build the systems that make games feel fun.

Hey, I'm Taylor Flynn, a Gameplay & Systems Engineer. I write multiplayer code in Unreal Engine 5 and C++, and enable my team members across Engineering, VFX, Tech-Art, Tech-Anim, Design, and Sound to ship on sustainable foundations.

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  • 2017Writing game code since
  • UE5Unreal Engine & C++
  • NetcodeRollback · Resim · Lag Comp
  • Live Service2 Shipped titles
Unreal Engine 5 ✦C++ ✦Network Replication ✦Systems Architecture ✦Melee Combat Systems ✦Gameplay Logic ✦Tools Programming ✦UI Engineering ✦Vector Math Optimization ✦Custom Movement ✦Tech Art ✦Tech Anim ✦Data Structures & Algorithms ✦Design Patterns ✦
01 / Featured Work

Systems built to be played.

These are studio titles, shipped and in active development, as well as frameworks and tools I build on my own time to enable the next generation of games.

Escape from Playtime screenshot© Mob Entertainment Shipped
Mob EntertainmentFounding Gameplay Engineer

Escape from Playtime

A co-op multiplayer title shipped to Steam Early Access. Built its gameplay from the ground up as the founding gameplay engineer.

  • Replicated Custom Movement, including rope and wall climbing, replicated ragdoll and more
  • Multiplayer Prediction and Rollback, including a deterministic predicted item drop that always lands face-up
  • Project-wide GAS in C++, plus custom ability tasks for niche recurring project needs
  • Replicated puzzle ecosystem so designers build multiplayer puzzles without writing network code
  • Data-oriented inventory, item, interaction, and save systems
  • Director Gameplay systems, Telemetry, Custom HLSL for UI and VFX
  • UE5
  • C++
  • Replication
  • MVVM
  • Inventory
  • Tech Art
Unannounced Project screenshot© Apogee Entertainment Unannounced
Apogee EntertainmentGameplay Engineer (Contract)

Unannounced Project

Gameplay engineering on an unannounced title. Details are under NDA. Happy to talk in an interview about non-project-specific engineering principles and lessons learned while working here.

  • Building gameplay systems and features in C++ alongside design
  • Owning features from prototype through production
  • Performance-minded, maintainable code built for a team to extend
  • Carefully considered dependancies, so gameplay, presentation, and data can each change without breaking the others
  • Encapsulated systems with small, deliberate state and functionality that are easy to use and hard to misuse
  • Composition over deep inheritance: features assembled from reusable components, not rigid class hierarchies
  • C++
  • Gameplay
  • Interactions
  • Tech Anim
  • UI
  • Audio
In Development
Creator & Systems ArchitectUnreal Engine 5 · C++

Gameplay Prediction Framework

One unified prediction model for movement, abilities, interaction, and inventory, built to replace CMC and GAS so coupled gameplay can roll back cleanly.

  • Solves a core UE5 Issue: GAS and CMC/Mover Handle prediction in different ways, rollback of movement inside an ability gets messy
  • Every system shares one prediction model, aware of the unified prediction approach, decoupled, scalable, and maintainable
  • Predictions can chain other predictions; on rollback the chain is walked backwards and all side effects are reversed
  • Inspired by the Network Prediction Plugin, handling server authority, remote client forward interpolation, resim, lag compensation and more
  • Movement, abilities, interaction, inventory, and melee combat all built on top as sibling framework modules
  • UE5
  • C++
  • Netcode
  • Framework
  • Architecture
In Development
Creator & Systems ArchitectUnreal Engine 5 · C++

Board Game Simulator Framework

A multiplayer digital tabletop where designers prototype analog games fast, engineered to keep thousands of cards, dice, and tokens in play without slowing down.

  • ECS-style architecture: game pieces are lightweight data processed in batches, not thousands of individual actors
  • Iris replication with a push-based model, so only changed pieces send updates and large board states stay stable online
  • Instanced Static Meshes render repeated pieces like cards and dice to drastically reduce draw calls
  • Master materials, Texture Atlas + Virtual Textures, Dynamic material instancing all to reduce renderer overhead
  • Designers iterate on rules and components without reprinting, extensible across many game types
  • UE5
  • C++
  • ECS
  • Iris
  • Rendering
  • Framework
02 / Under the Hood

One melee swing, six steps.

A simplification of the authoritative hit pipeline in my UE5 melee combat system built on the Gameplay Prediction Framework: instant on your screen, fair on everyone else's.

  1. 01

    Input

    Client input is harvested and queued for the next simulation frame.

  2. 02

    Prediction

    Client input is consumed to register a prediction and simulates the attack locally so it feels responsive.

  3. 03

    Rewind

    Server receives the prediction and rolls back relevant entity context to that simulation frame.

  4. 04

    Validation

    Server accepts or rejects, based on authority conditions, !Tag.State.Stunned, DistanceTo(Target) <= MaxTargetDistance, etc.

  5. 05

    Detection

    Confirmed activation predictions can now begin hit detection over multiple frames using the frame timeline, likely driven by animation.

  6. 06

    Reconcile

    False predictions on clients resimulate from the corrected state; lerping for smooth motion, harsh corrections for cleansing side effects.

Ability_HeavySwing.cpp
// Gameplay code stays this small. The framework handles keying,// rewind, server validation, and rollback behind the scenes. void UAbility_HeavySwing::Activate(){    FPredictionContext_AbilityActivation ActivationPrediction =        AbilityPredictionGlobals::ActivateAbility(AbilityID);    UGameplayPredictionSubsystem::RegisterPrediction(ActivationPrediction);     // The timeline plays out over multiple frames: root motion over    // X frames, hit detection over Y, cues and custom scripted events    // at their keyframes. Tracks and events can set their own net execution role:    // predict every hit, or leave hits to the server to confirm.    // Unopinionated and flexible: granular control on what to predict.    UGameplayPredictionSubsystem::RegisterPredictionTimeline(        GetAbilityPredictionTimeline(ActivationPrediction)    );} bool UAbility_HeavySwing::CanActivate(const FAbilityContext& Ctx) const{    return !Ctx.HasTag(Tag::State_Stunned) && Ctx.DistanceToTarget() <= MaxTargetDistance;}
03 / What I Bring

Engineer first, artist-aware.

01

Gameplay Engineering

Responsive & Dynamic Movement, Cameras, and Combat

  • Inventory, items & interaction
  • Character, camera & controls
  • Combat & hit detection
  • Abilities & status effects
02

Multiplayer Prediction

Online play that stays fair and responsive at real-world latency.

  • Replication & authority
  • Prediction & reconciliation
  • Resimulation & rollback
  • Iris push-based networking
03

Systems Architecture

Foundations the rest of the team builds on without fighting.

  • Foundational Frameworks
  • Data-oriented / ECS for scale
  • MVVM UI & Designer utilities
  • Composition and templating
04

Tech Anim & Tech Art

A bridge between animators, artists, and engineers.

  • Frame-synced Root motion
  • Anim-driven hit detection
  • HLSL & Material Functions
  • Custom Niagara VFX
04 / Experience

Where I've Worked

Years of game programming alongside leading production engineering teams. I bring clean architecture, best practices, and technical innovation to game teams.

See my web engineering portfolio ↗
  1. 2026 — Present

    Gameplay Engineer · Apogee Entertainment ↗

    Working on an unannounced title.

  2. Mar 2025 — Nov 2026

    Founding Gameplay Engineer · Escape from Playtime ↗

    Founded the origins of the game, through its many forms, from prototype all the way to ship, creating the base for the entire team to work from.

  3. Mar 2025 — Nov 2026

    Gameplay Engineer · Poppy Playtime Chapter 5 ↗

    Gameplay engineer solving custom gameplay ability system state persistence for save game systems.

  4. 2022 — 2025

    Lead Developer · Fam.la ↗

    Leading production software end-to-end: architecture, code review, and team communication. The same discipline I bring to game teams.

  5. 2019 — 2020

    Lead 3D Modeler · Brainstorm Edu ↗

    Led the development and design of 3D projects and products, for both in‑house and instructor practices.

  6. 2017 — Present

    Freelance Gameplay & Tooling Engineer

    Gameplay logic, in-engine tools, and math optimization for client projects in UE4 and UE5 C++.

05 / Player Two?

Let's build something worth playing.

Hiring for gameplay, multiplayer, or tools? Let's start the conversation today.

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