Quiet as a Mouse

As part of a 9-week team development project, I worked on creating a stealth-focused heist game built in Unreal Engine 5. The project challenged us to deliver a fully playable experience within a tight production schedule, requiring strong collaboration, clear communication, and focused scope management.

In my role as both Designer and AI Lead, I was responsible for designing and implementing the entire enemy AI system. This included building a modular guard behaviour framework capable of supporting core stealth gameplay mechanics such as patrol routes, investigation states, and active player pursuit.

The guards were designed to feel responsive and believable, with behaviours that allow them to transition naturally between patrolling their environment, reacting to disturbances, and chasing the player when detected. This helped create dynamic gameplay moments where player actions directly influenced enemy behaviour and level tension.

Working within a team setting also allowed me to collaborate closely with level designers and programmers to ensure the AI systems integrated smoothly with gameplay design and level layout. The project strengthened my experience in team-based development, rapid prototyping, and designing AI systems that support stealth gameplay loops.

Overall, this project was a valuable opportunity to apply my AI programming and design skills in a fast-paced production environment while contributing to a cohesive team-built game experience.