Michael Noland Email & Phone Number

Raleigh, Nc, Us

Fully Remote, Us

Cary, Nc, Us

Lead the development of the Lyra Starter Game project released alongside UE5.

Cary, Nc, Us

My team is responsible for the game framework in Unreal Engine (actors/components, character movement, abilities, data-driven design tools, the Blueprint visual scripting system, etc...). We work closely with both our internal game teams and external engine customers to design new systems and optimize/iterate on existing features.In addition, I've spent much of my IC time working on Fortnite:Full-stack development of self-expression, retention, and engagement mechanisms (from data authoring and tooling, client UI work, client/server C++, to Java backend code)• Co-created the Battle Pass system• Designed and implemented most of the cosmetic item types (emotes, emoticons, back blings, sprays, toys, pets, loading screens, lobby music tracks, item wraps, as well as various unshipped prototypes; support for reactive cosmetics, allow/deny lists, etc...)• Integrated the calendar-driven event system from Battle Breakers; tied into the playlist system, lobby backgrounds, bonus XP weekends, Battle Bus and Supply Drop replacements, and exposed async nodes for designers• UI/backend development for seasonal refreshes of the locker, battle pass, etc...• Workflow improvements and data validation for quests and the offer catalogue• Designed the variant system used for cosmetics that allow customization• Perf/mem optimization & analytics in the lead up to launch• Created a disguised side channel and a banhammer as nascent anti-cheat mechanisms• Created contextual squad communications prototype• Firefighting as needed• Developer QOL improvements such as the cosmetics and gameplay cheat settings panels, tips and tricks documents, arbitrary text hotfixing, refactoring systems to support the rapid growth of the project• Created dialogue system prototype that was evolved into NPC conversations in Chapter 2 Season 5• Created a prototype of fragment-based components and simulation that later evolved into the MassEntity system

Cary, Nc, Us

Moved back and forth between engine and game teams as neededParagon (PC, PS4)Lead the performance initiative to get to a steady 60 Hz on console (starting at ~12 Hz), and keep it there with an extremely aggressive post-launch content release cadence• Perf/optimization analysis and tasking, fixing low hanging fruit, educating team members on performance, coordinating with the engine team for larger changes, etc...• Designed significance manager for gameplay LOD; implemented strict hero/minion budgets• PS4 cert bug fixing• Created map preload sets to hide load times during the matchmaking/drafting period• Created automated perf tests• Added match performance analytics and used them to spot regressions and tune scalability buckets, create recommended hardware lists for the FAQ, and estimate potential market reach by comparison with external hardware surveys such as Steam• Continued optimization to run on lower-spec computers, pushing min spec down considerably post-launch• Designed and implemented some UI features (settings UI, death log)• Added various kinds of data validation to catch issues as soon as developers save assets• Created asset referencing restrictions (to accommodate the rapid hero release pipeline and prevent classes of failures if hero releases were re-ordered) and worked with tech art to deploy them to the team• Created a rep economy simulator and recommended changes to the design teamBattle Breakers (PC, iOS, Android)• Perf/mem support (profiling and optimization, iOS and Android fixes, PC scalability, performance analytics, driving to zero warnings/errors, pre-ship firefighting, etc...)• Feature development (pet system, point gifting system, contextual tutorials, stat tooltips)Unreal Engine• Improved UE4 user experience for mobile developers• Created 2D game framework within UE4, primarily as an exercise in editor extensibility• Anim feature development such as bone driven controllers• Blueprint usability improvements

Cary, Nc, Us

Worked on many aspects of UE3 and UE4:- Developed a performance testing process and tooling to ship Gears of War 3 in budget on Xbox 360 and made various engine optimizations for performance or memory (animation vectorization, new animation compression codecs, reworked brush storage, improved attribution/reporting, profile-guided adjustments to binned allocator sizes, etc...)- Worked on iOS support for UE3, reverse-engineered and re-implemented the codesign process and IPA generation/deployment to provide a Windows-only development path for content iteration; implemented various UI features to ease the pain of certificate and provision management- Optimized Infinity Blade 1 and implemented cheat/jailbreak detection analytics- Moved to UE4 fairly early and worked on several major refactors such as removing UnrealScript and reworking the script compiler into the UnrealHeaderTool, solving the chicken-and-egg header parsing issues of UE3, adding camera components, building out new asset editor framework in Slate, etc...- Co-creator of the Blueprint visual scripting system and wrote the original Blueprint compiler and debugger- Designed and created the Animation Blueprint system- Champion for engine and editor extensibility, refactoring systems so even complex plugins like Paper2D are possible without engine modifications- Created build infrastructure and per-user binary watermarking system for UE4 'rocket' private beta tests- Sole programmer on an unannounced mobile title (cancelled)- New user UX push prior to releasing Unreal Engine 4.0, making minor improvements across all systems in the editor such as systematic support for 'rich tooltips' for any property, class, or type- Engine support and download size optimization for Tappy Chicken sample

Calabasas, Ca, Us

Calabasas, Ca, Us

Chapel Hill, Nc, Us

Cambridge, Ma, Us

Ms, Computer Science

Bs, Bscoe, Computer Science, Computer Engineering

Education record