Live Unreal character system
Main programmer & technical artist
Professional work · Super 78 · Client under NDA
Performers needed to control a live character without using the Unreal editor.
120+ animation sequences; interface used by 12+ performers.
Purpose-built controls.
Problem and constraints
A major theme park needed an interactive character for live audience performances. Operators had no engine experience. Voice actors needed to see the audience, and one machine had to render three character cameras in real time. The client is under NDA.
My ownership
Main programmer and technical artist for the runtime system. Owned show-control programming, the operator interface, camera integration, and frame-rate work. Performers operated the interface; the materials do not specify the rest of the production team’s individual responsibilities.
Implementation and key decisions
C++ and Blueprints, including custom Blueprint nodes, drive 120+ animation sequences and transitions. A UMG interface exposes live character controls to performers. Live camera views feed into Unreal for the voice actors, while three character cameras render from a single machine.
Results and supporting evidence
The portfolio reports daily operation since 2024 and an interface used by 12 performers in shifts at launch, with more since. No public UI capture or performance trace is supplied. The numbers describe sequence count and operator adoption, not uptime.
Limitations and lessons
Transition rules, command handling, frame budget, hardware, and recovery behavior are not public. No client imagery is used here. A permission-cleared interface capture or clearly labeled independent demonstration would show the engineering without exposing the original system.