Jonah Ryan

Gameplay Programmer

Hi! I’m Jonah Ryan. In the Spring of 2025 I will graduate of the UC: Santa Cruz with a Computer Science: Game Design major.

Below are my favorite game projects I have worked on and a summary of my contributions! My main focus is gameplay programming and AI design.

SLEDGE

Unity 3D AI and UI Programmer

  • Developed a Efficent 3D enemy AI (C#, Unity physics) that led to 100 fps gain from typical A* systems.
  • Led construction of a UI pipeline that improved designer efficiency and smoothed the iteration process.
Play

Mario Odyssey Recreation

3D Physics Programmer

  • Developed a versatile 3D movement system (C#, Unity physics) for irregular terrain, allowing for easy integration of 7+ new movement abilities.
  • Refactored the movement system using a hierarchical state machine to enable crouching jumps, enhancing character control.
More

Flippy Hats

Solo Mobile Developer

  • Successfully launched a solo-developed mobile game (GML, Gamemaker Studio) that achieved 50,000 downloads in under a year.
  • Owned the entire development lifecycle for a successful mobile game, from crafting a 2-year design plan to delivering 3 post-launch updates.
Play

Malisense

Programming Mentor and Producer

  • Led a 50-person programming team through 8 successful 2-week sprints.
  • Mentored game developers on C# and Unity best practices, conducting 10+ workshops throughout the year.
  • Provided leadership and direction, ensuring team stayed on track for a year-long project.
Play

Asterion

2D AI Programmer

  • Developed multiple AI systems in team of 50 on a year long project.
  • Designed a flexible framework, enabling designers to create 4 unique enemy AI behaviors.
  • Consulted with designers and artists to insure shared vision of all four enemy designs translated into the final game.
Play