Game Developer
My name is Surendran CJ. I'm an experienced game developer, and I take small to mid-size Unity or HTML5 game projects from concept through to shipped release — solo, or working closely alongside your team. I've built titles and pipelines at PlayShifu, Rhythm & Hues and TerraByte Technologies, including the Plugo and Orboot AR ecosystems, played by millions worldwide, and studio tooling used across teams in the US, India and Malaysia. What I care about most is removing friction — for players, and for the artists and designers I work with — so a good idea gets into the game fast and stays fun to build on. If you've got a game that needs building, I'd like to hear about it.
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Game developer with 18+ years of experience shipping complete games end to end — concept, gameplay, optimisation and release. I work across Unity and HTML5 (Phaser, Defold), comfortable owning a title solo or contributing within a larger team.
I've shipped web, mobile and AR games reaching millions of players, including the Plugo and Orboot ecosystems at PlayShifu. My strongest work is in arcade and educational gameplay, tight performance budgets, and small-footprint web builds that load fast on low-end devices.
UnityC#HTML5PhaserAR
Available for remote roles with substantial EU / UK timezone overlap, and for contract engagements.
Technical Skills
Engines: Unity (expert), Phaser, Defold, Unity WebGL
Languages: C#, JavaScript, Python
Gameplay: Core mechanics, level systems, AR and computer-vision gameplay, physics and collision, prototyping
Performance: Frame-rate and memory optimisation, profiling, load-time and build-size budgeting
Tools: Editor tooling for designers, asset pipeline automation, Git, CI/CD
Education
B.E. Computer Science — K.L.N. College of Engineering, Madurai
Diploma, Electronics & Communication Engineering — K.L.N. Memorial Polytechnic, Madurai
ORIGINAL GAMES
Independent developer — 2025 – present
PhaserDefoldHTML5PerformanceWeb Portals
I build engaging, polished games across 2D and 3D — for the web and for PC. Several of my HTML5 titles are live on Poki, CrazyGames and Playgama, spanning puzzle, arcade and simulation mechanics. Each one owned solo, from first concept to final release.
I enjoy the process of taking a game from first idea to a finished, playable build. That range — puzzle, arcade, simulation, 2D and 3D — is part of what keeps the work interesting for me.
- Live and playable, not prototypes
- Range across genre and dimension: puzzle, arcade, simulation, 2D and 3D
- Fast, lightweight builds that run smoothly on low-end and mobile devices
- Delivered solo end-to-end: design, build, and release
TERRABYTE TECHNOLOGIES
Sr Tech Architect & Researcher — Bengaluru — 06/2023 – 04/2025
UnityC#3DPipelineCI/CD
A modular 3D gameplay framework for a cross-platform creation suite, built alongside the Editor tooling and asset pipeline the team relied on day to day. The product is not publicly viewable, as the platform did not continue after the company closed.
- Built a modular 3D gameplay framework for a cross-platform creation suite
- Automated the Blender-to-Unity asset pipeline (GLB / GLTF), cutting integration time by 45%
- Held locked 60 FPS on low-end mobile with custom memory diagnostics and profiling tooling
- Shipped Unity Editor tools for real-time level publishing and runtime loading
- Delivered playable vertical slices and mechanics prototypes on two-week cycles
PLAYSHIFU
Senior Architect & Consultant — Bengaluru — 07/2018 – 06/2023
UnityARC#Computer VisionPython
Core gameplay and technical systems for the Plugo and Orboot AR ecosystems — physical toy sets paired with digital games, played by millions worldwide.
- Built core gameplay and shared systems across flagship products
- Developed a shared C# library for UI, localisation and player persistence used across 5+ product lines
- Solved physical hardware ↔ digital game state synchronisation with computer vision and physics
- Created Python CLI tooling for asset ingestion and CI/CD deployment on AWS and Azure
LEGENDS OF LEARNING
Independent developer — Madurai — 05/2013 – 07/2018
PhaserHTML5SDK IntegrationOptimisation
Curriculum-based browser games delivered end to end in Unity and Phaser, built to run on the mixed, often low-spec hardware found in classrooms.
- Educational titles built to platform SDK constraints
- File-size and load-time budgets enforced for the classroom web
EVERYTHING'S ROSIE
Independent developer — licensed IP — 05/2013 – 07/2018
PhaserHTML5Licensed IP
Mini HTML5 games built in Phaser for the licensed Everything's Rosie children's brand, working to the style guide and approval process that licensed IP requires.
- Small-footprint web games with tight performance budgets
- End-to-end mobile and HTML5 delivery on licensed IP
TABLE ZOMBIES
Kickstarter-funded — self-published — 05/2013 – 07/2018
UnityARMobileC#Kickstarter
A Kickstarter-funded augmented-reality title taken from campaign through to mobile release — design, build and publishing owned solo.
- End-to-end mobile project — design, build, publish
- Augmented-reality gameplay delivered to a funded audience
RHYTHM & HUES STUDIOS
Pipeline Technical Director — Hyderabad — 12/2008 – 05/2013
PythonVFXPipelineHoudini · Mari
Lighting and FX pipeline work on Hollywood feature films, building the automation and artist tooling that moved data between departments and across three studio sites.
- Credited on multiple Hollywood feature films for lighting and FX pipelines (IMDb: nm5030012)
- Built automation plugins for Houdini and Mari
- Custom Python / Qt artist tools streamlining data flow across studio sites in the US, India and Malaysia
TIGERTAIL STUDIOS
Gameplay Programmer — 2006 – 2008
Flash / AS3MultiplayerBrowser GamesOptimisation
Browser game development in Flash and ActionScript 3, covering gameplay, physics and real-time multiplayer.
- Browser-game gameplay, physics and collision optimisation
- Real-time multiplayer with SmartFox Server (Flash / AS3)
Institute for Information Industry · RedOctane Technologies — 2006 – 2008
Torque EngineScriptingAIMotion Capture
Gameplay and research-side engineering at the start of my career — AI and scripting on the Torque Engine, and tooling built around motion-capture data for real-time use.
- FSM-based AI and gameplay scripting on the Torque Engine
- BVH motion-capture tooling