Derek Wicks – Operations Manager & Creative Director

Derek is the Chief Executive for this project. His greatest strength lies in hiring talented programmers and artists to work on a shared vision—one he believes can one day rival major titles like ‘Call of Duty.’ Derek is also skilled in creating original music and sound effects, leveraging his full home studio and years of experience releasing music since high school.

His passion for multiplayer shooters began with ‘Modern Warfare 2’ in fifth grade, sparking his dream of becoming a game developer. Over the years, Derek has taught himself music production, 3D art, programming fundamentals, game design, business, and marketing. His experience in customer service has honed his communication skills, making him an empathetic leader who deeply values the contributions of his team.

Derek’s emotions are both his strength and weakness—they fuel his passion, empathy, and commitment to his team’s success. His main goal is to ensure the team collaborates effectively, using their unique skills to bring the project to life. He has a clear vision of what needs to be done to release the game within a year and is determined to see it through.

Finlay Hessler- Game Programmer & C++ Game Developer

Finlay Hessler is a very motivated and passionate programmer who has made significant progress within the programming department working on UI development, blueprint visual scripting, and debugging.

He is also reliable and dependable when it comes to meeting crucial deadlines and also developing clean easy to read code necessary for efficient team collaboration within the programming department. (Blueprints)

Beyond his technical contributions, He has demonstrated strong teamwork and communication, regularly updating the team on his progress and addressing challenges proactively. His ability to troubleshoot and implement effective solutions has significantly improved the user experience and system stability, making him a valuable asset to the team.

Dominic Smith – Game Programmer & C++ Game Developer

An extremely versatile and experienced C++/Blueprints programmer, he is quick, efficient, and highly effective in his craft. He’s not only a skilled developer but also a great listener with a keen ability to learn and implement complex programming within Unreal Engine. His passion for programming is evident in his ability to work tirelessly for hours, making him the ideal person for implementing game functions and features in Unreal Engine 5.

He has successfully completed nearly every task assigned to him, tackling programming challenges with confidence and ease. Out of everyone on the team, he has made the most progress in learning and adapting to the Unreal Engine project, emerging as one of our strongest programmers. Without his contributions, our game’s programming functionality would be far behind. He has put in more time than anyone in Unreal Engine, and, along with Chase Thacker, is the go-to person for any Unreal Engine 5 programming-related questions. His mastery of Blueprints has been flawless, and he is sure to become an even stronger asset to the team as time goes on.

William Chen- Game Programmer & Unreal Engine Game Developer

William Chen is experienced C++/Blueprints programmer, he is efficient, and very good problem solver and debuggger.

William Chen when developing code has a method where the code is virtually “bug free” meaning he takes the time to consider all the possible potential false inputs and unintended outcomes when play testing new functionality during game development. As a result Akshar is able to get ahead of his work by first developing a solid base architecture where additional code can be added seamlessly without creating future bugs or glitches.

His code (Blueprints) is very unique meaning he creates functionality in an “outside the box” manner which only an intuitive and creative programmer can come up with. The code (Blueprints) is consolidated and easy to read which is optimal for success when collaborating within the programming department