Excellent Willie-Pepple
Software Engineer and Technical Combat Designer specializing in Unreal Engine architecture, gameplay systems, and developer tooling.
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I'm a Software Engineer and Technical Combat Designer with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Purdue University Fort Wayne. My background spans software engineering, multiplayer systems, and gameplay programming, with a focus on building scalable gameplay architecture in Unreal Engine.
I'm passionate about creating designer-friendly gameplay systems using Unreal Engine's Gameplay Ability System (GAS), where I enjoy combining technical engineering with game design to build modular, reusable combat frameworks. My interests include gameplay architecture, combat design, multiplayer systems, and developer tooling that helps teams iterate faster and maintain projects as they grow.
I enjoy sharing what I've learned with the game development community through technical talks, articles, and open-source projects. My goal is to make complex Unreal Engine concepts more approachable by focusing on practical patterns, real-world examples, and lessons learned from building gameplay systems.
Building Modern Combat Systems with Unreal's Gameplay Ability System
What do God of War, Batman: Arkham Knight, and Marvel's Spider-Man (2018) have in common? They all deliver fast-paced, responsive combat that makes every punch, dodge, special attack, and cinematic finisher feel impactful. Behind those experiences are gameplay systems that are not only fun to play, but also flexible enough for designers to expand and iterate on throughout development.
In this session, we'll explore how Unreal Engine's Gameplay Ability System (GAS) can be used to build modular, data-driven gameplay systems that empower designers while remaining maintainable for engineers. Rather than treating GAS as a collection of isolated features, we'll break down its core components and examine the architectural patterns that make gameplay systems scalable, reusable, and easy to evolve as your project grows.
Together, we'll build a complete combat kit featuring five unique abilities, including melee combos, area-of-effect attacks, movement abilities, and cinematic takedown executions. Along the way, we'll see how Gameplay Abilities, Gameplay Effects, Gameplay Tags, and data-driven assets work together to create flexible gameplay features with minimal code changes.
By the end of the session, you'll understand not only how the core pieces of GAS fit together, but also how to structure your gameplay systems so designers can create new content faster, engineers can reduce technical debt, and your combat systems remain maintainable long after the first prototype.
Building Designer-Friendly Gameplay Systems in Unreal Engine
Modern games are built through constant iteration. A mechanic that starts as a simple prototype can quickly become a complex system requiring flexibility, scalability, and collaboration between designers and programmers.
In this session, we'll explore the architectural principles behind building designer-friendly gameplay systems in Unreal Engine. We'll discuss how tools like Data Assets, Gameplay Tags, Interfaces, Components, and data-driven design patterns can be combined to create systems that are flexible for designers while remaining clean and maintainable for engineers.
Rather than focusing on a single gameplay framework, we'll examine the decisions that shape scalable Unreal projects: separating data from logic, creating reusable components, reducing hard-coded behavior, and designing workflows that allow teams to iterate faster.
Through practical examples from real gameplay systems, you'll learn how thoughtful architecture can reduce technical debt, improve team collaboration, and make it easier to expand your game as ideas evolve.
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