Matthew DeLong.
Programmer and Software Engineer with a focus on Game Development.
Hi, my name is
About Me
I am a developer based out of North Georgia who has almost a decade of experience in the gambling industry.
I pride myself not only on my technical skills, but my ability to work well with people across disciplines. I’ve found that the best way to build a spirit of cooperation within and across teams is to show that you’re willing to go the extra mile to help the other guy. It is amazing how much time can be saved just by taking the occasional few minutes to truly understand an issue another group is having, or by explaining an issue you’re having to an outside group.
Skills Include:- C#
- Java
- C++
- Lua
- SQL
- Unity
- Unreal Engine
- Git
- OpenGL
- OOP
- Design Patterns
- Game Development
Experience
- Developed legally compliant, skill-based games for gaming cabinets, integrating art/sound assets and collaborating with designers.
- Added graphical enhancements to the proprietary OpenGL game engine including a refactor of the shader rendering logic as well as developing custom support for the popular Spine 2D animation system.
- Mentored junior developers, helping them to sharpen their technical and soft skills.
- Rapidly prototyped and implemented new, experimental game types primarily in the form of new “bonus games.”
- Debugged and refactored existing implementation of accounting and analytics reporting greatly enhancing its reliability and security while also dramatically reducing the bandwidth required.
- Refactored local network communication logic responsible for reporting redemption tickets from the gaming cabinets to the cash dispenser eliminating failures and enhancing security.
- Added several new network and hardware debugging tools to the game engine to reduce troubleshooting time when issues occur in the field.
- Created tools to speed development and optimize game file sizes
- Lead developer on a dozen new Class 3 video slot games using C# and Unity as well as a proprietary C++ game engine and Lua.
- Worked with mathematicians and game designers to implement pay table design using generic features triggered via an XML file where possible and custom logic when needed. Tested to ensure each pay table would pay back the correct amount over time, had the intended level of volatility, and would obey gambling regulations.
- Implement art and sound assets while collaborating with designers and artists to bring their vision to life for each game often while identifying ways to overcome engine limitations.
- Ported dozens of existing games from Class 3 (regular casino slots) to Class 2 (bingo).
- Was a top contributor to the shared game template streamlining development and reducing bugs.
- Identified and resolved defects in Java / Spring Boot Webapp.
- Handled deploying builds of development branches to test servers.
- Improved reliability of the multitude of test servers by automating cleanup.
- Automated translation key verification.
Education
2011 - 2014
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
University of North Georgia
GPA:
3.9 out of 4.0
Summa Cum Laude. Released early on good behavior.
Projects
Skill Game
Game Development
Buddha's Wheel of Wins
This is one of my favorite games I've worked on while at Pace-O-Matic. I developed the logic behind the bonus wheel, the new 7 "reel" style of game, the unique coin flip reels, and the Lock-It-In bonus round.
Skill Game
Game Development
Jungle Juice
This was the first game we did at Pace-O-Matic after I completed our custom Spine plugin. I had so much fun developing the "Fruit Slice" bonus
Skill Game
Game Development
Pond of Prosperity
The water shader and the effects utilizing it ultimately required a major overhaul of the shader rendering logic, but I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I also did the bonus for this game.
Slots
Game Development
Sacred Dragon
This is one of the games I was the sole developer on at AGS. I did everything from implementing the math logic to scripting the visuals. I only had around half the normal amount of time for this game due to the company wanting it for the big tradeshow.
Slots
Game Development
Diamond Streak Serengeti
Diamond Streak is a really unique take on expanding reels. The designer wanted 5 seemingly independent reel to occasionally pop up, but they also had to evaluate as if they were a part of the main reels.