Sebastian Janisz
iOS Developer

Sebastian Janisz

Handled high-priority R&D projects for Disney.
Work with Sebastian Work with a iOS Developer

About

With over a decade of programming experience in games and tech, Sebastian Janisz has expertise in Unity, AR/VR, OpenCV, game development, and computer graphics. He coded AAA-caliber games and dozens of indie games made for PC, Xbox 360, Ouya, and Game Boy Advance on his own and in a team. As a programmer and designer for Disney, he has worked on their highest priority R&D projects, including the patented tracking for Jedi Challenges AR, AAA iOS game, Where's My Water? and the successful spinoff, Where's My Perry?. His projects were featured on prominent gaming blogs such as Kotaku, Destructoid, PC Gamer, Indiegames.com, and Indie Statik.

Employment

4 roles
Feb 2009 - Present 17 years 2 months
Programmer & Game Developer
Independent

Sebastian has over a decade of programming experience in games and tech.


As a programmer for Interactive Projection USA:

  • Created OpenCV algorithms from scratch for interactive projection screens. 
  • Managed a subcontractor to make interactive Unity-based demos to be run on projector/IR camera setups.

As a programmer for ilovecreatives:

  • Developed a flashy, interactive online class styled as a "point and click" game. 
  • Worked as the sole programmer for both frontend and backend. Frontend was developed with Pixi.JS, and backend uses Node.js and Auth0.

As a programmer for Hutch:

  • Developed a complete AAA-caliber frontend for a mobile game; worked as the only coder for the frontend.
  • Built the project in Unity, making heavy use of Unity UI, shaders, Asset Bundles, and editor tools. Project communicated with a web backend that was simultaneously developed by a team.

As a programmer for AiR Everywhere:

  • Established sophisticated AR/GPS tracking software which used custom algorithms to outperform the system hardware. Built with Swift, Unity, and ARKit.

As a programmer for Octi Inc:

  • Created a prototype augmented reality app from scratch in Unity, which interfaced with an existing RESTful web API.

As a programmer for Snowman:

  • Performed maintenance on the hit mobile game, Alto's Adventure.
  • Added a screen-recording functionality and UI to the game.
  • Tracked down crashes that were happening only on older devices, by debugging through Xcode.
  • Performed exhaustive on-device optimization through the use of Unity's profiler and other strategies.
  • Helped with Apple TV compatibility.
  • Implemented a Zen Mode game type and utilized technologies including Unity3D, C#, Xcode, and Objective-C.
Jan 2015 - Dec 2015 11 months
Programmer
Disney Consumer Products
  • Invented a patented tracking algorithm during the development of Star Wars Jedi Challenges AR, which uses only a phone as the hardware, a feat other experts claimed was impossible.
  • Trusted with high-priority R&D projects that other programmers couldn't solve, most of which involved augmented reality.
  • Created low-level Unity3D Android plugins to facilitate AR tech.
  • Developed 4-dimensional linear algebra equations and other math to facilitate AR-tracking and solve other problems.
  • Wrote a highly optimized C# code to extend OpenCV's capabilities and interactive AR demos in raw Java using OpenGL ES.
  • Developed flashy demos, with liberal use of shaders and particle effects, and interactive characters, to be shown to Disney executives.
  • Managed mechanical engineering work creating simple working AR tech prototypes.
  • Worked with mechanical engineers to ensure their prototypes met the technical requirements for the AR software to work.
  • Helped with rapid prototyping of toys and games, and maintenance of the Playmation mobile app.
  • Used technologies such as Unity3D, Unity3D Native Plugin Interface, OpenGL ES, OpenCV, Vuforia, C#, C++, Java, Python, GLSL, ShaderLab, NGUI, Android Studio, and AR/VR.
Jan 2013 - Dec 2014 1 year 11 months
Lead Programmer
Vertalex Studios London

Vertalex is a video game studio that develops experiences for mobile platforms.

  • Managed a small team of programmers for a mobile Unity game remotely.
  • Developed a custom collision detection system using quadtrees, which fit the game better than Unity's default collision detection.
  • Wrote custom scripts for sprite rendering, which at the time, outperformed both TK2D and Unity's native sprite rendering.
  • Created custom soft-body physics for the main character.
  • Developed a random level generation system.
  • Built various flashy visuals and particle effects and utilized Unity 3D platform.
Sep 2011 - Jul 2012 10 months
Programmer & Designer
Disney Mobile

Sebastian worked on the high-profile iOS game, Where's My Water?.

  • Handled and was in charge of implementing new mechanics, including y-switches, mud, and mystery ducks.
  • Single-handedly designed and implemented the mud game mechanics.
  • Participated in much of the game's design. Attended all game design meetings.
  • Contributed to many levels to the game; eventually preferred designer for harder levels involving more difficult puzzles such as Gravity Dynamo.
  • Designed and wrote the programming for the successful spinoff, Where's My Perry?, from conception to release.
  • Developed programming work that was primarily on a proprietary C++ based engine.
  • Used technologies such as C++, Photoshop, and Proprietary Engine.

Education

Sep 2007 - May 2011 3 years 8 months
Bachelor's of Science, Computer Science (Games)
University of Southern California

Portfolio

9 items