Markus Wall
Game Programming Portfolio
Hello and welcome to my Portfolio! My name is Markus Wall and I’m a professional game programmer from Germany.
Ever since my early childhood, I’ve been obsessed with video games. Growing up in the 90s, I quickly fell in love with games like Super Mario World, Secret of Mana, Super Metroid and more. Even back then, I already knew that my dream was to become a game developer one day.
In the early 2000s, I took my first steps into actual game development, playing around with tools like RPG Maker 2000. A few years later, I learned the basics of 65c816 assembler and used them to create my own Super Mario World ROM hacks. It wasn’t until 2008 that I took my first Computer Science classes at school, learning my first higher-level programming language in Pascal and even developing my first complete game with a few classmates. I went on to learn further programming languages at home.
From 2012 to 2014, I studied Game Programming at Games Academy in Frankfurt/Main, where the focus was on developing multiple small game projects in teams. I worked on both 2D and 3D games, learning programming languages like C# and C++ and using popular game engines like Unity and Unreal Engine.
Ever since 2014, I’ve been working in the games industry professionally. At KAIKO GmbH, I’ve contributed to multiple remasters, a DLC, and even an entirely new game, some of the most notable ones being Darksiders Warmastered Edition and Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning.
In all those years, I’ve never lost my passion for playing and making games, and I keep doing so, even in private.
Projects
My sixth project at KAIKO, an all-new DLC for our previously developed remaster Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning.
My fifth project at KAIKO, a remaster of the original Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning for Windows, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
My fourth project at KAIKO, a remaster of the original Red Faction Guerrilla for Windows, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
My third project at KAIKO, a remaster of the original Darksiders for Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Wii U and Nintendo Switch.
My second project at KAIKO, a remaster of the original Darksiders II for Windows, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
My first project as a professional game programmer at KAIKO, a remaster of the classic PS2 platformer to PC, Mac, Wii U, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Switch.
My fourth project at Games Academy, a physics-based 3D Fun Racer with customisable karts, made in Unreal Engine 4.
My third project at Games Academy, a Tron-inspired 3D Fun Racer with 3D arenas and various items, made in Unity.
My first project at Games Academy, a 2D Sidescrolling Shooter with a Gradius-inspired power-up system, made in C# with XNA.
My first completed game, a Tetris clone that started as a school project and was extended by me, written in Pascal using Allegro.pas.
Resume
Empathetic game programmer with over 10 years of experience working in small to mid-sized development teams. Contributed to multiple shipped titles, including ports, remasters and a DLC, reaching Metacritic scores of up to 77%. Notable titles include Darksiders Warmastered Edition, Red Faction Guerilla Re-Mars-tered and Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning. Core developer on an unreleased new game. Spearheaded code on many of the projects, becoming very proficient with custom C++ game engines along the way. Specialized in engine programming, with additional experience in areas such as build pipelines, tools, UI and gameplay. Team player with strong collaboration skills. Worked extensively in SCRUM/agile-based teams and environments.
Work Experience
KAIKO GmbH
2014 – Present
Senior Programmer (2025 – Present)
Frankfurt, Germany
- Promoted to Senior Programmer as a result of the contributions to Project 5
Programmer (2021 – 2025)
- Promoted to Programmer as a result of the contributions to previous projects
- Core developer on prototype and full production versions of Project 5 (unreleased action adventure of a renowned THQ Nordic IP)
- Collaborated with over 25 developers in a SCRUM/agile-based development process and typical team sizes of 4 to 12
- Implemented engine code, gameplay code (during prototype phase), some build pipeline code, some tool code, specialized in writing systems code
- Designed and maintained ECS implementation and logic system
- Wrote code for collision resolution, hit detection, network multiplayer, serialization, rollback, debug tools
- Created a debug tool that allowed “time travel debugging”, utilizing the existing rollback code – beloved by the entire team, receiving the nickname “Markus feature” – also allowed replaying gameplay from recorded files, providing a great QA tool
- Supported other coders on the project, supervised junior programmers
- Aided project scope calculation and planning via effort estimations and team meetings
- Boosted performance and efficiency of serialization code, reducing time cost by roughly 99% and memory footprint by roughly 44%
- Milestone build of the game received praise from the publisher
Junior Programmer (2014 – 2021)
- Contributed to 5 released ports and remasters: Legend of Kay Anniversary, Darksiders Warmastered Edition, Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition, Red Faction Guerilla Re-Mars-tered and Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning, reaching Metacritic scores of up to 77%
- Teamed up with 2 to 10 other developers consisting of mostly programmers and artists
- Specialized in engine programming tasks including: video player integration, physics library migration (updating Havok versions and switching from Havok to Bullet), platform API integration (save data, user handling, input), application flow, localization and more
- Set up the code base and project structure for multiple remaster projects, ported the application flows to internal technology, allowing collaborators to join
- Core developer on the Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning – Fatesworn DLC
- Implemented the entire main quest and assisted with the implementation of side quests
- Integrated dialogs, voice overs and cutscenes into the game and optimized the work flow via custom tools and scripts, reducing the impact of human error on the process
- Lead communication with the project’s main writer, discussing and realizing solutions for the story and lore
- Ported many asset types to internal technology, making them editable with existing tools
- Made adjustments to game code to allow replacing old assets and enable the integration of new assets
- Created and edited UI code for newly added features
Education
Games Academy
2012 – 2014
Game Programming
Frankfurt, Germany
- Collaborated as a programmer on four different semester projects
- As the sole coder on a sidescrolling shooter programmed in XNA (C#) – responsible for all code including engine, gameplay and collision detection
- As one of two coders on a rogue-like programmed in XNA (C#) – wrote all the gameplay code, most of the engine code and created a tool for editing sprite-based animations
- As one of two coders on a multiplayer arena racing game with network multiplayer developed in Unity – implemented all of the player behavior scripts and all the networking code
- As one of three coders on a physics-based multiplayer fun racer developed in Unreal Engine 4 – implemented all the player behavior code and created an in-game editor for building custom vehicles, with a majority of the code written in C++
- Graduated as a certified “Game Programmierer (GA)” with a rating of 86.32% or a grade of 1.6, based on a scale from 1.0 (best) to 5.0 (worst)
Thomas Morus Gymnasium
2008 – 2012
Abitur
Daun, Germany
- Took first Computer Science class and learned the basics of programming in Pascal, including lessons on algorithms and data structures
- Received 15 points (best possible grade) for a Tetris clone created as a group project with three classmates
- Spent free time experimenting with many hobby projects (RPG Maker, ROM hacks), acquired basic knowledge on game development and programming in 65c816 assembler
- Graduated with an Abitur grade of 2.5
Skills & Other
Programming languages:
C++, C#, Ruby, Lua, Python, Pascal
Engines and frameworks:
Unity, Unreal Engine 4, XNA, RPG Maker, Game Maker, Allegro
Platforms:
Windows, Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, macOS, Wii U, PS3, Xbox 360, Windows Surface, iOS
Tools:
Visual Studio (+Visual Assist), Notepad++, Xcode, Shader Tool
Source control:
Plastic SCM, GitHub, Perforce (P4V)
Languages:
German (native), English (fluent)
IT skills:
10-finger-typing, Libre Office, Open Office, Microsoft Office
Interests and hobbies:
Games, Programming, ROM Hacking, Taiko, Anime, Manga, Swimming, Conventions, Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG
Career
Started a job at KAIKO and worked as a programmer on multiple released games.
Took Game Programming course at Games Academy in Frankfurt.
Took my first Computer Science classes at Thomas Morus Gymnasium, learning the basics of Pascal.
Learned basics of 65c816 assembler to create my own Super Mario World ROM hacks.
Started learning the basics of game development by experimenting with tools like RPG Maker 2000.
Expertise
Please take a look at some of my game development-related expertise. You can check a more complete list in my CV.
