About Nathanael Weiss

Software Engineering Game Development

It was 1994 when I started making video games at the age of 14 by learning the C programming language. One year later I had formed a company and began marketing my first video game on dial-up, pre-Internet bulletin boards.

In 1998, I designed, developed and released Blast Thru. After signing a publishing agreement, boxed versions of the game found their way onto shelves in physical stores across North America and Europe.

In the early 2000s, I assembled and led a small team of software engineers, working together with artists, level designers and other creative professionals to release Catechumen and Ominous Horizons.

In 2012, I released my first realtime, online multiplayer game Hero Bash.

In 2015 I launched a Kickstarter for an idea I had to create a Zelda-like game with a science-fiction theme and procedurally-generated worlds. The project succeeded. With the help of 700+ backers and publisher Double Eleven, Songbringer was released simultaneously on PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox One and Playstation 4. Later it was also released on Nintendo Switch and iPhone.

My latest project is Wraithbinder, a roguelike game with multiplayer features now in Early Access.

Nathanael Weiss

...creator of worlds.

Welcome to my Game Development portfolio! I'm a creative software engineer with over 30 years of industry experience in Game Engineering Gameplay Programming Game Engines Debugging Optimization AI Network Multiplayer Technical Direction Business Development and more. My career has spanned both leadership roles managing teams and solo projects creating entire video games. What I love about making games is the meeting point of two worlds: the head-based puzzle of software engineering and the heart-based creation of art. Check out my latest game, Wraithbinder.

Wraithbinder (2024)

Software Engineering Network Multiplayer Game Design 3D Modeling Sound Design Music Business Development

In 2024, I delighted 15,000+ players on Steam with the design, development and release of Wraithbinder. It features a vast roguelike world with local and online multiplayer capabilities.

  • Software Engineering: Wrote 110,000+ lines of C++ code for the game’s entities, components and systems.
  • Engine & Graphics Programming: Developed a multithreaded voxel-art game engine with 90,000+ lines of code across Windows, Mac and Linux platforms.
  • Network & Backend Engineering: Created Wraithserver, a Linux-based game server using C++, NoSQL and Docker technologies that can handle up to 65,000+ concurrent players.
  • AI Engineering: Engineered the AI for 30+ enemies and 7 bosses — each with unique behaviors and personalities.
  • Release Engineering: Managed the deployment of demo and Early Access versions across 3 platforms, with automated build and testing tools and live updates as often as once per day.
  • Additional Contributions: Game design, digital art, sound design, music, business development, live streaming.
Songbringer (2017)

Software Engineering Game Design Digital Art Sound Design Music Business Development

In 2017, I delighted 60,000+ players on Steam and consoles with the design, development and release of Songbringer, featuring procedurally-generated Zelda-like worlds.

  • Software Engineering: Engineered 120,000+ lines of C++ code for the game’s entities, components, systems and the game engine across multiple platforms using OpenGL and DirectX technologies.
  • Console Game Development: Collaborated with a team of engineers at Double Eleven to port the game to Xbox One, Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch.
  • AI Engineering: Constructed the AI for 75+ enemies and 18 bosses using C++ and a custom scripting language.
  • Release Engineering: Managed simultaneous releases with Double Eleven across 5 platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, Xbox One and Playstation 4.
  • Awards: Earned Apple’s Game of the Day by releasing on the App Store for iOS, securing front-page placement for 7+ days.
  • Additional Contributions: Game design, digital art, sound design, music, live streaming and business development, including a successful Kickstarter campaign, an article for GameDeveloper and multiple open-source projects.
Hero Bash (2012)

Software Engineering Network Multiplayer Game Design Sound Design Music

Hero Bash was my first realtime, online, multiplayer game. I coded 60,000+ lines of C++ including a backend Linux game server utilizing PostgreSQL. The multiplayer code is peer-to-peer, lockstep and performed well even on the 3G cellular internet of its day. The game was released for iPhone and iPad in 2012. Additional contributions: sound design, audio engineering, music production, business development.

N'Lightning (1999-2002)

Software Engineering Game Design

I led a team of software engineers and worked collaboratively with designers and artists at N'Lightning Software to develop two 3D, first-person video game titles: Catechumen (2000) and Ominous Horizons (2001). We engineered the games using C++ for Windows with DirectX and OpenGL. Catechumen was in development for 18 months, selling 86,000 copies and Ominous Horizons, 12 months, 50,000 copies.

Blast Thru (1998)

Software Engineering Game Design Digital Art Business Development

I designed, developed and released 2 video game titles for RockSolid Software, a company I formed at the age of 15. Blast Thru (1998) was written in C++ for Windows using DirectX and Adventures With Chickens (1995) was written in C for MS-DOS using DJGPP. Both games were in development for about 12 months each. A publishing agreement was signed that placed boxed versions of Blast Thru in physical stores across North America and Europe, selling 60,000+ copies.