Álvaro Cabrero Barros

Hey! I'm Álvaro.

Animation
Systems&
Gameplay

About me

I'm an animation programmer. I build the systems that make game characters move well, in Unreal Engine 5.

Experience in AAA and indie development, highly proficient in Unreal Engine (C++). I act as a bridge between technical and artistic teams, design complex animation systems and raise the visual quality of gameplay. I learn fast and enjoy multidisciplinary teams.

Work

Where I've built things

Saber Interactive

Animation Programmer
Madrid · Nov 2023 – present

  • Primary bridge between the animation and programming teams, aligning technical and artistic goals.
  • Implemented core gameplay mechanics and enhanced visual animations on AAA projects, including Turok: Origins (story trailer, gameplay trailer) and the Untitled John Wick game (reveal trailer).
  • Create new animation systems and refine existing ones to raise visual quality.
  • Build Unreal Engine 5 projects in C++ with a robust gameplay architecture.
  • Design custom Animation Blueprint nodes that give animators better tools.
  • Implement physics and Inverse Kinematics (IK) systems for dynamic character and creature movement.
  • Use Unreal's Gameplay Ability System (GAS) to integrate abilities and gameplay mechanics.

PadaOne Games

Software Engineering Intern
Madrid · Nov 2022 – Jun 2023

  • Developed AI Behavior Trees in Unity for enemy senses in a stealth game.
  • Created Augmented Reality tools for the game design team.
  • Modernized a legacy codebase to newer frameworks.

Vicomtech

Research Assistant
San Sebastián · Aug 2021 – Aug 2022

  • Built collaborative AR apps for HoloLens, Android, iOS, PC and Web with Unity, ARFoundation and React with Three.js.
  • Contributed to European technology transfer projects: H2020 ARETE, H2020 RESCUER and 5G EUSKADI.
  • Co-author of the paper "Collaborative Augmented Reality Tools for Behavioural Lessons" (DOI).

Vicomtech

Software Engineering Intern
San Sebastián · Jan – Jun 2021

Developed a collaborative musical AR environment for education in the H2020 ARETE project, using Unity and Vuforia (demo videos).

IECISA (CGSI)

IT Intern
Oviedo · Feb – Mar 2020

Application deployment with Docker, system administration troubleshooting and database management.

Skills

  • Unreal Engine 5
  • Unreal Engine 4
  • Unity
  • C++
  • C#
  • C
  • Java / JavaEE
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • JavaScript
  • Angular
  • React
  • Gameplay mechanics
  • IK
  • Animation Blueprints
  • Behavior Trees
  • ARFoundation
  • Gameplay Ability System
  • Git
  • SVN
  • Perforce
  • FMOD Studio

Education

Master's Degree in Video Game Development

Universidad Complutense de Madrid · 2022 – 2023

Capstone: LunarPunk.

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Software Engineering

Universidad de Oviedo · 2015 – 2021

Coursework in video game software, augmented reality and accessibility, and software for robots. Thesis: Collaborative Music Environment in Augmented Reality, completed as an intern at Vicomtech.

Spanish (native) · English (B2)

Projects

Games and side work

LunarPunk

Tower attack game
Unreal Engine 4, C++
Gameplay video · Source code

  • Programmed core gameplay, animations and AI for allies and enemies.
  • Led the FMOD integration with composers and designers for all sound effects and music.
  • Automated builds with Jenkins and worked with QA on bug tracking.
  • Refactored the codebase with two teammates to improve performance and robustness.

Game jams

As a developer

Madrid in Game (Oct 2023), Global Game Jam (Jan 2023) and Ludum Dare 48.

Let's talk

Get in touchLinkedIn
Open on YouTube