Harald Maassen
Games programmer turned support engineer, then engineering manager, and then developer relations lead at Epic Games. This portfolio traces that arc - from hands-on C++ and physics code to building and leading teams.
Interested In
I design systems - sometimes in code, sometimes in organizations. After years of building physics engines and netcode, I moved into engineering management and found the same puzzle-solving instinct applies to organizing people. I like bringing structure to ambiguity, building teams that stick around, and lately, exploring what AI tooling changes about the craft of programming - I write about that on my dev blog. I'm creative at heart, whether that's games, D&D adventures, or figuring out how a team should actually work.
Career Overview
Epic Games
When Improbable shifted focus, Epic acqui-hired the support group wholesale. Still managing the same people 4 years later, now as Manager of Developer Relations with a team of 10 spanning the Epic ecosystem. Fully remote role - successfully onboarded new hires and integrated the team into Epic's culture and workflows from day one.
Created and ran "No Bad Games" - an org-wide initiative to improve Unreal Engine's public perception. Wrote playbooks for proactive developer outreach, organized on-site studio visit "tours," produced performance optimization content, and set up release tracking to measure impact and feed post-mortems. These engagements are now overtaking traditional support as the team's primary focus.
I also invest heavily in the people side of the job - setting up secondments and cross-team placements to move people into roles that fit them better, having the hard conversations when someone's underperforming and building plans to get them back on track, and keeping morale up when things don't go the way someone hoped. Even when that means losing good people from my team.
Improbable
Joined the "metaverse" unicorn startup to help game developers use its multi-server seamless world technology. Started in customer support engineering, grew with the team into engineering management (team of 6). Built support into a smooth operation. Led the team through the pandemic, transitioning successfully to fully remote work. Navigated the team through evolving company directions, each time refocusing without losing momentum. The biggest pivot: taking on third-party developer support for Epic Games' Online Services - my team answered every single forum question, and the quality of that work led to Epic hiring the entire group.
Coached team members into new careers - one IC into product management, another into project management - through structured secondments, focused growth plans, and close coordination with receiving teams.
King
Joined via referral from an ex-Codeglue intern I'd managed - a kind of proto-management relationship that already showed the pattern of my later career. Started on a canceled Unity hidden-object game with story and DLC ambitions, where I built a basic custom audio plugin (King didn't do off-the-shelf). Moved to Farm Heroes Saga. Most interesting work: reverse-engineering King's internal engine - a monstrosity of layered conversions from Adobe Flash Robotlegs, each iteration losing context. Left them a detailed architectural report.
Codeglue
ibb & obb (2013 · C++ · PS3)
Responsible for roughly 90% of the programming on this co-op puzzle platformer. A small studio project where I touched almost everything:
- 2D physics with a stable gravity-reversal system - collision, creature interactions, the works
- Graphics on Sony PhyreEngine: custom shaders for wobbly bubbles, torch-lit dark levels, and color blending effects
- Dynamic level loading and an XML-based menu system built from scratch
- Peer-to-peer multiplayer with prediction, interpolation, and authority reconciliation for tight player interactions (standing on each other, pushing, grabbing)
- Programming lead - managed interns and freelancers
Terraria (C++ · 3DS / iOS / Android / WP8)
The studio rewrote the entire C# codebase from scratch in C++ to bring Terraria to mobile platforms. I contributed to the port effort across the board, but my main focus was gameplay:
- Created mobile-exclusive seasonal bosses - a turkey for Thanksgiving, a bunny for Easter
- Ported to Nintendo 3DS: stylus support, redesigned menus, graphical optimizations for the hardware
Other Projects
Antegods Prototype
Hydro Tilt
Rocket Riot
Revenge of the Evil Aliens (C# · Xbox LIVE Indie Games / PC)
A university-era side project born from the excitement of XNA letting you make console games at home. As the solo developer, I had to rally external contributors for art and music, learn video editing for the trailer, and build a website - the full indie cycle.
This project caught Codeglue's eye (they were making Rocket Riot on XNA) and led directly to getting hired.
Game Jams
I love game jams. A complete development cycle compressed into a weekend - an emotional rollercoaster every time. "Our idea is so great → oh no this will never work → it's coming together! → we'll never make the deadline → we made it with compromises and we're proud." Made for Global Game Jam or internal jams at Codeglue.
Chord Busters
Minokawa
Practice Time
Blocky
Wob Wob
Kipp
Fat Hamsters
Beyond Work
Legends of Amara
A multiplayer browser dungeon crawler in the style of classic Zelda, built almost entirely with AI - specifically Claude Code as a coding agent. The project started as an experiment in how far you can push AI-assisted development, and turned into something genuinely playable (if janky).
The game itself also uses LLMs under the hood: dungeons and monsters are procedurally generated via language models, and you can talk to NPCs in natural language - they have personalities, goals, and will try very hard to stay in character. Try to get them to break. It's fun.
Dungeons & Dragons
Five published products on DMsGuild: Old School Guide to Dungeon of the Mad Mage, Hidden Grove of the Deep Druids, Heart of Goodhollow, Heist on Cassalanter Villa, and Sunken Ruins of Ishau. Also co-host and editor of Blazing Bastards (▶), a Dutch D&D actual play podcast. More on the blog.