Junior Gameplay Programmer - Intern

Lycus Studios; India; Remote; INR 167,000 - 246,000; Part time

Job summary

Lycus Studios is seeking a motivated Gameplay Programmer Intern to gain hands-on experience on Holy Fraud, a production Unreal Engine game. This hands-on internship is ideal for students or recent graduates who want to build a career in gameplay programming and work closely with a senior programmer.

You will deepen your C++ and OOP skills, learn Unreal Blueprints, collaborate with designers, and contribute to gameplay iterations.

Qualifications

• Strong fundamentals in C++ with OOP concepts.
• Working knowledge of Unreal Engine Blueprints.
• Ability to read and understand existing code and debug.
• Portfolio or project demonstrating Unreal Engine or gameplay programming.
• Currently a student or recent graduate; eligible for internship.

Responsibilities

• Implement and debug gameplay systems in Unreal Engine.
• Collaborate with designers and directors to translate ideas into mechanics.
• Participate in frequent gameplay iterations and playtests.
• Learn coding practices and project workflows; communicate progress.
• Assist with debugging, testing, and refining gameplay systems.
• Take initiative and explain implementation decisions.
• Adapt to production environment and existing codebase.
• Own learning and progressively contribute.

Skills

C++ fundamentals

OOP principles

Unreal Engine Blueprints

Code reading & debugging

Gameplay programming

Git/version control

Education

Student or recent graduate

Tools

Unreal Engine

Git

Job description

About Lycus Studios

Lycus Studios is an independent game development studio working on Holy Fraud, a first-person comedy simulation game. We are looking for a motivated Gameplay Programmer Intern who wants to build a career in gameplay programming and gain hands-on experience working on an actively developing game.

This role is suited for a student or aspiring programmer with a strong foundation in C++ and Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), a working understanding of Unreal Engine Blueprints, and the ability to learn quickly in a production environment.

What You'll Do

• Work closely with our senior programmer to implement, improve, and debug gameplay systems in Unreal Engine.
• Collaborate extensively with game designers, level designers, and the game director to translate gameplay ideas into functional game mechanics.
• Participate in frequent gameplay iterations, internal playtests, and feedback-driven improvements.
• Understand gameplay requirements, break problems into smaller tasks, and propose possible implementation approaches before seeking guidance.
• Assist with debugging, testing, and refining existing gameplay systems.
• Communicate technical progress, blockers, and implementation details clearly with the team.
• Learn and follow established coding practices, project workflows, and development standards.
• Take initiative in understanding not just how a feature works, but why it is designed and implemented that way.

Who We're Looking For

We want someone who is genuinely ambitious about becoming a gameplay programmer, takes ownership of their learning, and can gradually become a reliable contributor to the development team. You will receive guidance from our senior programmer, but we expect you to actively research, experiment, troubleshoot, and attempt solutions independently before asking for help.

Since the game is already in production, adaptability, fast learning, and the ability to integrate into an existing codebase are especially important.

Requirements

Technical Requirements

• Strong fundamentals in C++ programming, including classes, inheritance, polymorphism, encapsulation, pointers, references, and memory management basics.
• Good understanding of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) principles and their practical applications.
• Basic to intermediate proficiency in Unreal Engine Blueprints, including variables, functions, events, execution flow, and communication between actors.
• Familiarity with Unreal Engine's gameplay framework is an advantage, including Actors, Pawns, Characters, Components, and Game Modes.
• Ability to read existing code, understand unfamiliar systems, debug issues, and investigate solutions independently.
• Basic knowledge of gameplay mechanics, game logic, and the relationship between code and player experience.
• Familiarity with Git or other version control systems is a plus.

Collaboration and Work Approach

• Good spoken Tamil communication skills to collaborate effectively with our senior programmer and team members.
• Ability to communicate technical ideas, ask clear questions, report blockers, and explain attempted solutions.
• Comfortable working closely with game designers, level designers, and the game director through frequent iterations and playtesting.
• Willingness to test gameplay changes, gather feedback, identify issues, and refine implementations.
• Quick learner who can adapt to an existing project, understand established workflows, and contribute without requiring constant step-by-step instructions.
• Proactive problem-solving mindset: make a reasonable attempt, research the problem, test possible solutions, and then seek guidance when necessary.
• Strong ambition to build a career specifically in gameplay programming.
• Students, recent graduates, and aspiring gameplay programmers are welcome to apply.
• Academic projects, personal prototypes, game jams, or Unreal Engine projects demonstrating programming ability are valuable.
• A portfolio, GitHub repository, or playable project demonstrating your skills is preferred.

Important: This is a hands-on internship in an active game production environment. We value strong fundamentals, curiosity, ownership, and learning speed over years of professional experience.