About

About Me Link to heading

I’m Manuel Otheo, a senior multiplayer and gameplay engineer based in Puebla, Mexico. I have more than 15 years of experience in game development, including over eight years working professionally with Unreal Engine.

My work focuses on the systems that make online games function reliably: gameplay replication, session architecture, matchmaking, parties, lobbies, dedicated servers, backend integration, cross-platform services, profiling, and debugging.

Kiln Link to heading

I worked as Senior Multiplayer Engineer on Kiln with Double Fine Productions and Xbox Game Studios. I designed and implemented major parts of its multiplayer foundation, including custom Unreal Iris replication for deformable clay characters, PlayFab-powered online services, matchmaking, parties, lobbies, dedicated-server flows, telemetry, and cross-platform support across Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.

Explore my work on Kiln

Hammerbyte Games Link to heading

I founded Hammerbyte Games in 2020 and have led its development work across more than ten commercial and co-development projects. My role combines hands-on engineering with technical direction, mentoring, architecture, production planning, client communication, and delivery.

Through Hammerbyte, I have worked across Unreal Engine, Unity, UEFN, multiplayer systems, gameplay programming, backend services, automation, and internal development tools.

What I Work With Link to heading

  • Unreal Engine and C++
  • Multiplayer architecture and gameplay replication
  • Unreal Iris and networking optimization
  • PlayFab, matchmaking, parties, lobbies, and dedicated servers
  • PC and console development
  • Gameplay systems, tools, and technical prototyping
  • Jenkins automation and development pipelines
  • Unity, C#, UEFN, and Verse

How I Work Link to heading

I enjoy difficult engineering problems that sit between gameplay, infrastructure, and production. I care about solutions that are technically sound, understandable by the rest of the team, and practical enough to ship.

I am comfortable working as a senior individual contributor, technical lead, or partner to design, production, and external clients. I also use AI-assisted development tools extensively for research, implementation, debugging, review, and workflow automation while remaining responsible for the final engineering decisions.

Outside game development, I train as an amateur boxer and enjoy building independent tools and experimental projects.

Contact Link to heading

LinkedIn · GitHub · X · Contact me