Foundation: Explorer

Project Overview

The Foundation Explorer is a highly detailed real-time character initially developed to showcase the capabilities of Unity’s High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP) on Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile devices. Late in production, we pivoted to a third-person camera perspective, and the character was successfully integrated into Unreal Engine 4.

This project demonstrates cross-platform versatility and the technical optimization required to achieve cinematic-quality visuals on mobile hardware while maintaining performance.

Role & Responsibilities

I was responsible for all aspects of the character development:

• Hi-poly sculpting in ZBrush with detailed anatomical and hard-surface forms
• Optimization & retopology for real-time performance on mobile devices
• Texturing with physically-based materials and surface detailing
• Engine integration in both Unity HDRP and Unreal Engine 4
• Lighting & presentation to showcase visual fidelity

I also sculpted the initial hi-poly block-in of the drone backpack accessory, with final sculpt touches and optimization completed by Michael Withem.

Concept Art: Gorgio Baroni

Technical Approach

Cross-Platform Pipeline

Successfully transitioning from Unity HDRP to Unreal Engine 4 required careful consideration of:

• Asset format compatibility and shader recreation
• Material conversion between rendering pipelines
• Lighting setup adaptation for different engines
• Performance profiling and optimization in both environments

Mobile Optimization

The character was optimized to maintain 60fps on Snapdragon hardware:

• Efficient topology with strategic polygon distribution
• LOD system for dynamic performance scaling
• Optimized texture resolutions for memory constraints
• Mobile-friendly shader complexity

Visual Development

The character features a utilitarian sci-fi aesthetic with modular design elements:

• Functional details: Weathered surfaces, control panels, and technical elements
• Material variety: Hard-surface armor, soft fabrics, worn metals, and glowing tech
• Backpack drone: Autonomous support unit adding asymmetry and storytelling depth
• Customizable color schemes: Multiple variants demonstrating material flexibility

Color Variations

Technical Views

Outcomes

This character successfully demonstrated:

• Mobile performance: 60fps on Snapdragon hardware
• Visual fidelity: AAA-quality visuals within technical constraints
• Pipeline flexibility: Seamless transition between major game engines
• Scalability: Strong performance across multiple platforms and quality settings

The Foundation Explorer was showcased at major industry events and served as a technical benchmark for real-time character rendering on mobile devices, demonstrating up to 75% performance improvement with Snapdragon’s Game Post Processing Accelerator.

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Character development by Carlos Garcia. Drone optimization by Michael Withem. Concept art by Gorgio Baroni.
Project developed for Snapdragon Studios / Qualcomm