Michael Sadler

Hello! I'm Michael Sadler, a Game Developer, Scriptwriter and Programmer with a passion for bringing immersive stories to life. I'm part of Kinetic Magic, a Sydney game studio focused on making narrative-based games.

RK Override is available on Steam now:

Our game projects are available for free on itch.io:

RK Override

RK Override is an hour-long fully voiced interactive narrative following Chimera, a Mecha Captain fighting in an endless war for their country’s future. Fight for control against your Mecha’s AI copilot (RK System) as you attempt to end the conflict - no matter the cost.

The full game is available for free on Steam (Windows and Mac):

The only hope against the Scrapper’s endless onslaught has always been Synergy Corp. They have defended the country for years, and managed to convince the Scrappers to agree to the Preservation Statute, ensuring that neither side kills the other. Conflicts are carried out using Mecha, with each Synergy Mecha Captain being assigned an RK System, an Automated Replicant Knowledge System that helps copilot their Mecha and ensure the statute is maintained.Assume the role of Chimera, a Mecha Captain of Synergy Corp, as they fight in this endless war. They have never truly believed in the statute, trusting neither the Scrappers nor Synergy Corp. They believe the only way to end the war is to break the statute and wipe out the Scrappers once and for all. Chimera’s RK System “Ki”, who is optimistic and hopeful about the world, disagrees with their outlook, and tries to convince them to see value in the statute.When Chimera's Mecha Squadron is deployed on a mission to defend the Synergy Central Plant from an invading Scrapper force, the status quo unexpectedly changes, and the fate of the conflict is put in Chimera’s hands.

KEY FEATURES
• Immerse yourself in an hour-long fully voiced narrative• Assume the role of Chimera as they fight in the ruthless conflict between Synergy Corp and the Scrappers• Experience 2D animated cutscenes and 3D in-engine cinematics as Chimera attempts to alter the course of the war• When in breach of the Statute, your RK System will interfere with your Mecha’s controls - fight back to ensure you achieve your goals

This project was made in Unreal Engine with a core development team of 3, with 12 voice actors and 4 modellers providing additional help. Development was approximately 7 months, with an extra month to bring the game onto Steam.For this project, I was the Project Lead, Game Designer and Scriptwriter.

Project Contributions:• Wrote game concept document and storyline• Wrote full 86 page script for the game's narrative• Creating casting calls and directed 12 voice actors, recording all 600+ voice lines in the game• Edited voice lines, choosing takes and timing all scenes• Designed game levels and programmed sequences• Programmed game objects• General playtesting, bug fixing and optimisation

Snake Break

Become the Snake King of Woodburr by causing as much mayhem as possible, destroying everything in your path and scaring everybody in sight! Drag and launch the snake to destroy as many objects as possible, collecting powerups and sending humans running in panic!

The full game is available for free on itch.io (Windows and Mac):

Game Features:• Fully destructible 3D environments• 10 levels featuring different gameplay styles and environments• Scare humans to send them running!• 4 different apple power-ups• 3 star high score system

This project was made in Unreal Engine with a team of 5 people over 14 days, with this being created as a part of the SXSW 2025 Snake Game Jam.For this project, I worked on the game concept, planning, level design and programming.

Project Contributions:• Designed game levels and layouts• Playtested levels and tested for bugs• General bug fixing and optimisation

The Academy of Kinetic Magic

The Academy of Kinetic Magic is a 3D Fantasy Puzzle Platformer with Object Manipulation Abilities. Take on the academy exam by completing 15 levels across 5 different modules, and try to get the highest grade!

The full game is available for free on itch.io (Windows and Mac):

Game Features:• 15 levels featuring various puzzles and platforming challenges• 6 object manipulation abilities: Grab, Gravity, Clone, Scale, Rewind and Fuse• Over 100 custom-made models• Custom shader to emulate a hand-drawn, comic-like pen and ink style• Animated adaptive UI• Hint, message and scoring systems• Comic-like word effects that appear to emphasise actions• Sound effects and background music

This project was made in Unreal Engine with a team of 5 people over 10 weeks.For this project, I worked on the game concept, game design, planning, prototypes, level design, programming and UI.

Project Contributions:• Created game concept and prototyped mechanics• Programmed the player character, all object manipulation abilities and most interactable objects• Created level structure and global Blueprints to use across all levels• Designed several game levels and mechanics• Implemented the UI• Implemented the hint, message and scoring systems• Implemented music and sound effects• General bug fixing and optimisation

Runaway Saloon Arcade

Runaway Saloon Arcade is a 3D top-down arcade shooter where players aim to get the highest score.An arcade machine has escaped the saloon, and all the mighty cowboys of the land are hunting it down! Play as the arcade machine and run away from the cowboys for as long as possible.

The full game is available for free on itch.io (Windows and Mac):

Game Features:• 3 types of endlessly spawning cowboys• Limited ammunition system: collect coins to get more ammo• Interactable objects: Hundreds of objects in the level can be flung around, with these being able to destroy cowboys• Cowboy hat collectable: double movement speed for a few seconds• Sheriff badge collectable: Earn more points• High score system• Cowboy quotes on the game over screen• 4 difficulty modes and starting coin counts

This project was made in Unreal Engine with a team of 2 people over 14 days, with this being created as a part of the SXSW Sydney 2024 Cowboy Game Jam.For this project, I worked on the game concept, level design, programming and UI.

Project Contributions:• Created game concept and prototyped mechanics• Programmed the player character, enemies and all objects• Created level layout and design• Created and implemented the UI• Implemented the scoring and difficulty systems• Implemented music and sound effects• General bug fixing and optimisation

About

Hello! I’m Michael Sadler, a game developer, scriptwriter and programmer based in Sydney Australia.
I’m passionate about crafting immersive and impactful stories for others to experience. I have always loved games, and have a strong desire to continue creating game worlds to share with other people.I enjoy working in collaborative environments, and am always willing to learn new skills and techniques to ensure each project I work on is better than the last.

My resume and portfolio are available upon request.

Thank you for viewing my website!