Sven van Huessen

Engine & Tools programmer

Programming student at Breda University of Applied Sciences with industry internship experience. Worked on custom game engines in both academic and professional settings. Looking for a programming internship starting summer 2026.

Sven van Huessen Click me
Made with verlet physics! Read More

Projects

- Highlighted -

The Kudzu Engine is a cross-platform voxel game engine. As an engine & tools programmer I was responsible for designing and implementing core engine systems, as well as creating tools for designers, artists, and programmers.
🧠 Contributions
Engine architecture - Editor - Prefabs - UX - Scripting - Serialization - Reflection - UI - CI CD
🛠️ Role
C++ engine & tools programmer
Duration
4 Months
👥 Team Size
16
💻 Platform
Windows, PlayStation 5

Reflection-based C++ ImGui wrapper. My first serious attempt at an open-source GitHub project.

Reached 100+ stars on GitHub and is featured on the official ImGui wiki by Omar Cornut (creator of ImGui) himself.

🛠️ Techniques
C++ - Reflection - Template / Meta programming - Design Patterns - SFINAE - Type traits
Duration
8 Weeks

- Personal Projects -

As a young freelancer I developed a mobile app for a Norwegian puzzle company. From initial concept to launch on major app stores.

“Sven has very impressive problem-solving skills, often surprising us with clever solutions. He is responsive, reflective, thorough, careful and effective.”
- Mike Naylor and Gerd Åsta Bones / Founders of DragonFjord

A mod that replaces the default map with a high-resolution render of Night City. Reached over 250,000 downloads, media attention, and recognized by associate game director at CD Projekt Red.

“The creator is currently pursuing a game programming degree, and if we had to hedge any bets, their future is extremely bright.”
- Johnny Flores Jr. / News Editor at TheGamer

Custom cross-platform game engine for PC and PlayStation 5 made in 8 weeks entirely solo. Engine + Editor + 2 Demos
🛠️ Techniques
C++ - Engine architecture - Editor development - UX - ECS
Duration
8 weeks
💻 Platform
PC & PlayStation 5
A modern remake of the classic Lights Out puzzle game. Available on Android and the web.

Experience

Engine & Tools Programmer - Traverse Research - Breda
Summer Internship - Jun 2025 - Aug 2025

As an engine and tools intern at Traverse Research during the Summer of Code, I integrated DirectStorage API into their custom Rust game engine. Enabling direct NVMe-to-GPU texture streaming.

  • Optimized asset loading by bypassing CPU bottlenecks
  • Worked in a large codebase
  • Designed a system within existing architecture
Unity Developer - Little Chicken Game Company - Amsterdam
Internship - Jan 2023 - May 2023

During my internship at Little Chicken Game Company, an Amsterdam-based studio creating games for mobile, VR, and PC, I gained professional experience contributing to Steam game Rekt Party.

  • Developed checkpoint system
  • Designing a gameplay modifiers system
  • Created a level editor for designers
  • Developed Blender plugin for artists
  • Cross-disciplinary team collaboration
  • Photo mode color grading tool
Unity Developer - DragonFjord - Remote
Freelance - Jan 2022 - Nov 2022

As a young freelancer, next to my studies, I developed the “A-Puzzle-A-Day” mobile game for DragonFjord, a Norwegian puzzle company. From initial concept to launch on major app stores.

  • Full-cycle mobile game development
  • Launched on iOS App Store and Google Play
  • Reaching over +15,000 downloads and played by hundreds of people daily

“Sven has very impressive problem-solving skills, often surprising us with clever solutions. He is responsive, reflective, thorough, careful and effective."
- Mike Naylor and Gerd Åsta Bones, Founders of DragonFjord

Read full recommendation on LinkedIn.

Education

2023 - current (est. 2027)
Bachelor's in Game Technologies
Breda University of Applied Sciences
- Netherlands

As a programming student at Breda University of Applied Sciences, I focus on custom engine & tools programming using C++. See my projects for examples of what I’ve built so far.

Techniques: C++ | Git & GitHub | Agile & Scrum | Unreal Engine | Jenkins | Perforce

2021 - 2023
Software Development
Grafisch Lyceum Rotterdam
- Rotterdam

First student at Grafisch Lyceum Rotterdam to complete Software Development degree in 2 years (vs. standard 3-year program). Focussed on web technologies and game development with a minor in XR/VR.

Techniques: Web Development | C# | Unity

Achievements

Cyberpunk 2077 Mod
Developed Realistic Map mod for Cyberpunk 2077 and reached over 250,000 downloads.
Perfect Freshman Year
4.0 GPA in my first year AND second year at Breda University of Applied Sciences.
Fast Track
First software development student at Grafisch Lyceum Rotterdam to complete the program in 2 years instead of 3.
Local Newspaper
Local Newspaper
Interviewed by De Heraut about my story with A-Puzzle-A-Day.
Dutch National Newspaper
Dutch National Newspaper
AD, one of the largest newspapers in the Netherlands, wrote an article about A-Puzzle-A-Day.
Norwegian Newspaper
Norwegian Newspaper
Even the Norwegian newspaper wrote an article about A-Puzzle-A-Day.
Dutch National Newspaper, again!
Dutch National Newspaper, again!
AD wrote another article but this time about my Lights Out app.
Gaming Bible
The Gaming Bible wrote an article about my Cyberpunk 2077 mod.
The Gamer
The Gamer also wrote an article about my Cyberpunk 2077 mod.
Buas Games Interview
Did an interview with my university’s games blog about building a custom voxel engine and game.

Contact

About Me

Hi, I’m Sven, a third-year programming student at Breda University of Applied Sciences. My journey started with Scratch, progressed to Unity, and now I specialize in custom game engines & tool development in C++.

With a degree in software development and experience from internships at Traverse Research and Little Chicken Game Company, I’ve built strong skills in creating scalable and user-friendly systems.

I primarily code in C++, with experience in C#, Rust, JavaScript, and Python. In my latest project I learned about C++ meta programming by building ImReflect.

Looking for a programming internship starting summer 2026.