SolAR

Product context

SolAR is a location-based mobile RPG developed by KYKUYO. It turns real-world exploration into part of an evolving interactive world, bringing geospatial systems, mobile gameplay and online services together in one public product.

The challenge

Features rarely belong to a single layer. A gameplay decision can affect device performance, location logic, service contracts and the way the team operates the product. The technical challenge is therefore not only to build individual systems, but to keep those systems coherent while a live mobile product continues to evolve.

My role

As Tech Lead, I lead technical work across the Unity client, backend services and operational tooling while remaining directly involved in architecture and implementation. My scope includes mobile performance, geospatial engineering, cross-system integrations and applied on-device AI.

That role combines direction with delivery: defining boundaries, unblocking decisions and implementing the parts where architectural context matters most. It also means giving the wider team a technical foundation they can extend safely.

A cross-stack case: combat

One concrete example is a data-driven turn-based combat system spanning targeting, reusable skills, combos, enemy behaviour, encounters, progression and backend support.

The important decision was to treat combat as a product capability rather than a self-contained Unity feature. Gameplay rules, progression data and service responsibilities needed explicit boundaries so that new content could be introduced without coupling every change to one implementation path.

Engineering decisions

Across the product, I favour data-driven systems, observable integration points and clear ownership between client and services. On mobile and geospatial work, the right solution is shaped by device constraints and the uncertainty of real-world inputs. Applied AI is handled in the same way: as a capability that must earn its place inside a reliable user experience.

Current state

SolAR is publicly available on iOS and Android. This case study intentionally focuses on my approved public scope and should be read as one contribution within the broader design, art, product and engineering effort of the KYKUYO team.