Hi, I'm River Thomas

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Freelance

Tech Artist & Tools Programmer

Over the past few years I've worked as a freelancer. Early on in my Unreal career I noticed there were some features I was missing in Unreal, so I started developing and selling tools on the UE marketplace (now FAB). As time went on, I shifted to making bespoke tools for clients, and slowly started growing a network.

As Unreal started implementing a lot of my early tools natively, my focus shifted towards client work, especially in the Twitch space. I've worked with streamers like Kial Natale (developer of the popular Unreal mocap solution MegaMocapVR), Adriana Chechik, and Rikku_VR, but the two biggest projects I've worked on in this space are HanaX and her virtual concerts, and ENDVR creating a multiplayer VR version of his festival streams.

After shipping Misc. A Tiny Tale with Tinyware, I decided to move my focus towards finalizing and releasing Simia Engine, the game engine I'd been working on off and on already. Currently the aim is a Q1 2026 public release, after an already succesful 2025 limited release.

Tinyware Games

Gameplay & Tools Programmer

Tinyware is a small indie startup from Australia, started by project lead Michael Pearce. Having worked with Michael before on Jurassic Explorer, a lot of the same team got back together to work on this game, so it was an easy decision to work on it.

Their first game, Misc. A Tiny Tale, released in mid 2025 for PC and Nintendo Switch. My initial focus was on tools and systems, with some tech art as time went on and optimizations for Switch became a consideration. It had been a few years since our last game together, which had been done on Unity, so early on we focussed on getting back up to speed with new adjusted workflows and remade tools.

CoderDojo Amsterdam

Volunteer Teacher

CoderDojo is a global volunteer-led organization, hosting workshops for kids to learn code, 3D, robotics, and other tech. The target audience is 7 through 17 year olds, but our location mostly saw visitors age 4 through 14, so most material had to be adjusted or made from scratch.

During my time here we hosted new workshops every month, for which I created new lesson materials, and helped teach it alongside the other volunteers. I started volunteering here when I was just 15 years old, and grew to be more involved as time went on, until we had to close down. During that time I've helped organize workshops on LEGO Mindstorms, 3D printing, web development, Blender, LED signage, Minecraft modding, arduinos, and much more. At times we also organized tie-in workshops during other events, like a CoderDojo in bookstore Scheltema during the Dutch Book Week.

Ultimately I learned a ton about making tech accessible, improving the user experience for a less tech savvy user, and making clear and easy-to-follow documentation.

Blix22

Magic Technology Developer

Started by a Dutch marketing duo, Blix22's goal was to apply gamification to marketing though tie-in and promotional games. I got to work here from startup until the studio sadly closed down, and during my time here, I got to work with interesting global clients, like Warner Music, Dua Lipa, Don Diablo/Hexagon, and many more.

The big ongoing projects were Hexagonia and Pyqabu. Hexagonia is a digital multimedia world explored in Don Diablo's music videos and comic books. There was simultaneous development of a mobile minigames arcade, and a larger PC/console title.
Pyqaby was a whitelabel AR app for combined physical/virtual greeting cards, letting people add animations and video messages onto greeting cards, photo cakes, and other personalizable gifts.

Smaller projects during this time included simple webgames for Dua Lipa and Warner Music to promote albums, an AR promo for Steenland Chocolate to bring packaging to live, and a personal project 3D printing a robot from Don's music video for his birthday.
Some projects include: Hexagonia, Pyqabu, and the 3D printed Hex

Leisure Expert Group

Intern VR Visualization

Leisure Expert Group are at the forefront of entertainment, designing everything from themeparks to festivals. My internship here let me expand my horizons quite a bit, getting to work for major clients like EDC, AIDA Cruises, This Is Holland, and more.

The internship was part of my degree in game programming, but I got to explore outside my area of expertise quite a bit, which really helped broaden my horizon. The job was VR visualizations, but I worked on everything from VR architectural tools, to simulations of effects, helped the 3D team, and even got to design animatronics for an attraction, combining my newly learned 3D design skills with my passion for robotics.

Some of the projects I worked on here include: AIDANova Time Machine Restaurant, This Is Holland, and a peppersghost effect simulator.