Game Design

VR Games

xr military flight simulator

A custom flight cockpit and accompanying program simulator package demonstrating technological potential of utilizing XR, Unreal, and a physical interactable cockpit. Prototype delivered October 2021, continuing work into 2022.

Programs utilized:

  • Unreal 4.27 - C++ and Blueprints

  • Varjo XR base/SDK for Unreal

  • Maya

  • Surface Painter

  • Photoshop

  • Visual Studio

Primary Roles:

  • Lead Unreal developer

  • Gameplay design, systems coding and implementation for Pylon racing, Air-to-Air, and Air-to-Ground features.

  • Pipeline technician - integrating third party code, assets, and hardware SDKs.

  • Additional work provided for technical art, production, and project management roles.

VR Market Research Program

This program was designed and utilized to facilitate hundreds of participants in a market research oriented experiment. Intended to be quickly reconfigurable to study slight changes in the environment, the developer hired me as an emergency programming consultant to bring this project to experiment-ready within a rapid timeframe. My role expanded during my contract to design, pipeline, and project management.

Text prompt show/hide text and item selection

Primary Roles

  • Top level redesign of interactions and code

  • Scope management and objective setting

  • Coding, implementation, and iteration on all mechanics

  • Data management to log pertinent information of user choices and export from Unreal to Excel via csv file creation

  • Model and texture assistance and pipeline troubleshooting

  • Optimization for older PC hardware

  • Porting for Vive 1, 2, Varjo, and Oculus

Programs utilized:

  • Unreal 4.27.2 - C++ and Blueprints

  • Varjo XR Base/SDK for Unreal

  • Oculus SDK

  • Maya/Blender

  • Photoshop/Krita

  • Visual Studio

Typical user interaction to browse and select familiar brands

Eye/hand tracking mechanic experimentation in vr demo

Solo project

A quick mechanics-only gesture-based demo of potential VR gameplay utilizing Vive, Tobii eyetracking, and LeapMotion hand-tracking technology integrated into Unity.

Developed to explore the potential fun in interactions utilizing all three of these technologies in tandem.

Game Design Documents

 

Made for a potential Porco Rosso inspired game, this document describes two potential solutions for immersive travel solutions to enable players quick world traversal.

 

Commissioned for Game Worlds Austin, this RTS tutorial aimed to teach students how to make RTS mechanics for the Unreal Engine.

Astral Sign Limit

A design document and slide deck I developed to pitch a VR educational game intended to teach American Sign Language to players through RPG gesture-enabled fantasy gameplay.

Developed as a proposition for the Texas A&M Livelab intended as a 2 year development cycle project.

GDD Link: Astral Sign Limit
Pitch Link: ASL Pitch

Game Jams, Tests and Studies

Department of Abyssal Wildlife - IDGA Austin Game Jam

https://itch.io/jam/igda-austin/rate/2267558

Made in 38 hours on a team of four, I was the sole programmer and lead designer.

Made in Unity

Won the accolades: "Creative Visuals, Captivating Narrative, Clever use of Diversifiers, and Impressive Use of Tech"

Ball and Chain Prototype- 2021

Working off of the limitations of being bound to a ball and chain, this demo explores a possible mechanic of the gameplay implications this situation could create.

Solo project, developed from Unreal Third Person Action template.

Programs Utilized:

  • Unity

  • Github

  • Maya

  • Visual Studio

Gawbs vs dorfs- 2020

A digital tabletop strategy game, Gawbs vs Dorfs pits players together in hot-seat turn based action.
Players can move units, conquer spaces, build from three choices, make upgrades to the same, and engage in dice-calculated combat to attempt to defeat their opponent. Created with a team of six for VIST 487, Game Development.

Roles:

  • Lead Tabletop prototype to Digital Conversion Designer

  • Lead Unity Developer

  • C# Coder for most interactions

  • Tech Artist (Environments, Lighting, Materials)

  • Pipeline Technician