Unreal Engine Blueprint Programmer
BLASTOIDS
Top Down Shooter
Solo Programming Project
BLASTOIDS is my first attempt at creating a game in 3 days, entirely on my own. I imagined the concept of this game late one evening and then, over the course of the next 3 days, I brought the game to life.
The development of BLASTOIDS allowed me to get much more comfortable with using Unreal Engine 5 to develop games. I began further experimentation by utilising Paper2D flipbook animation to bring sprite work to life. The UI is also animated in BLASTOIDS, having motion and fade effects. Furthermore, I decided to create the art for the game. Whilst it isn't anything overly impressive to look at, I believe I have successfully achieved the style I set out to create when originally making BLASTOIDS.
Overall, the game was originally made in 3 days. Over the course of the following 3 to 4 days, I released small updates to add in features I had to originally cut, as well as just general bug fixing and quality of life improvments.
The game is available to try on Itch! Take a look if you'd like:
Cessation: Terminus 1
Arena Survival Game
Solo Programming Project
Cessation: Terminus 1 was my first time making a game almost entirely on my own. I did end up reaching out to another student to collaborate with implementing 3D weapon models and textures into the game, as well as reaching out to peers for play-testing but aside from that this project was entirely my own plan.
The development of this game really allowed me to explore more complex and ambitious additions which I am now far more confident around, such as weapon purchasing and upgrade mechanics. I developed my coding skill, learning the importance of code optimisation through reading player saves to update collectables, or implementing switches for more efficient computation. Visually, the game is very simplistic as a result of my programming focus, but has a satisfying amount of depth. I intend to use the experience and coding I created in this project as a foundation for not only future projects, but also further optimisations.
Overall, accounting for health issues, I was able to complete this project in around 4 to 6 weeks of working time.
The game is available to try on Itch! Take a look if you'd like:
Where's Mise Spaghetti?
Collection Movement-Based Platformer
Group Game Jam Project
Where's Mise Spaghetti is a third person mobility platformer tasking the player to defeat vermin and collect spaghetti ingredients.
Due to the short production time-frame, a lot of my programming was taken and improvised from my Cessation: Terminus 1 project, with optimisations being made to the AI to allow for wandering and removing the need for code to be ran every tick for each AI. I added fresh code to allow the player to create a throwable grappling point and throwing stars, as well as integrate a high score system that had been planned for the previous project, Discount of the Dead.
The game did have a few programming flaws such as the nav-mesh being to intensive to load quickly meaning the AI have a period of time where they are incapable of moving, but since this was my first time working under such a tight time frame I am pleased with the results and will take the experience into consideration in future projects and game jams.
Overall, the game was made in 3 days.
The game is not yet available for download.
Discount of the Dead
Arcade High-Score Zombie Item Collecting Game
Group Game Project
Discount of the Dead is a top-down, high score based game tasking the player to navigate a zombie infested store to collect items in order to increase their score. The player must manage health and stamina in order to survive, and can end the game by checking out which doubles the points they had.
This game was my first fully completed game and allowed me to experiment with adding AI into the player level. I was not the only programmer on the team for this project which allowd me to learn the benefits of creating neat blueprints with comments to organise the layout and explain the logic being used - something I went onto refine in future projects like Where's Mise Spaghetti. DotD also allowed me to experiment with adding sounds and animations - greatening my understanding of Unreal Engine. I did attempt to learn save systems in this project, but they were ultimately scrapped due to time constraints and instead implemented in future projects.
Overall, the game was made in 2 weeks.
The game is available to try on Itch! Take a look if you'd like:
Apocrypha
Environmental Exploration Game
Group Game Project
Apocrypha was my first ever project I worked on in Unreal Engine. The player is tasked with finding keys to enter new rooms, and can levitate certain items to create a navigable environment.
The coding for this project was simple due to it being my first time using blueprints, but learning how to let the player move objects and collect keys which interact with certain doors was the first big stepping stone into broadening my understanding of Unreal Engine.
I also worked on sound and some aspects of lighting for the project.
3D Modelling
While my time working with making 3D models has been brief, I do have this weapon design named the "T10 - Honorary" which I am particularly proud of.
