Post Graduate
As of september 2020 I enrolled in MSC Computer Game Engineering at newcaslte university. The projects and assignments I complete will be chronicled here. Click the links here to go to a specific module or scroll throught o get an idea of the projects thart I've completed as part of the masters course.
Advanced Programming for Games
For the first course work, I was asked to create a program that could solve text mazes in several configurations using an appropriate algorithm.
The specification required us to be able to load mazes from files, generate a maze, save generated mazes to files and solve mazes with one or more participants.
This was an enjoyable project to complete and required me to use skills both old and new to complete. I particularly enjoyed creating an A* solution for the required specification.
I gained a score of 94% on this module.
Advanced Graphics for games
CSC 8502 required us to create a graphical scene using an implementation of openGL using the graphics pipeline to achieve the required effect. The theme for the module this year was Cyberpunk.
This module required me to gain and utilise new skills in both c++ and GLSL required to create the shaders used in this project. I particularly enjoyed the creation and research of the post-processing shaders used in the final project.
I gained a score of 82% on this module.
Advanced Game technologies
This project required the creation of a small game using physics-based interactions and simple AI concepts to create obstacles.
Through the creation of this project, I was able to gain new knowledge of the creation of 3D games. The physics component of this project covered collision volumes and constraints. While the AI segment covered the creation of simple state machines behaviour trees and pushdown automata.
Of particular enjoyment on this project was the creation of the constraints and pushdown automata to create the menu for the game.
I gained a score of 83% on this module.
Game Technology Innovations
This module was a companion module for the group project below. Each member of our team was tasked with the creation of a rapid gameplay prototype to present to the group for possible inclusion in the game. mY ideas were a multiplayer disappearing floor game and a conveyor dodge the obstacle game.
This project required me to familiarise myself with the unity engine. While I had used it before this was the first time I had used it in the context of a 3D project.
My disappearing floor prototype was added to the game after presenting it to my team.
I gained a score of 82% on this module.
Engineering Gaming Solutions within a Team
For our group Project module, our team was tasked with creating a more advanced and feature-complete version of the game we created for advanced game technologies.
I was tasked with the integration of Physics middleware into our game (Bullet Dynamics Library). I also helped out on gameplay elements as well and provided support on physics-based interactions and bug fixes.
This project helped me develop my teamwork and communication skills as well as my c++ skills in the context of a large and ever-evolving codebase. It also helped familiarise me more with source and versioning control again in the context of a team-based environment.
My team gained a score of 85% on this module.
3D for aancient Rome A Vindolanda adventure
For our dissertation project, we were given a range of topics to pursue. I chose to create a game around the historic site of Vindolanda. This required the use of the unity engine and produced a product that can be played through a web browser using the WebGL features of unity as well as a standalone version
The game is aimed at the key stage 2 demographic as this is the age at which roman history is taught in schools. The game revolves around helping characters around the world and getting enough currency to buy a comb from the market. The idea was to encourage players to explore the environment and fill out the in-game journal and learn about Roman history as a result.
The project allowed me to get much more familiar with the unity game engine as well as experience taking a project from concept to a final project using a modern game engine.
The project turned out well and is fully playable at the link to the right on itch.io (the password is ChrisOggMasters).
Marks have not yet been released for this module