Game Development

Since 2021, I have been part of a two-person game development studio, serving as the team’s sole engineer and head of business functions and external coordination. I handle all of the code, tools, and systems for our games, which are developed in Unity.

Systems

  • Deterministic Character Controller

    A state-based deterministic character controller with smooth analog movement and animation. Fully compatible with effects as well as characters and objects. Ready for replay systems, online with rollback netcode, or testing suites.

  • Serializable Context-Based Architecture

    A core architecture for release-ready games based around the principle that the state of the game at any scene change can be defined by a limited set of serializable data. These “contexts” can be freely saved at runtime, modified, and reloaded to immediately test any part of the game.

  • Character Customization System

    A full customization system in which every aspect of a character can be customized, from hair to outerwear to socks. Each part is compatible with characters of different proportions, set up with cloth physics, and tagged to automatically resize depending on other equipped parts. Accessories like ribbons can be placed freely on any part of the body.

  • Hitbox Viewer and Editor

    Frame-based hitboxes for consistent, flexible interactions between characters and objects. Frame-by-frame viewing and live editing of hitbox and collision box data, to allow us to quickly iterate and adjust character parameters.

  • Environment Shaders

    Custom shaders to allow control over the subtleties of game visuals beyond Unity’s stock environment suite. Features like dynamic colored shadows and distance/height fog gradients were requested by our artist to capture the feel of the concept art in-game.

  • Cutscene Engine

    A custom cutscene system using Unity’s timeline as a base, designed for in-editor iteration. Dynamic expressions and inverse kinematics minimize necessary busy work for artists to create expressive scenes.

Tools

  • Visual Debugger

    A custom visual debugger solution that integrates into code without requiring cleanup or editor scripts. Step-by-step visual debugging can be performed as issues arise without needing to rebuild or recreate issues.

  • Parameter Editor Dashboard

    A quick-access dashboard that can be customized with various game parameters. Different configuration preset can easily be saved and loaded to assist with comparison and fine-tuning.

  • Scriptable Object Manager

    Unity’s Scriptable Object data type is the core of large portions of our game architecture thanks to its ease of use and versatility, and a custom manager window helps us efficiently manage them as they grow in number and breadth.

  • 2D Expression Editor

    Our games utilize traditional 2D animation-style techniques for facial expressions, without sacrificing versatility. To those ends, specialized visual editors are used to manage the numerous components that make up this system, with a focus on displaying the end result throughout the process.

  • Command Line Utilities

    As a small hobbyist team, it’s critical that we find ways to reduce redundancy and busywork. Tools such as keyboard icon generators or sprite sheet compilers are written in Python as needed to handle menial tasks, freeing up our time and giving us flexibility to re-run processes as needed.

International Coordination

Despite our full team residing in America, the largest audience for our games is in Japan. As such, my duties include coordinating with collaborators in Japan to ensure a localization to our audience’s standards. As a proficient Japanese reader and speaker, I have been able to use my unique skillset to help us deliver localization quality far beyond what is expected of similarly sized teams.

I oversee the full localization process, creating spreadsheets that contain information on all the text in the game. In addition to the original English text, I write an explanation of context and nuance in Japanese, as well as a first-pass Japanese translation. Because I am able to proofread the final result, we grant our Japanese script writer a great deal of freedom to modify dialogue and text in a way they feel will convey a fitting mood and tone. After some final back-and-forth, we have a Japanese script that is truly written for a native audience, with its faithfulness to the original intent validated by hand.

A similar approach is taken for coordinating with overseas talent, such as voice actors. I personally scout and communicate with prospective talent in Japanese through specialty websites, and create similar spreadsheets dictating the nuance of each line we have them record. Through my long history with Japanese media and translation, I’m able to approach this task with confidence that we’re getting performances that feel appropriate and natural.

We couldn’t be happier with the results of these effort, as the players enjoying the Japanese script outnumber even those who play in the original English. Both the script and voice acting have been highlighted by Japanese press, noting that it could easily be mistaken for a native Japanese work. This process truly feels like a marriage of several of my greatest passions, and we intend to continue expanding our international audience with this same level of enthusiasm.