Cradle of The Rift
Third-Person Roguelike Shooter Game | Unity, C# | 2025-2026
Game Overview
Cradle of the Rift, a third-person rogue-like shooter game, follows a fairy who awakens in a decaying magical realm, fighting through corrupted creatures to find her way home. Blending fast-paced combat and cooperative gameplay, players battle through escalating waves of enemies in procedurally placed arenas. The difficulty increases dynamically as time passes, culminating in a final extraction phase where survival determines victory.
My Role & Contributions
Gameplay Engineer & Programmer
- Developed core gameplay systems, including interaction mechanics and procedural chest spawning with distance constraints, improving level readability and system scalability.
- Designed and implemented enemy AI and combat features, including boss variants with multi-state behaviors, dynamic attack patterns, and distance-based decision logic.
- Enhanced gameplay experience through VFX and balancing, creating combat-related visual effects and tuning player/enemy stats, aggression, and item effectiveness via iterative playtesting.
Challenges & lessons Learned
- Strengthened gameplay systems understanding in Unity, including AI behavior, player movement, and VFX, with a focus on building systems from first principles.
- Developed design intuition for player engagement, balancing reward systems, RNG mechanics, and gameplay pacing while prioritizing strong core mechanics before iteration.
- Improved cross-disciplinary collaboration and iteration, actively incorporating team feedback and maintaining consistent development quality through playtesting and refinement.
Development Team
Team Capybara- University of Utah with 16 interdisciplinary team members.
Fallen Crown
3D action adventure | Unreal Engine 5, C++, Blueprints, Git, Audacity | 2024
Game Overview
A 3D action-adventure collect-a-thon metroidvania set in a cursed castle. Players control Edel, a young girl on a quest to save her brother. The game features non-linear exploration, puzzle-solving, and Spyro-inspired treasure hunting.
My Role & Contributions
Gameplay Engineer & Programmer
- Programmed core combat mechanics (controls, hit detection, damage logic).
- Built modular AI with zone awareness using C++ and Blueprints.
- Designed complete UI system (HUD, menus, tooltips).
- Integrated teammate art into UI, added accessibility hints.
- Designed, sourced, and mixed audio.
- Implemented synced SFX/voice playback.
Challenges & Lessons Learned
- Rebuilt enemy AI from scratch.
- Designed modular architecture with cross-discipline systems integration.
- Balanced creative ambition with performance constraints.
Educational Military Tactics Application
Interactive educational serious-game simulation | C++, Qt, Box2D | 2023
Project Overview
An interactive educational simulation developed using C++, Qt, and Box2D focused on tactical learning and player-driven training scenarios. My work centered on designing and implementing quiz systems, UI workflows, and event-driven interactions integrated with the application’s core simulation systems to support engaging and structured learning experiences.
My Role & contributions
Programmer & UI Designer
- Designed and implemented interactive quiz systems integrated with the application’s tactical simulation and progression framework using C++, Qt, and Box2D.
- Developed UI workflows and event-driven interactions to support structured learning, player feedback, and seamless user experience.
- Collaborated across development teams to integrate educational gameplay mechanics with core systems and improve overall functionality and usability.
Team Credits
Jiedi Mo, Aric Woodliff, Jacob Ormsby, Jonathan Bancroft, Adrian Regalado, Matthew Duffin
