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Building Virtual Worlds

Date: September - December 2020

I participated as a programmer in Building Virtual Worlds, an intensive project-based course at the Entertainment Technology Center. Over the course of one semester, I made five game projects with multidisciplinary 5-person teams. On average, we had 2 weeks per assignment. Two of my team projects, Tone of Freedom and Let's Bounce, were featured in the ETC's virtual festival.

Let's Bounce is a networked multiplayer game for up to 6 people. I designed and programmed the movement system, icons and special abilities. I focused on creating a framework that allowed for chain reactions and surprising twists in gameplay.

Tone of Freedom is a relaxing single-player experience controlled only with the microphone. I programmed the movement system, which uses the input pitch to turn the player, as well as other gameplay mechanics. I had to make the best of a very inconsistent pitch detection framework by averaging the input over time, calibrating to detect the baseline noise level in the environment and adjusting to sudden changes in environment noise. I also constructed the level in Unity, executing on a design that emphasized a peaceful and immersive experience.