Category Archives: Technical Artist

MEGA (Mundo Estrella Galicia) Sport Training (Kinect)

Disclaimer: This is a video preview of the published game. This video not shown the final state art.

3D Wire 2019

Details

Project: Estrella Galicia: MEGA Sport Training
Studio: Flying Beast Labs (Cateffects S.L.)
Genre: Sports, Casual
Platform: Windows, Kinect v2
Job description: Lead Programmer, Tool Programmer, Technical Artist
Technologies: Unity3D, .NET, C#, Git, Source Tree, Hercules Setup Utility
Website:
- https://mundoestrellagalicia.es/
- https://flyingbeastlabs.com/proyectos/mega-sport-training/
- https://flyingbeastlabs.com/3d-wire/

Credits

Lead Programmer, Tool Programmer & Technical Artist
José Miguel Sánchez Fernández

Gameplay Programmer
Diego Santiago Sanz

Producer & Game Designer
Carlos L. Hernando Lopéz

Project Manager, Music Composser & Sound Technician
Daniel Nuñez Martín

Art Director, 2D Art & UX Designer
Alberto de Torres Martínez

3D Art, Modeling, Rigging & Animation
Irene Arnaiz Lopéz

Producer
Cesar Piña Mudarra

Description

Lead Programmer and Tool Programmer for the development of MEGA Sport Training, an interactive experience for MEGA: Mundo Estrella Galicia museum, in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain.

My main task in this project was develop the entire game architecture, focused on modularize all critical parts of the project for ease maintenance, upgrade or deep-changes quickly, the creation of requested tools during the development, and supervising the work of a junior programmer, the person that was develop the 4 mini-games that compose the game (basket, football, hockey and rugby) and help me to integrate the Kinect v2 SDK in Unity and study how implement features like the advanced gesture recognition.

Other tasks that I colaborate was supporting the 2D and 3D artists as Technical Artist, optimizing all 3D assets and materials in-game (combining meshes, fixing materials setup in Unity, and advise the 3D artist, a junior profile, in some tasks involved with optimizing modeling and asset exporting), setup the lighting in all scenes and setup all post-processing effects to fit the limited requeriments of the target machine (an Intel NUC without dedicated graphics card) to achieve a good performance without lost quality visual look & feel.

3D Wire 2019

This same year, we make a variation for the 3DWire (https://3dwire.es/), an important spanish annual event of animation, games and new media that is celebrating in Segovia. Weird Games: Food Training is the new name of the game and have a little visual changes as replacing all sport things like the basket ball by a toaster or the hockey disks by spanish omelets, most of the work as rebranding and applied some gamification rewards for the event games.

The true challenge: Kinect 2.0, Windows 10 and beyond

Also of the difficulties recording custom gestures using the official Kinect SDK tools, implmenting a custom gesture system to avoid some issues with some gesture recognitions, and the many other related and technical issues, the true challenge to develop and maintain this project are the Kinect 2.0 + Windows 10 combo:

  • Kinect 2.0 has been discontinued by Microsoft in fall 2017 and removed support on Windows (drivers, tools, etc...) a few months after publising the tools for Kinect 2 for Windows (supported Windows 8.1 as last official version).
  • Never existed an official SDK for Unity, only a few outdated particular user implementations on the web for Unity 5.6 (we developed the game with Unity 2018.3.5). We using the only full implementation solution available and well documented by examples, that can be found in the Asset Store.
  • No all PC configurations supports Kinect 2 hardware. During the pre-production, we found that only 2 PCs in our studio are capable to run Kinect 2 without problems. Other PCs directly can't work, can't recognized the Kinect hardware. Seems the USB 3.0 in most of them has issues related with power supply or the drivers (in some cases, Kinect burned the AC Power unit on a couple of our PCs).
  • Kinect 2 hardware can't works on current versions of Windows 10. The last supported version is the build 1803 (April 2018 Update). The USB 3.0 drivers has many known issues and one of them affect to Kinect 2 USB connector. The solution initially seems very simple: using the build 1803, but...
  • In Windows 10 you can't full disable Windows Update services. And, later or soon, your Windows 10 will be forced to upgrade to latest version. In our case, disconnect the PC from the net is not a solution. The PC can not we unpluged from the net because need access to internet to send mails and send and read signals from an UDP server. Basically, the solution passed to reroute the all Windows Update known server address to localhost in the Windows hosts file, setup all Windows Update related services to manual and disabled it, and blocking the internal Windows folders related with Windows Update downloads and deployments.
  • The official Kinect 2 AC Power Unit not works on current PC configurations. One of the Kinects, supplied by the museum worked with the Surface 3 AC Power Unit instead of the Kinect official unit. For any reason the Kinect 2 official AC Power Unit not works properly on current PCs.

And the final boss...

But the true challenge was the final issue of the Kinect 2 + Windows 10 combo. At the final stages of the development and testing, we found the game sometimes was freeze without any reason! (very inappropiate for a museum experience).

After 2 weeks of deep debugging and testings in the source code of the Unity implementation of the Kinect SDK, I found that the reason of the game was freezing was the avatar recognition event in a driver level. It's seems that the outdated driver in Windows 10 has any internal memory leak or something related bug.

Because I'm not was capable to fix this, because is an internal driver bug and not a source code issue, I designed a little "trick" to able the game to catch the freeze state and reset himself. I developed a little program that works as a monitor instance of the game. A simple terminal program that run in fist place and launch a new instance of the game as child process. Basically the game instances comunicate with the monitor to tell that it's alive. When the game stop to send signals to the monitor, the monitor understand that the game is freezed, kill the freezed process and launch a new one.

For prevent the user noticed the game reseting process, as idea of Carlos L. Hernando, we empty the entire Windows desktop of icons and hide the task bar, and using the same game splash screen background as desktop background. With this, the user not see any stranger thing except that the game has return to the main menu screen.

P.D.: In a way to avoid several freezes and their resepective resets, I needed to reimplemented all avatar recognition logic system in the game to avoid conitnuous calls to native Kinect avatar recognition functions.

Ginger: Beyond the Crystal for Nintendo Switch (Porting)

Details

Project: Ginger: Beyond the Crystal
Studio: Drakhar Studio
Genre: Adventure, 3D Platformer
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Job description: Gameplay Programmer, Tool Programmer, Tester
Technologies: Unity3D, .NET, C#, SVN, Tortoise SVN
WebSite: https://www.drakharstudio.com/ginger
Store links: Nintendo Switch

Description

Ginger: Beyond the Crystal is an adventure platformer in which you have to rebuild and restore balance to a world devastated by the explosion of a mystical crystal. Face quests and challenges set over 3 worlds and gain powerful new skills, costumes and powers that will help you to defeat the fiercest.

Gameplay Programmer and Tool Programmer for the porting to Nintendo Switch version. I worked on optimization tasks on code and helped to optimize asset graphic implementations in scenes (mostly consisted in grouping and baking meshes for reducing draw calls). Other task consist in develop small intergrated tools (to help to search large amount of objects in scene by component type and other filter options, mainly to help in light mapping tasks), studied and tested the game against the Nintendo Switch TRC guidelines and testing the game with the last changes on the Nintendo Switch hardware.

Argos: CICE MPV Project (Unity3D Master degree final project)

Details

Project: Argos: CICE MPV Project
Genre: 2.5D action-platformer, Unity3D game framework
Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac
Job description: Gameplay Programmer, Tool Programmer
Technologies: Unity3D, .NET, C#, Git, Source Tree, Argos.Framework (own Unity3D multiplatform framework)

Description

My final project for my Unity3D game development master degree coursed in CICE on 2017. A 2.5D cinematic action-platformer developed over a custom multiplatform framework (the true core of the project).

This project was developed while I was working on the porting to Nintendo Switch of Ginger: Beyond the Crystal in Drakhar Studio. During this period (3 months) I was working in the idea of creating a framework that ease the common tasks in a multiplatform development with Unity3D, like manage the input setup or the file system over the different operating systems or consoles. After finish my contract with Drakhar Studio, I was working on the playable part of the final project, the 2.5D platformer and how integrating the framework in his development. I made it in only 4 weeks.

The framework cover the following areas:

  • Input system:

    A single player oriented input system, based on Input Map assets witch defines actions and axes definitions for use in separate areas of the game like UI or player actions.

    This system is based on Virtual Axes that bring the posibility to define input based on keyboard, mouse and/or gamepad axes (sticks, DPads), and Input Actions to define actions like jump or shoot, using input from keyboard, mouse and/or gamepad buttons, DPad and triggers. Input Actions can managed from events, and both Input Actions and Virtual Axes can allow input rebind in runtime.

    This system nativelly support the popular game controllers like XBox 360, XBox One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch Pro Controller (on supported systems). The input system manages automatically a common map between different controllers, in a way to only uses a unique button list to setup the actions and axes. The system also allow the use of generic gamepads and uses a generic input map asset to setup the input map, also allow this setup in runtime.

    This system implement a custom Standalone Input Module and some custom components to bring full support on Unity UI components for UI navigation.

  • Multiplaftform file system layer:

    A file system layer to safe manage the basic file operations between Windows, Linux and Mac systems. The system manage a predefined paths to manage savegames, settings, screenshots and custom data folders on user document folder, and avoid errors on path formatting or creation/check the current folders.

  • Localization system:

    A simple localization system that allow to localize UI text elements with rich text formatting support. The system implements a simple component that manage the UI Text component content in realtime. For the project, this system was designed for only support English and Spanish languages.

  • UI components:

    A serie of UI components to bring some functionalities like doble click events, customizable text message events and UI input icon system to show text messages with keyboard, mouse or gamepad button or axis icon based on the common input map system implemented on the first point of this list.

  • Misc additions:

    Multipurporsal scripts and components with various ideas learned and implemented during this master degree on each practical excercise.

Argos.Framework, coming soon

Today, I'm working in this framework to pulished some parts and improved ones (Input System code and his editor inspectors) and rewriting others from scratch (file system, localization system and some UI components), and implementing new additions like XInput gamepad vibration support (with visual pattern vibration assets, to allow to design vibration patterns similar to the classic DirectInput Force Feedback patterns), GameJolt API integration (user session, trophies, leader boards and cloud storage) and more.

Other additions that I'm working is the XBox One support, via Universal Windows Platform, with XBox Live basic services (user session, user stats, leader boards and file storage). The goal of this is trying to unify this services with other like the GameJolt or Steam services (even consoles services like PS4, XBox One (not UWP) or Nintendo Switch) under an unique layer to simplify the development between platforms, the main goal of this framework.

The Esc4pe, a “primitive shooter” made with Unity3D

Featured tweet from GameJolt

Video reviews from itch.io & GameJolt

Today (August 4, 2018), the game reached +120.000 visits and +50.000 downloads, with a 4/5 avg. rate and featured on cover pages, on itch.io and Game Jolt marketplaces, in 60 days (near of 60.000 visits and 30.000 downloads between March and early May of 2017).

The game received a lot of feedback in the comments, and some users made video reviews with gameplays. This is a Youtube list with videos collected from user comments and Twitter searches:

Details

Project: The Esc4pe
Genre: First Person Shooter
Platform: PC (Windows, Linux, Mac)
Job description: Game Programmer, Game Designer, Level Designer
Technologies: Unity3D, .NET, C#
Links: Post on my blog, Visual Studio EX3, with more details (ES)

Downloads

Featured on itch.io marketplace with +25.000 downloads with a rate of 4/5 stars!

Featured on GameJolt marketplace with +40.000 downloads with a rate of 4/5! (Click on the thumbnail to view on gamejolt page)

Credits

José Miguel Sánchez Fernández - [EX3]
Game Programmer, Game Designer, Level Designer, "Voice" actor

Third party assets

Standard Assets & Cinematics Effects - Unity Technologies
 
 
Sci Fi Characters Mega Pack - PROTOFACTOR, INC: https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/19831
 
 
Scifi LowPoly Ammo Pickups - Pixelgraffiti: https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/12005
 
Yughues Free Palm Trees - Nobiax / Yughues: https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/13540
 

Amplify Color and FXAA Fast Approximation Antialiasing - Amplify Creations: http://amplify.pt/

Light Shafts effect - Robert Cupisz: https://github.com/robertcupisz/LightShafts

Camera Filter Pack (CRT Effect) - Vetasoft: https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/18433

Sound weapons & items effects are downloaded from Freesound.org site (http://www.freesound.org). All samples are under Creative Commons licence (Attribution 3.0 License)

Music themes "Hitman", "The Complex" & "Killers" are creations of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and released under Creative Commons licence (Attribution 3.0 License)

Description

This project is made as practical exercise for the "Master Degree in Video Game Development with Unity3D & 3DS Max Official Autodesk (MPV)" of CICE Madrid (http://cice.es/curso/master-en-desarrollo-de-videojuegos-con-unity-y-3dsmax/).

A "primitive shooter" developed in one month with technical restrictions based on the topics seen in class until the project start date. The game is not optimized (its performance is not stable).

Support XBox360 Controller in all PC platforms (implementing the input map for Linux and OSX following the information found on this wiki).

The game is initially designed to be played in 5~10 minutes (It can take 20~30 minutes to complete).

Developed and full tested under:
- Intel Core i5-2500 @ 3.30GHz
- 8GB RAM
- AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series (with Crimson drivers)
- Windows 10 Pro x64

P.D.: This game will not receive new updates, bug fixes (for now) or new version with more levels.

Slot Bonanza for Windows 8 (porting)

Details

Project: Slot Bonanza for Windows 8
Client: Infi Apps (contracted by Plunge Interactive (Starloop Studios), studio responsible of the porting)
Genre: Slot Machine, Free to Play
Platform: Windows 8/Windows RT
Job description: Programmer, Technical Artist
Technologies: .NET 4.5, C#, MonoGame 3.0 Beta, Facebook C# SDK, Json.NET, BugSense, Sprite Sheet Packer, Visual Studio Express 2012 For Windows, Visual Studio Express 2012 For Windows Phone (as tool to compile assets for MonoGame project, with help of XNA 4.0)
Link: Slot Bonanza on the Microsoft Store

Description

Gameplay programmer for the porting to Windows 8 (Metro/WinRT app game).

For this job I worked as a remote freelance to the studio responsible to the porting project.

This project is a port of the original game from iOS to Windows 8 (Windows RT). I had to rewritten from scracth the original Objective-C code, based on Cocos2D framework, to .NET, C# and MonoGame 3.0 framework, and also had to adapt the game to the requirements of Windows RT platform and variable screen resolutions.

Escape from Hell

Details

Project: Escape From Hell
Studio: Undead Code Studios
Genre: 2D Platformer Adventure
Platform: Web/Flash
Job description: Game Programmer, Technical Artist & VFX Artist
Technologies: Flash, Action Script 3, Flixel, Flash Develop, MochiAds
Source code: https://github.com/VisualStudioEX3/EscapeFromHell
Play:
    - Play for free on Newgrounds (Flash plugin not required)
    - Play for free on BlueMaxima's Flashpoint project

Credits

Producer
Eduardo Millan - SiPoX

Game Programmer, Technical Artist & VFX
José Miguel Sánchez Fernández - [EX3]

English Localization
Cristina Pinilla Fernandez

Game Designer, Graphic Designer, Level Designer
Ruben Barroso Heredia (*)

(*) Disclaimer: The rest of the team and I, after the publication of the project and in the future, we are no longer related, supported or associated with this person, Ruben Barroso Heredia, and we are not responsible for their legal or illegal activities related directly or indirectly, with the video game industry or related business, including false professional experience accreditation or related training jobs in this area as teacher.

Description

Game Programmer, Technical Artist & VFX Artist for the development of Escape From Hell. An old school 2D platformer adventure, with fixed scenes, without scroll, with a basic mechanic of jump and run, and the special ability to buried underground in some places, for avoiding enemies or pass through some obstacles.

In addition to programming the game, other tasks where I been involved was VFX enhancement in the final art in scene, simulate some post-process effects with the Flash render limitations, like vignetting or dinamic brightness for backgrounds, and guide the artist in how to prepare and optimized the final assets to use in the game.

Grey Infection

The original flavour of Grey Infection

Before the arrival of the Graphic Designer profile, we have already decided and closed the visual style of the game, a pixel-art style with clean aesthetics, using plain colors (black & white palette for the non-passed levels, and basic color palette for cleared levels). The original art was created by me, based on previous works for TLSA Project and used in White & World project.

The final visual style of the game is an imposed decision by the Graphic Designer because he was unable to work with the original style. The decision was not voted with the original creators of the project, Eduardo Millan and me. And also because we are running-out of the schedule (the Graphic Designer arrival in the last stage of the development, he wasted near of a month trying to adapt with the original style and we needed to be ready to publish the game in less of 2 months after this), we finally desist to use the original style in favor the current used, and finish the rest of development in time.

These is a some captures of the original prototype visual style of the game, the same style used for the Microsoft Dream Build Play 2011 entry:

Pre-Production video and Dream Build Play 2011

A couple of videos from the pre-production stage, mentioning a Grey Infection as succesor of White & World, and early preview of the submited version to Microsoft Dream Build Play 2011 contest, both before the Graphic Designer entered to the team:

Details

Project: Grey Infection
Studio: Undead Code Studios
Genre: 2D Puzzle-Platformer Adventure
Platform: XBox360 (XBox Live Indie Games)
Job description: Game Engine Programmer, Game Programmer, Technical Artist & VFX Artist
Technologies: .NET 4.0, C#, XNA 4.0, TLSA.Engine (own XNA Game Engine), Visual Studio Express 2010
Source code:
https://github.com/VisualStudioEX3/Grey-Infection
https://github.com/VisualStudioEX3/TLSA.Engine

Credits

Producer, Game Designer, Level Designer
Eduardo Millan - SiPoX

Game Engine Programmer, Game Programmer, Technical Artist & VFX
José Miguel Sánchez Fernández - [EX3]

Music Composer
Pablo Delgado - Guybrush Threepwood

English Localization
Cristina Pinilla Fernandez

Graphic Designer
Ruben Barroso Heredia (*)

(*) Disclaimer: The rest of the team and I, after the publication of the project and in the future, we are no longer related, supported or associated with this person, Ruben Barroso Heredia, and we are not responsible for their legal or illegal activities related directly or indirectly, with the video game industry or related business, including false professional experience accreditation or related training jobs in this area as teacher.

Description

Game Engine Programmer, Game ProgrammerTechnical Artist & VFX Artist for the development of Grey Infection for Xbox360 (XBLIG).

My first professional game developed in a game studio, and my first console game. A 2D Puzzle-Platformer Adventure, based on White & World, a Game Jam project in which some members of the team worked, and that you can found in this portfolio.

The game mechanic basically is destroy the enemies, in the correct order, to create or destroy parts of the level, to reach the exit point. The exit point can only be enable when the all enemies are eliminated.

The game was developed using an own XNA based game engine, TLSA.Engine, a newer version of my old game engine TLSA Engine (based on Visual Basic 6.0 and dx_lib32, an own game framework).

In addition to programming the game and the engine, other tasks where I been involved was VFX enhancement in the final art in scene, simulate some post-process effects, like the glitch effect, UI visual design of the main menu and their elements, several background live visual elements and effects in most of the levels, and guide the artist in how to prepare and optimized the final assets to use in the game.

Reviews

A few reviews in specialized spanish game blogs: