COMP710 (C++)
COMP710 was my first insight into the world of game development. I chose this paper as I had little previous experience with c++ and wanted to learn a new skill. It was a challenging paper with a steep learning curve, however I can now confidently say I am comfortable with using c++ as a programming language.
Over the semester we developed three different games. These projects are outlined below with various associated challenges, reflections, and learnings.
Space Invaders Clone
The Space Invaders Clone was essentially a playground for me to develop my C++ skills. It wasn’t a marked assessment so there weren’t any set requirements for development other than a platform for practising different programming techniques.
As you can see in the video this is where I first developed such as sprites, player control, animated sprites, collision detection, ttf fonts, and basic introduction to box2d.
Challenges: This was my first introduction to memory management, which is quite a different concept to grasp and took a while to get used to. The general C++ learning curve would also be considered a challenge.
Reflection: While it was a good starting point for for developing my skills, I probably could of spent a bit more time here to better prepare me for the upcoming game projects.
Shooty Space Rocks is an arcade style game based on the classic Asteroids. It was my first game development project as an individual effort carried out over 7 weeks. This where I introduced features such as state machine, AI, and FMOD.
Challenges: Player movement, Player rotation. Polymorphism and inheritance. State machine.
Reflection: Decent outcome, overall I’m pleased with my efforts. Further breakdown of challenges and reflection for this game can be found in the post-mortem below.
Game Docs
Project Wind Haven is a top down dungeon crawler style game, drawing inspiration from the original Zelda series. This was a group effort carried out over 6 weeks.
Challenges: Working in a team with varying levels of experience and coding styles. Box2d. SVN.
Reflection: Disappointing that the game is incomplete. Team environment was quite difficult with some members seeming to put in more effort than others.
Game Docs
Other Game Projects (Java, Python, Haskell)
Sudoku Game (Java)
Sudoku Solver (Python)
Recursive backtracking algorithm..
Collapse Game (Python)
Reversi (Haskell)