In the 3rd year of university there was a key module, the Games Technology Project which was a double module which spanned two trimesters. The module was an opportunity for students to develop a game prototype in C++ and has always been used by students as a chance to develop a portfolio piece.
The assignment was rather simple. In the first trimester students were to write a report setting out the design of the game from both a software and design perspective. Students were then to pitch their idea to a panel of experts who would offer advice on how to implement the game or ideas for improvement. In trimester two students were to implement the game as set out in their design document and a live demonstration was required to show off the game to the module markers.
The game I created was called Silence Enter the Forest. Silence is just a simple horror game, you start in a building where you have to find a key to escape, you can also find tools to help you. Once you have exited the building you then have to survive a horror monster by finding another key in a forest to unlock the gate and get out of the level. The entire game was written from scratch with C++ and OpenGL no game engine or rendering engine was used. All rendering was accomplished using OpenGL 3.3 features. 3D audio was also a feature developed with the help of the BASS music library. But this is only the start of the features that were implemented. See below for a full list.
Features
- A* Pathfinding
- 3D Heightmap Generation
- Video Playback
- Gamepad Support
- Animated Models
- Window Settings
All the documents that had to be written were done quickly in the first trimester to work on the implementation. That is the reason why the game is as advanced as it is as it was developed over six months rather than two months which is what would have happened had I just used the second trimester to implement the game. The result is an application that I am very proud of and certainly helps me showcase my skills.
Apache 2.0