Chico State Game Studios
Chico State Game Studios (CSGS) is a student-led game development program hosted by the Applied Computer Graphics department at California State University, Chico.
The CSGS program attempts to model a real-life AAA production pipeline, with students breaking into teams by department and skill set. Each project is the culmination of work by dozens of students over multiple semesters. Students get a chance to experience the joys and challenges of working with other disciplines, including concept art, environmental and character modeling, animation, audio and recording arts, level design, and programming.
The program also offers real experience with large-scale production tools, including agile project management, issue tracking, and version control.
I've taken on a number of roles during my time with CSGS, including UI/gameplay programmer, lead programmer, student director, and sysadmin.
Projects I've worked on at CSGS include:
- High Noon (Programmer, UDK)
- DAVIS (Lead Programmer, UDK)
- 40 Stories (Lead Programmer, UDK)
- Communists Versus Zombies (Director, UDK)
- Furiously Fast Racing (Technical Advisor, Unity)
Aside from directly working on games, I've personally set up and administered some of CSGS's server software, including Redmine and Subversion.
40 Stories: clone-based puzzling (2010)
In this top-down puzzle game, you take on the role of Anita, an office worker who'd like nothing more than to leave work... if only she could reach the building's ground floor.
After a mishap, the office's copy machines gain the ability to clone Anita. As you control the original Anita, you also control her clones; by moving each of them simultaneously, you can gain access to new areas and progress through the building, floor by floor.
I was the lead programmer for 40 Stories. Unique technical challenges included:
- Creating a one-to-many PlayerController in UnrealScript.
- Creating new collision handlers and puzzle asset scripts.
- Assisting level design and tech art with scripting support.
- Handling race conditions in Unreal's trigger and Kismet systems.
See more about 40 Stories on the CSGS website.
Communists Versus Zombies: squad-based tower defense (2011)
Evil is coming, and the brave soldiers of Mother Russia must rise to stop it. You play as a Commissar in Stalin's army during the infamous Battle of Stalingrad. You place troops, give them movement orders, permanent and temporary buffs, and light artillery support. Your goal? Survive the horde.
I was the student director for CVZ, ultimately overseeing the work of over 80 students. It was quite a challenge to train and coordinate everyone! While many of our more experienced Unreal developers had departed CSGS, we were still able to put together one of our best alpha releases to date.