CherryShroom
CherryShroom
Name
Kevin Chase
About Me
Hello, and pleased to meet you!
In 6th grade, I was amazed to find out that human beings like myself could make video games. I'd never questioned it, but suddenly a whole new world was open to me!
That was around a decade ago, and since then, I've been steadily acquiring new skills to help me delve further into the realm of game development and computer science in general. I graduated from University of California, Irvine, with a bachelor's degree in Computer Game Science!
Through my recent studies, I've gained experience in numerous areas of computer science (artificial intelligence, networking, data structures and algorithms, software engineering, and computer architecture to name a few). Furthermore, I've specialized in computer graphics; I've learned to work with shaders in WebGL and Unity, I've coded physics simulations in 2D and 3D, I've done ray casting, Monte Carlo integration, computer vision... the list goes on! I've even taken the initiative to make 3D art assets for a few projects.
I've got plenty of room to grow still. Let's get to it!
Education
• BS in Computer Game Science from UC, Irvine
September 2015 - September 2019
• Master's in Game Programming from DePaul University
September 2022 - June 2024
Work Experience
Programming Intern, Yacht Club Games
Marina del Rey, CA · June 2018 – August 2018
• Learned to quickly adapt to new tools, coding standards, and a custom engine
• Gained and understanding of how my skills translate to a professional environment
• Completed tasks assigned to me in a collaborative team setting
• Strengthened my ability to use C++
• Strengthened my ability to debug
Programming Intern, Heavy Iron Studios
Manhattan Beach, CA · June 2023 – August 2023
• Learned to use C++ and Blueprint with Unreal Engine 5.1
• Fixed bugs and implemented new features for an existing, unreleased title
• Used Perforce for version control and Review Board for code review
Skills and Studies
• Programming in C++, Java, Python, C, C#, GML, HTML/CSS, JavaScript
• Game engine development
• Game development with Unity and Unreal Engine
• Game design
• Artificial Intelligence for games
• 3D graphics with DirectX 11
• Networking and latency compensation tactics
• Version control
Relevant Hobbies and Interests
• 2D art
• 3D modeling and animation
• Video and audio editing
Language: HTML, JavaScript, CSS
Funny story: I used to host my portfolio on a bigger site, with templates and everything. When they discontinued their free trials, I figured that if I'm going to pay for a website, I might as well have a little more freedom!
Of course, there's nothing wrong with using templates. But I took this as an opportunity to learn more about web development. While I used HTML and JavaScript in a few of my courses, I did nothing of this scale in college. I started with a blank file in Notepad++ and now you're looking at the (tentatively) finished product!
(Try resizing the page if you haven't; it's responsive!)
Language: C++
During my internship at Yacht Club Games, I had the wonderful opportunity to work on their then-unreleased multiplayer expansion, Shovel Knight Showdown. I developed the foundation for the expansion's story mode, which the team then built upon and polished in the months between my internship and its release (final product pictured above).
Shoutouts!
Language: C#
Woodland Warriors is a game I made with a friend from high school for the 2022 GMTK game jam! The theme was "roll of the dice," so we made an auto-chess game in which dice are used to determine the behavior of your units. It features a single player endless mode, and a two-player battle.
The game was primarily made in 48 hours, though some visual polish was added in the week following the game jam to make the game easier to parse. My primary contributions were programming the setup stage, and doing the 3D models/shaders.
Language: Blueprint
Hemelreis is a VR demo made in UE5.3 for my Advanced VR Development class. This was a solo project.
The player controls an airship by grabbing and moving various mechanisms like levers and cranks. Hemelreis is currently a demo, though development may continue.
Language: C#, Cg/HLSL
A 3D puzzle platformer done for UCI’s 2018-2019 capstone program! I was Team Nullptr’s artist, meaning I was in charge of everything visual, from shaders to assets.
During this project, everyone in the team had to take at least a bit of leadership, and I learned to communicate with my team members to determine what tasks needed to be completed each week.
In a more technical sense, I took the initiative to learn more about writing shaders in Unity. I used prior knowledge from my computer graphics classes, as well as some new research on the internet to write cel shaders, a few of which used deformation and even animation.
To achieve the aesthetics I had imagined, I also wrote a script for our level designers that would automatically subdivide the cubes we used as building blocks. This allowed me to write a ground shader that gave a rocky look to our cave. I solved the issue of low visibility by writing a script to light up nearby mushrooms.
All art assets in game, from UI elements to 3D models, animations, and textures, were made by me.
Language: C#
A 2.5D puzzle-platformer I made in 48 hours for Ludum Dare 46. I challenged myself to make all assets (including sound, shaders, models, and animation) by myself. I even made time to have a few friends play test halfway through, and their feedback helped improve the game immensely.
Language: C#
Tiny People Big Adventure is a kooky FMV strategy game made for Ludum Dare 54. I banded together with some friends from high school to create it.
My main responsibility was to implement 3 (non-FMV) minigames - fishing, hunting, and gambling - which the player can partake in to replenish their food supply or earn treasure.
Language: Java
Charatalk is a passion project from my last year in high school. Since over four years have passed, in hindsight I will admit that Charatalk has taught me the importance of clean, readable code. Let’s just say I’ve improved immensely in that regard in the interim.
In high school, my friends and I had a passion for casual tabletop roleplaying. I designed Charatalk to be a versatile tool for this style of play, with emphasis on customization. It allows users to walk around and chat in a 2D space created by the server host.
Charatalk utilizes an external library called KryoNet by EsotericSoftware.
Charatalk features:
-A world editor with teleporters and weather effects
-Chat with dice commands and a player list
-The ability to import custom backgrounds, player sprites, and animated emotes
-Music streaming
Language: GML
The White is Lava! was a mobile game and experiment in Google Play Store publishing from my first year in college. The premise is simple: put your finger on the screen, don't lift it, and don't touch the white obstacles.
There was both a normal and lite version, the lite version including implementation of banner and interstitial advertisements using Google AdMob.
I have since discontinued development, and The White is Lava! is no longer available on the Google Play Store. Sorry! A demo can be provided if necessary.
Below are various smaller projects I made in college and in my free time. Not all will have demos available.
Language: C#
Paint the World! is a 3d puzzle platformer made for my Unity class. This assignment had us watching hours' worth of play testers' feedback. While this was a fast-paced course, and I would have liked to flesh the game out a bit more, a single play testing session provided a wide range of improvements for me to implement.
Language: GML
For my mobile games course, my team designed Mecha Menagerie, an asymmetrical course-building versus game. We were only required to make a paper prototype, but I insisted on a playable demo. My teammates put together a paper prototype of our proposed menu and shop system, while I worked out a demo of the main gameplay loop in GameMaker: Studio. It works with gyroscopic controls!
Language: C#
Another mobile game, this time for our multiplayer game systems class. It's a game of ghost tag, played by swiping to traverse the sphere.
Language: Java
For my computer graphics class, I made a pseudo-3D demo using raycasting and digital differential analysis. It includes mirrors, as well. This was all done from scratch, with the only graphics-related functions being drawImage and drawRect.
Language: C#
Squeezehorn Squabble was a quick prototype of a rhythm/strategy game made for my Unity class. Although the gameplay itself was rather bare-bones, I was happy with the feel and aesthetics of the game.
Language: C++
Wumpus World was the final project for my Artificial Intelligence class in college. My agent uses an array of bit flags, as well as A* pathfinding to get the gold and escape.
I have been teaching myself to make 3D models in Blender. I took one course in modeling during college, in which we used Autodesk Maya.
Language: C#, Cg/HLSL, Java
NOTE: Stitched has been put on indefinite hiatus.
Stitched is an short horror experience based loosely on a dream I had. With it, I hope to showcase the breadth of skills I have acquired both through schooling and through self-study. This includes gameplay and shader programming, tools programming, 2D/3D art, level design, AI, and sound design. Basically, I'm making everything in the game from scratch (except the font).
At this stage, I cannot yet provide a playable demo. However, if you are interested in learning more or would like a video demonstrating current progress, feel free to ask!
