~ Introduction ~
I specialize in real-time software engineering, specifically in the realm of video games and audio systems. With my agile and versatile skills in C++ and C#, I have contributed to the development of games and game engines.
On this website, you will get a detailed look into my projects and work experience.
~ About ~
Overview
I have been developing video games and real-time software professionally for the past 5 years. In addition to C++ and C#, I also work across many other languages, such as Python, HTML, and JavaScript. Working in this realm has helped me strengthen skills in object-oriented programming, systems architecture, audio programming, and linear algebra. I carry a strong drive to learn and create, which I use to my advantage in complex and difficult areas of study. This, and my affection for technology, are what make me a born problem-solver.
Work Experience
Currently, I am the head of an independent studio, leading and developing a project that I have yet to announce. I have been prototyping and developing a multitude of systems and tools to be used across many different games, which will be included in said project. Additionally, I spend my time educating and tutoring anyone interested in Computer Science.
My most notable professional experience was at Microsoft’s Turn 10 Studios, where I was a Gameplay Engineer for the award-winning Forza Motorsport. I am also credited on Djinni and Thaco: Trial By Spire (a VR game from Dark Catt Studio), and I’ve worked on BlueJeans Spaces (a virtual workspace) at Verizon, along with the engine it ran upon.
Education
My college years in Chicago were spent working on a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science at DePaul University. The COVID-19 pandemic forced me inside for the last year of my degree, which had me real close to a computer during my most difficult courses. It was through this period that I completed a comprehensive amount of work on my Game Engine, along with a deep-dive into multithreading, and then finishing out with a capstone game project.
~ Portfolio ~
Forza Motorsport
C++; C#; WPF; XAML; SQL; Fuel
UI/UX; Audio Programming; Game Systems
Contributed to developing the 8th installment in the renowned, award-winning franchise of racing simulators. Notably, a winner of Best Sports/Racing Game and Best Innovation in Accessibility at the 2023 Game Awards.
Further Details
Role
Gameplay Engineer
Accomplishments
- Coded and optimized gameplay and UI in a proprietary engine using C++, C#, and XAML
- Drafted class diagrams and documentation for game systems using UML and Microsoft Word
- Architected the Tangible Rewards system, allowing players to flip through cards detailing the rewards and achievements received after a race
- Acted as a point of contact for anything regarding Tangible Rewards
- Took part in daily stand-up meetings with a team under a scrum-focused development structure
- Programmed voiceovers, audio events, and other UI areas of Onboarding (Tutorial)
- Collaborated across multiple teams (Art, Engineering, Design) to debug and review features
- Coordinated with members of my team to efficiently streamline the development process through Scrum
- Communicated complex programming concepts to non-programmers for effective game development
- Made additions to entries in the player profile database using SQL and other in-house tools
- Created unit tests for automated build testing to ensure application stability
Media & Links
BlueJeans: Spaces
WPF; C#
Game Systems; UI; Netcode; Audio Scripting
Contributed to the development of BlueJeans: Spaces, a virtual 2D/3D workspace made in the Envrmnt Engine. As an extension of BlueJeans, a Zoom alternative, users would be able to collaborate and communicate with fun features and expressive metaverse environments.
Further Details
Role
Junior Engine Developer
Accomplishments
- Collaborated cross-functionally with Artists, Product Owners, Sound Designers, and other Engineers to ensure ideal feature development
- Prototyped a Plinko minigame that could be interacted with in real-time across a network in Spaces
- Debugged multiple network and client-side issues, such as huddle time-outs after inactivity
- Programmed a finite state machine for sorting spaces based on activity, name, and availability
- Implemented the Onboarding interface for new users to easily learn how to navigate and use Spaces
- Participated in code reviews and meetings regarding feature development and improvement
Media & Links
Envrmnt Engine
C++; jQuery; C#
Game Systems; Multithreading; UI; Netcode; Audio Systems
Worked on developing a game engine at Verizon, on which BlueJeans: Spaces was developed. This was a proprietary game engine with AR and VR capabilities, running on multithreaded Entity Component System.
Further Details
Role
Junior Engine Developer
Accomplishments
- Communicated with a cross-functional team through daily standup meetings
- Programmed multithreaded network queries in C++ to a database for retrieval of Spaces, based on the current user’s credentials and profile, for searching and sorting
- Participated in code reviews and meetings regarding feature development and improvement
- Added controls and callbacks for audio events, allowing controls from game-level code
- Implemented some engine-level components for streamlined game programming
Media & Links
CRUNCHTIME
Unity; C#
Systems Architecture; UI; AI; Linear Algebra; Physics; Audio Engineering; Graphics Programming
Independently developing CRUNCHTIME: a survival horror game revolving around a game developer’s horrifying encounters at their job (currently in progress). This is a side-project, which I plan to release when the time is right. Currently, it is in experimental and early development stages.
Further Details
Role
Independent Game Developer
NOTE: This is an independent project at the moment, which entails that I take on several roles to complete what is needed. The technical list of roles would be: Game Systems Engineer, Gameplay Engineer, Graphics Programmer, UI Programmer, Music Director, and Audio Engineer.
Accomplishments
- Evaluated A* (a-star) algorithm for enemy pathfinding, enabling smooth movement around a baked navigation grid
- Architected behavior trees for enemy Artificial Intelligence (AI); allowing in-depth decision-making for patrolling, environmental interactions, and player-enemy behavior
- Experimenting with rendering algorithms for accurate AI line-of-sight, aiding in decision-making and pathfinding
- Developed a system for diegetic UI, where the player can type and interact with an in-game computer, affecting the environment
- Rendered dynamic materials to simulate a Mandelbrot zoom through Unity shaders
- Programmed physics-based sword combat, combined with seamless item equips/drops, all decoupled from environmental interactions
Media & Links
Bumper Ship Showdown
Unity; C#; Mirror
Game Systems; Game Programming; Networked Programming; Online Multiplayer; UI; Linear Algebra; Physics; Audio Engineering; Sound Design; Music Composition
A 3D, online brawler, made in Unity, where players participate in a dangerous sport, comparable to bumper cars in space. While it was unfortunately never released, I learned and improved my existing skills with this project, enough to the point where I believe it is worth sharing.
Further Details
Role
Lead Programmer; Sound Director
Accomplishments
- Lead Programmer
- Led a team of programmers and artists through delegation of tasks.
- Coordinated with a producer, sound designer, artists, and programmers to brainstorm ideas for the game.
- Made decisions on features to cut or develop, as well as bugs to fix or leave.
- Reviewed and debugged C# code both independently and collaboratively.
- Programmed networked gameplay mechanics and systems (events, movement, UI, and sound) for both client and server-side operations.
- Devised and programmed a system for scriptable events to happen during a game session at specified or random times.
- Architected a Game Mode system that worked with the Mirror plugin for Unity, keeping everything synchronized for players across a server.
- Utilized Unity’s audio systems to modify and trigger sounds for players across a network.
- Sound Director
- Independently and collaboratively composed/created, mixed, and produced all sounds and music in Pro Tools 12, FL Studio, & MuseScore.
- Recording and Production accomplished with live guitar, bass, & synth recordings mixed with pre-produced percussion and samples using FL Studio.
- Created sound effects (collisions, countdowns, game-mode-specific sounds) using foley practices.
Modest Engine
C++; FMOD; DirectX 11
Game Systems; Linear Algebra; Game Engine Development; Audio Systems Architecture; Graphics Programming
Developed a registration-based game engine with a multitude of capabilities, exhibited in the demo game I made for it (see Vox Tanx). While I made the majority of this for my university courses at DePaul University, this is a project I have revisited specifically with intentions of developing new features and plugins, such as a SIMD math library.
Further Details
Role
Engine Developer
Accomplishments
- Software Engineer for a game engine in C++ using only a simple OpenGL framework and math library
- Researched, Planned, and Developed a Sound Management system using FMOD
- Implemented 3D & 2D sounds, Automation (panning, volume, effects/filters), Loading and Unloading
- Programmed a Game Object Management system that utilizes inheritance from multiple types (Updateable, Alarmable, Inputable, Drawable, and Collidable), following a registration pattern
- Implemented a Tiered-Collision system, significantly optimizing collision calculations
- Evaluated multiple different colliders, which can be applied to game objects
- Bounding Sphere (BSphere), Axis-Aligned Bounding Box (AABB), Oriented Bounding Box (OBB), Linecast/Raycast, Terrain
- Collision-enabled game objects are categorized into “Collision Groups”, which entails an AABB stretching from the group object with the minimum position value to the highest. If there is a collision between two groups, the next tier is tested
- A group is then tested against an object’s BSphere (each collidable has a BSphere by default)
- Two individual objects’ BSpheres are tested for intersection next, leading to the less-optimized check between two unique volumes
- Facilitated scene management through handling switching, loading, and unloading
- Streamlined a system for terrain to reduce the need for physics calculations
- Ported logic from my DirectX 11 Graphics API into the OpenGL framework upon which Modest was built
- Applied AABBs to each grid cell of the terrain, facilitating terrain collision
- Calculated Barycentric Coordinates for an object relative to the terrain, allowing for the object to move smoothly along the terrain based on the heightmap
- Utilized a Time Management system to develop Alarms, allowing a given event to occur at a later point in time
- Developed an Input management system that listens for Key & Mouse strokes
- Also applies to a God Camera, allowing the user open traversal of the current scene
- Coded 2D objects features such as Sprites, Fonts, and Screen Logging
- Display of 2D Images in 3D Space
- Established resource management with loading, unloading, and access of models, sprites, sounds, and fonts
- Added complex math operations to optimize gameplay programming
- Wrote documentation and drew class diagrams to detail and explain how to use engine features
Media & Links
VOX TANX
C++; Modest Engine
Game Systems; Linear Algebra; Audio Programming; Sound Design
With the exception of 3D art assets, I independently developed VOX TANX within the Modest Engine to demo its features. This is a 3-level tank game, where the player navigates a map to hunt and defeat waves of enemy tanks.
Further Details
Role
Gameplay Engineer, Sound Director, Associate Artist
Accomplishments
- Coded a tank game in C++, which demos the features of the Modest Engine
- Designed three levels for the player to complete by destroying all enemy tanks
- Developed a wave-based spawning system that determines how many enemies spawn each wave, and when a wave has ended
- Applied Factory Pattern for projectiles to prevent unnecessary new/delete calls
- Programmed destructible trees, which are spawned dynamically across a level’s terrain
- Created 6 scenes for the game (3 levels, Main Menu, Lose Condition, and Win Condition)
- Utilized Modest UI systems to code a distance-based reticle to make third person aiming more accurate
- Implemented a Pause Menu, which has options to quit to the main menu and set the volume for different sounds in the game (music and sound effects)
- Programmed 4 different types of enemies, which all did/took damage and moved uniquely. Accomplished Enemy AI with simple Behavior Trees of a few different states
- Worked with Pro Tools 12 & MuseScore to record and produce any sounds and music for the game
- Drew class diagrams to explain how game systems interact and function
Media & Links
Multithreaded Audio API
C++; STL; XAudio2
Real-Time Systems Architecture; Multithreading; Audio Systems; Audio Engineering
The entirety of one my courses at DePaul University entailed the development of a real-time, multithreaded audio API. This program seamlessly runs in parallel to both game and graphics threads, allowing for smooth, immediate audio playback and controls.
Further Details
Role
Software Engineer
Accomplishments
- Architected a real-time, multithreaded audio API in C++ using XAudio2, for use in games and game engines
- Exercised C++ design patterns to run audio operations simultaneously with graphics and game operations. Patterns included circular queues/indexing, polymorphed doubly linked list managers, singletons, and commands
- Streamlined communication between threads using multithreading techniques such as mutexes
- Programmed systems for file loading, audio callbacks, sound modulation & automation, alarms, playlists, and scripting
Media & Links
Multithreaded Audio Playback
C++; STL; WaveOut
Real-Time Systems Architecture; Multithreading; Audio Systems
One project for an advanced multithreading course at DePaul entailed creating a program to playback audio. Several raw .wav files were provided, which would make up the theme-song to The Jetsons in full, and the goal was to load, coordinate, and read all these files for audio playback.
Further Details
Role
Software Engineer
Accomplishments
- Developed a low-level C++ program that simultaneously reads, writes, and stitches multiple .wav files for seamless playback
- Utilized C++ Standard Template Library (STL) multithreading tools (future/promise, waiting, mutexes) to prevent race conditions and data corruption/loss
- Programmed functional, simultaneous, real-time communication between 24 threads
DirectX 11 Graphics API
C++; STL; DirectX 11; HLSL
Graphics Programming; Linear Algebra; Shader Programming
This API was developed as a result of a course at DePaul University, which was also a training exercise in graphics programming.
Further Details
Role
Graphics Engineer
Accomplishments
- Developed a Graphics API in C++ using the DirectX 11 pipeline
- Evaluated a number of different geometric shapes, both 3D and 2D
- Shapes included Cubes, Squares, Spheres, Triangles, Pyramids, and Cylinders, all easy to construct with differing dimensions
- Programmed loading of unique polygons and models, along with terrain logic to create aesthetic scenes
- Coded HLSL shaders for lighting, shadows, and reflections
- Streamlined terrain logic by reading dimensions and height-map input
- Implemented application of textures, mipmaps, and anisotropic filtering for more detailed graphics
- Utilized the graphics pipeline to separate rendering operations from game operations (rotating or translation of objects)
Centipede
C++; SFML; STL
Design Patterns; Game Programming; Debugging
As a learning exercise in game programming and design patterns at DePaul University, I re-created the arcade classic, Centipede, in C++, using only a bare-bones framework.
Further Details
Role
Gameplay Engineer
Accomplishments
- Re-created the arcade classic, Centipede, with modern C++ design patterns and practices.
- Programmed centipede movement using a Finite State Machine to determine direction and speed, along with other enemies in the game (flea, scorpion, spider).
- Implemented player input, sprites, math, and sounds using a simple framework (TEAL and SFML).
- Used strategy pattern to select between attractor mode (the demo sample that plays on the menu to attract a person to the arcade cabinet), and single-player mode.
- Devised observers for when different entities in the game die (Player, Enemies, Mushrooms).
- Streamlined spawning of objects and playing sounds using both command and observer pattern.
- Optimized mushroom spawning with factory pattern.
- Kept track of all game logic (scoring, level, player lives) with a singleton game instance.
Game Performance Optimization
C++; SIMD
Optimization; Debugging; Memory Management; Data Structures
At the core of all my knowledge lies the Optimized C++ course at DePaul University. Here, I honed my skills, broke bad coding habits, and reshaped my problem solving methodology; making me into the programmer I am today. This was in this where I found a love for game programming and realized it was the path for me.
Further Details
Role
Software Engineer
Accomplishments
- Reworked structures to improve memory usage and data caching.
- Enhanced a Vector and Matrix math library using SIMD instruction set.
- Developed a heap-based memory system for improved data management.
- Created a fast read/write data storing system using OS-native functions.
- Refactored a system of 15k particles utilizing SIMD, a modified main loop, and math systems.
~ Contact ~
Email Me
Info & Links
| Name | Devon Murray |
| Phone | (203) 893-6507 |
| devon.murray@codedcreativity.com | |
| City | Seattle, WA |
| https://www.linkedin.com/in/devon-r-murray/ | |
| YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@devonmurray6402 |
| Website | https://www.codedcreativity.com/ |