About | Alexander van Luipen

Downloadable CV

Maths Library

Currently I'm working on recreating several mathematical functions/classes in Unity from scratch, such as Vectors, Quaternions, Matrices, and the methods surrounding them. I've already re-created the transform component, and ultimately I would like to create my own rigid-body system. The number of pre-made tools in game engines like Unity/Unreal is astounding, and I believe the best way to prove that I understand them in and out is to recreate them myself. I'm hoping that this will improve my game making skills, as by weighing all of their strengths and weaknesses, I'll be able to use the best tool for the job in the future. You can check out my progress over on my Github.

2D Platformer

Recently I created a 2D platformer in Unity, where I attempted to replicate the feel of 2D Mario games. I also included a coin counter, and a mechanic where the player could spend coins to perform special actions like a double-jump. It was a fun project, and one I may come back to in the future to continue adding mechanics. In particular, I'm proud of the small optimisations I made to make movement feel fun, like the use of trigonometry to calculate acceleration, and my implementation of coyote time.

Graveyard Drift

This is a game which I made with two friends as part of the Climax Gamejam 2023. Considering we only had 48 hours, I'm pretty happy with the product we produced. We spent Friday night pitching game ideas until we found one we liked, and fleshed it out. Then on Saturday morning I learned Plastic SCM and we got to work. I created the AI and spawning system for the zombies, then built the main menu and options menu. I was ecstatic when the hosts said that they loved our game.

PlayStation 5 SDK

I'm also currently developing something using a PS5 Devkit. I've noticed that very few PS5 games fully utilise the abilities of the DualSense controller, save for Astro's Playroom. I was incredibly impressed by the controller's capabilities when I first used it, so I plan on creating a game which uses all of the built-in functions and pushes them to their limits. After finishing this project, I aim to improve players' experiences by ensuring that I always use the best input method for any given game mechanic.

[CITYPNG.COM]Playstation 5 Sony Ps5 Side View With Controller - 1920x1081.png

Unreal 5 Boss AI

In my free time, I work on an ongoing Unreal Engine 5 project as an AI programmer in a small team. I'm currently learning Behaviour Trees so that I can develop the AI for the tutorial boss in the Souls-Like game we are making.