Joel Lee

(909) 973-0704 ยท lee.joel395@gmail.com

Game programmer focusing in gameplay using the Unity engine in both 3D and 2D environments.
Helped start the Video Game Development Asssociation at Cal. State Long Beach in 2013.
Graduated with a Bachelors in Computer Science in December 2017, looking for opportunities to apply my skills and improve myself as a game developer.

Projects

Waxheart

Atmospheric puzzle adventure/platformer in Unity3D.

A friend's game development thesis project at LCAD I was brought on to assist with as an engineer.
- Worked on various gameplay features and fixes spanning character systems, level features, and UI.

October 2022 - Present

HackAndSlashAndShoot

Top down Hack and Slash prototype in Unity3D.

A more long term project to recreate an old favorite game of mine, Spiral Knights, using Unity. Was the sole developer on this project. (The linked video shows 30 minutes of gameplay going through two of the three zones and their bosses.)
- Created a top down character controller with a matching animation controller to handle blending and stances per weapon type.
- Developed an equipment system that allows for on the fly equipping and switching between weapons, as well as equipped shields.
- Designed and implemented the combat system and behaviour tree based enemy/boss AI.
- Developed a modular, event-driven objective system to create progression within levels.
- Scripted a weapons platform that allows for fast prototyping of new designs in both melee and ranged weapons.
- Performed level design and scripting that can plug into the objective system for that level.
- Programmed UI functionality for both worldspace and HUD elements.
- Created a data saving system, with lookup tables for equipment, to save player progress and allow them to continue from the main menu.

March 2018 - November 2018

Bevolve

2D RTS where you manage bee colonies and their growth.

Project done for Ludum Dare 44 using Unity.
- Developed resource collection system.
- Created system to deploy and retrieve bees.
- Implemented UI elements to display resource node information.


Play on Itch.io

Github Repo
April 2019

BubblePop

Match-2 made in Unreal 4

A weekend project to recreate Match-2 game mechanics in Unreal 4. The game will track total number of blocks popped, as well as their highest amount popped at once.
- Implemented a modified flood fill algorithm in C++ to detect nearby matching colors.
- Implemented the grid using a column major array to handle filling empty columns once blocks were cleared.
- UI and player click detection were done through C++ as well.

February 2019

Re:Charge

2D puzzle platformer.

A 2D puzzle platformer done for Global Game Jam 2019 using Unity.

Implemented Features:
- Rigidbody based player controller.
- Game's basic loop.
- Environmental hazards and collectables.
- Designed and implemented a cutscene system to take control of the player character and perform a sequence of actions. (Seen at the end of the tutorial.)
- Implemented camera "screen" movements to follow the character through each puzzle using cinemachine.

January 2019

Tower Defense

A basic tower defense in Unity3D.

A simple tower defense done as a solo weekend project. Used splines to implement enemy movement paths, implemented a tower upgrade system and its respective UI, as well as unit placement detection for placing towers.

January 2019

Fishing Minigame

A small project to familiarize with Unreal 4.

An emulation of the Fishing skill's minigame from the MMORPG "Mabinogi". The player must cast their rod as far as they feel like by holding down left mouse. When a fish bites, they can click to start the minigame, which involves dragging the mouse to control the "fish".

Used C++ to handle main game logic (i.e. casting the rod and switching from one input scheme to another). Used Blueprints to hook game events to UMG in order to display UI/Text.

August 2018

Very Generous Downward Acceleration

A sidescrolling action game done for VGDA's July Game Jam (One Month)

The player must make their round around a rapidly failing airship and must maintain and repair rooms before there is too much damage to continue its flight.

Worked as the sole programmer for the team while also implementing art and animation assets for our artists. Also designed two of the implemented levels.

Implemented Features:
- Player input and animation controllers
- Designed and implemented the game's basic loop
- Designed and implemented a quick time event style system for the room repair mechanic
- Designed and implemented a ship durabilty system based on repairable rooms in the ship
- Implemented a Local leaderboard that persists between sessions that displays each level played with the given score and time survived
- Implemented UI elements such as the ship's health, menu screens, and a minimap

July 2018

When Worlds Collide

A 2D sumo-style arena knockout game done in Unity for the 7th Tilted Shed Jam (12 hours)

Each of the players (up to 4 in local co-op) control a planet, whose goal is to consume smaller moons in order to ram other player's planets out of the galaxy, or just crush them into dust.

Took the project further with a partner to extend gameplay features and increase local co-op player count from 2 to 4.

Implemented Features:
- Moon collection and spawning in the arena
- Player Skin customization system
- Context-based reactions of the faces on the player's planets
- Basic game loop implementation
- Extended game jam code to allow up to 4 players in local co-op
- Created proper UI functionality to handle up to 4 players using any combination of mouse+keyboard and controllers

Download
May 2018 - June 2018

Transfliction

A stealth/puzzle game done in Unity for Global Game Jam 2018 (36 hours)

The player plays as the villain and must spread a deadly plague while avoiding detection from troublesome AI doctors in order to sneak into the CDC and spread the disease as far as possible.

Implemented Features:
- Level design and implementation
- Created doors that react differently to the player vs NPCs
- Bugfixing and QA

Download
January 2018

Trash Panda

A 3D platforming exploration game in Unity for VGDA's 2017 Fall semester

You are a hungry raccoon whose goal is to break into homes and eat as much food as you can while avoiding detecting before time runs out.

An IEEE Gamesig 2018 semi-finalist.

Implemented Features:
Core gameplay mechanics
- Updating the gamestate and UI when the player consumes food
- Created a timer and accompanying UI element for each Level
- Created the game's winning and failure states, i.e. having eaten food to pass a level or running out of time
- End-level scoring system based on food eaten in the level
UI features
- Main Menu and in-game UI functionality
Level scripting
- Physics based doors that can be opened with player input and closed with manual interaction
- Level triggers to start and end each level

Download
August 2017 - March 2018

Station Outbreak

A top-down 3D shooter survival in Unity for VGDA's 2017 Spring semester

You are a scientist on a space station that has been overrun by infected former crewmates and strange creatures. You must escape before you too fall to the infestation.
This project was VGDA's first steps into having a team experiment with a 3D project for the semester.

Implemented Features:
- Implemented the combat system
- Healthbar UI for the player and enemies
- AI design and implementation for all enemies in the game
- Level design and level scripting
- A basis for an objectives system for gameplay
- Player decoy ability

Download
January 2017 - May 2017

Horizon's Pull

A 2D top-down space shooter in Unity for VGDA's 2016 Fall semester

Explore space in a branching narrative while discovering the secrets behind your mission.

Implemented Features:
- Created the tractor beam for the player
- Enemy turret AI design + implementation
- Enemy tractor beam interactions with the player
- Hostile proximity mines
- Laser walls that can be obstructed with physical objects

Download (PC & Mac)
September 2016 - December 2016

Echoes of Tikkun

A 2D platformer for VGDA's 2016 Spring semester

A meditative, musical, cave exploration platformer that has the player solving rhythmic and musical puzzles to uncover the secrets behind the creation of this world.

Implemented Features:
- Puzzle design and implementation
- Dialogue parsing system for NPCs to read from a file

Download (Android)
January 2016 - May 2016

Parasomnia

A 2D stealth-horror game for VGDA's 2015 Fall semester

Navigate a twisted incarnation of the character's home to discover the truth behind their recurring nightmares.

Implemented Features:
- Array/Tile based random level generation
- Game balancing and QA

Download (Android)
August 2015 - December 2015


The Last Arrow

A 2D top-down wave survival game for VGDA's 2014 Spring semester

You are the last of your village and must survive an onslaught of demons in order to warn your people about the incoming invasion that devasted your village.

Implemented Features:
- Enemy design and implementation
- Level design for the first level

Download (Android)
January 2014 - May 2014

Experience

Software Engineer

Gamblit Games
Montclair, CA (Remote)

An established Las Vegas casino games development studio working on porting floor titles into a web format using Cocos Creator.
Reverse engineered existing titles from original C#/Unity source code into Typescript/Cocos Creator.
Largely front-end development spanning all aspects from gameplay, UI, vfx, and client code. Due to small size of team, took ownership on the conversion of 2 of their popular titles "Navy Blitz" and "Deal or No Deal".
Worked closely with our Art Lead to convert old assets and effects into a new engine.

August 2020 - October 2021

Unity Engineer

Lucky Charm Games
Alta Dena, CA

Small studio developing a mobile casino slots experience.
Implemented new UI designs and features outlined by designers and demands of stakeholders.
Created client code to handle and parse data packets sent from the back end.
Developed client systems that fetch and use data from the back end when required.
Engineering liasion for the team.

July 2019 - November 2019

Unity VR developer (Freelance)

Let's Make a Deal
Van Nuys, CA

A VR game development contract to create a VR spin-off of "Car Pong" from the game show "Let's Make a Deal!
Implemented gameplay features to best recreate the experience of Car Pong in VR.
Developed UI elements.
Presented project on the E3 showfloor.

April 2019 - June 2019

Unity Engineer (Contract)

Forklift Simulator
Irvine, CA

A startup VR training simulation software designed to train forklift operators in a safe manner.

Documented existing sourcecode regarding the log-in processes and the gameplay loop from starting up the simulation to the end.
Refactored local game and client-connection code for clarity and maintainability.
Conceptualized and prototyped new UI/UX designs and features in Unity.
Implemented a networked metrics and logging system to capture data generated by the system during use.

August 2018 - November 2018

Video Game Development Associatation

Game development club at CSULB
Long Beach, CA

Helped start the club in the fall semester of 2013. The club emulates a large studio environment with a multidisciplinary membership whose goal is to finish and publish a game every semester.
I have personally worked on many projects as a generalist gameplay programmer, with some UI when tasked.

August 2013 - December 2017

Education

California State University Long Beach

Bachelors in Computer Science

August 2013 - December 2017

Skills

Programming Languages

- C# (4.5 years)
- C++ (1 years)
- Java (3 years)

Engines

- Unity3D & 2D (4 years)
- Unreal 4 (1 year)

Tools & Processes

- Git, Github, SourceTree, Trello, JIRA, AGILE development, NLog

Interests

Favorite thing to do is look at a game mechanic and breakdown its potential implementation. When not developing games, I am most often found playing them. Will gladly discuss any game I've played.

Currently playing: Destiny 2, Mabinogi