Who is Daverinoe?
My journey in life has taken many interesting turns. Some of my most significant career accomplishments include obtaining a PhD in computational quantum information and working as a software engineer. However, over the past couple of years, I've discovered a real passion:
G A M E D E V E L O P M E N T !
Like many others, I thought, "Games are fun to play, so they must be fun to make!" and decided to give it a try. To my delight, the challenges involved in game development proved to be incredibly enjoyable and satisfying. I've tackled everything from gameplay programming and creating the perfect character controller, to designing audio solutions and grappling with shader code.
I enjoy every aspect of it.
Curious about my work? You can find the proof in my list of Projects, where I detail my experiences working on each game and discuss the challenges I've overcome as well as the problems I haven't. As of March 2023, these are all game-jam games. Some projects have the potential to become full-fledged releases with proper polish, but only time will tell.
I hope you find my journey through game development both enjoyable and enlightening!
Projects
Hexbound Nightmare
An atmospheric walking simulator, where you need to find a way to unlock the way out. Beware though, for not all is as it seems.
Role
For this game, I did everything except the music, except the tree model. Level design, programming, SFX foley, all the models except the hand and skull (which I modified quite extensively).
Challenges and Lessons
It seems I didn't learn from my last game, and once again solo developed a game with a lot of scope. The greatest challenge, though, was properly tackling the modelling. My new favourite thing is geometry nodes in Blender, that's what's responsible for the amazing hexagon based landscape. Though I didn't model the hand or the skull myself, I did extensively modify the base models they came from, and animated the hand myself.
Morning coffee
A brief parable about coffee. This game started as a response to my own coffee machine, which was forever making demands of being refilled with water, or to empty the coffee grounds.
Role
For this game, I did everything except the music, and many of the 3D models. Level design, programming, SFX foley, the model of the coffee machine, the voice acting, all this was my work.
Challenges and Lessons
The biggest challenge I faced with this project was the sheer scope of it. This is quite a large game to be completed in 9 days, especially as a solo developer. To accomplish this, I really had to structure my time wisely, and create a plan for the game that I could follow closely. Even then, I still had to cut scope on the game, which is a harsh reality that many game developers must face.
Rail Assembly
Move track pieces in front of your train to prevent disaster.
Role
Programmer, VFX artist. This was mostly a self-given role, as I love doing the small things for the project that many people don't even notice are there, but give the game that smooth-to-play feeling.
Challenges and Lessons
The biggest challenge we faced in this game was scope. We had a lot to do, and unfortunately many of team fell sick. While I was able to complete my parts, and in the end get the game into a semi-playable state, I realised that I simply cannot do the work of 3 people without serious consequences, which is a lesson I will definitely take forward with me.
Pizza Delivery
A totally normal game about delivering a pizza to a hedge maze at night.
Role
Almost everything was done by me.
Challenges and Lessons
This game was my first foray into a horror title. The biggest challenge for me with this game was the procedural animation on the monster. I couldn't get it to look quite right, but it still does its job sufficiently. I would take take more time to get the animation smooth in the future, and add the ability to walk on/up walls for extra creepiness.
Alarm Cluck
Waking the farm is your duty in this Jump King clone.
Role
Everything except artist and music.
Challenges and Lessons
The big challenge for this one was time. This game was made over 1 weekend, so scope was a big issue. However, the big lesson I'm taking away from this game is that small changes can make a massive difference. The player controller felt stinted and stiff, but after adding in the animation of the rooster squishing down and out, without changing the controller it suddenly felt much more responsive.
God's Gambit
Take on the Gods to become the True God of Gaming in this twist on a classic.
Role
SFX, Music, and VFX artist.
Challenges and Lessons
The challenges in this game revolved mostly around getting the SFX and VFX correct. The stone slabs we used as cards just didn't feel like they had weight, and I spent a lot of time adjusting the SFX foley and adding dust particles to give them that feeling. The end result is a stone slab that feels hefty, like it has actual weight.
Unfinished bull game
Take revenge on a thief who dared to steal from you in a pottery store.
Role
Everything.
Challenges and Lessons
This was my first solo game, and my greatest challenge was to overcome my artistic limitations. I modelled the bull, but didn't want to spend time animating it. My solution was to give the bull spinning legs, and play 'Flight of the Bumblebees'. This turned my lack of artistic talent into a hilarious situation, which simultaneously feels sloppy to play, but lots of fun.
The Huggen
Spread your love to the ships above in this QWOP inspired game.
Role
Audio, SFX, VFX
Challenges and Lessons
This game was a lot of fun for me. I ended up doing all the sound effects using only sounds I could make myself, which was an interesting experience. The procedural water was also a great challenge, being modelled by a series of springs and using shader code for rendering.
PHD: Printer Hate Department
Debug the world with this puzzle platformer!
Role
Programming
Challenges and Lessons
I would say that the greatest challenge with this game came from the character design for the enemy. I spent a lot of time perfecting sound design and AI for the enemy, however my favourite addition here is the debug gun. It shoots copy pasta text, which is always fun when people figure that out.
No Thyme to Waste
Save the world one sale at a time in this aquaponics inspired game.
Role
Programming
Challenges and Lessons
As my first foray into game development, my biggest challenge was scope. I spent most of my time on the boids algorithm for the fish, something that was only tangentially related to the game at best. Going forward, I made strong efforts to realistically plan the game, and try to include timelines and milestones to hopefully avoid this problem, with various success.