hey, it's Ben.

I’m a software engineer and game programmer based in Atlantic Canada. I built this website to serve as both an interactive portfolio to showcase my work, and an excuse to learn React

// about me

I recently graduated from the University of Prince Edward Island with a BSc. in computer science, and have nearly 2.5 years of game programming experience at Other Ocean Interactive. Getting my start in game development was a dream come true and I'm currently looking to start my next adventure.

Here's a list of some of the tech I've worked with on my projects.

  • Custom game engine for web with TypeScript / Node.js, Vue.js, Pixi.js and PostgreSQL
  • C# and Unity for voxel-based 3D game development
  • C++ and OpenGL for 3D graphics programming and custom game engines
  • Java for various school projects and OOP foundational learning
  • Python for various machine learning projects at school
  • React.js and Vite.js for building this site
  • Git, GitHub, GitLab for source control

// resume

Programmer
Other Ocean Interactive
May 2021 - Sept 2023
  • Worked with a small team to develop the game - Diebrary - participating in every stage of its development on a short (12 month) development timeline
  • Wrote developer tools and interfaces for testers, artists and designers
  • Engineered core gameplay systems including Enemy AI behavior, itemization trees, and player movement / combat
  • Wrote backend endpoints, schema, queries, and migrations to support features such as in-game currency transactions, progress persistance, and settings preferences
  • Reviewed teammates' code, managed version control in git, wrote documents and patch notes, and shared CI/CD duties with other coders
  • Adapted quickly to an ever-evolving set of requirements within each sprint as the team’s agile, iterative approach to game development often required flexibility, clear communication and organized context switching

// portfolio

Diebrary
A choose-your-own-adventure-novel-themed async multiplayer arena rogue-like (game genre naming conventions are neat!) in the vein of Vampire Survivors.
Loot.io
A live multiplayer rogue-like loot-shooter with an extremely deep weapon system with near infinite permutations, hundreds of collectible pets and cosmetics, and robust player marketplace.
Snow Removal Simulator 2023
Capstone graduation project at UPEI - A first person game about snow removal, leveraging the marching cubes algorithm for real-time 3D mesh manipulation.
PFX System
A simple particle effects rendering system written for a graphics programming assignment at UPEI.
Portfolio Website
This very website! An ever-evolving showcase of my projects. Developed in React, learning as I go.