SIDE PROJECTS | Kevin Cat. Portfolio

Wild West Simulation
(Unity3D, C#)

Modular AI
Bachelor Thesis
(Unreal Engine, C++)

Project description

Created as part of my bachelor thesis, the modular AI project features a first-person shooter prototype with a dynamic AI system. The system generates unique enemy behaviors, mechanics, and visuals by randomly assembling various body parts, resulting in unpredictable and varied opponents. This system is implemented using Unreal Engine's Behavior Tree framework. The project is available for download on PC via Itch.io.

Key deliverables

Dynamic AI Generation: Developed a system that can randomly generate up to sixteen different AI enemies at runtime, each with distinct behaviors and appearances.
Bossfight Mechanics: Designed and implemented complex bossfight-like gameplay, incorporating multiple offensive, defensive, and movement mechanics for challenging encounters.

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Project description

The Wild West Simulation integrates multiple fascinating elements into a single scene, developed to deepen my expertise in AI programming, world generation, tool development, and VFX creation using particles and shaders.

AI programming

Day and Night Cycle: Implemented a dynamic day and night cycle, with the world and its inhabitants responding to changes in time.
Finite State Machine: Developed a Finite State Machine for human and bison behaviors—humans work during the day and sleep in town at night, while bison herds wander during the day and rest at night.
Reusable Systems: Applied the Finite State Machine to create additional elements like chickens and tumbleweeds, demonstrating the system's reusability.
Boid System: Created a boid system to simulate flocking behavior in birds, allowing them to navigate to a goal while considering the positions of other birds.

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World Generation

Customizable Terrain System: Programmed a robust system for customizing various terrain types and properties directly in the inspector. Features include adjustable noise settings (scale, seed, octaves, persistence, lacunarity, and offset), terrain settings (flat shading, falloff, height multiplier, and mesh height animation curves), and LOD settings. The system also supports chunk activation/deactivation and runtime-adjusted mesh colliders for collision detection.
Biome Development: Created several biomes as a proof of concept to demonstrate diverse environmental settings.
Procedural Generation: Integrated the world generation system into the project with randomized seed generation at game start to ensure procedural terrain creation.
World Population: Filled the generated terrain with objects such as towns, trees, gold locations, rocks, and graves, placing them at random locations to enhance realism and gameplay.

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Tool Development

Purpose: Developed a specialized tool to streamline the implementation of randomly placed prefabs and object pools within the Wild West scene.
Features: The tool is designed specifically for the Wild West environment, with prefabs, their components, and configurable values tailored to fit the scene’s needs.

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Particle and Shader Vfx

Custom Shaders: Developed shaders for sand, skybox (including day/night cycle), clouds, and water, contributing to a realistic and visually appealing Wild West environment.
Particle Effects: Created immersive particle effects, including footprints, flickering fire, simulated wind, and swirling dust, to enhance the game's atmosphere and realism.

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Goal-Oriented
Action Planning
Prototype
(Unity3D, C#)

Project description

The Goal-Oriented Action Planning (GOAP) prototype allowed me to delve into the implementation of GOAP by developing an enemy AI that responds dynamically to player input.

Key Deliverables

GOAP Implementation: Created an enemy AI using the GOAP framework, featuring behaviors such as patrolling, chasing, shooting, searching for the player, and dodging grenades.
E-Learning Development: Developed an e-learning resource to share my knowledge and explain the implementation process, with the goal of teaching others about GOAP and AI development.

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Hotel Dread Teaser Mockup
(Unity3D, C#)

Project description

The Hotel Dread teaser mockup is a cutscene I developed using the Timeline system. This theoretical project allowed me to enhance my project planning skills during my studies.