Zachary Crownover

I am a game designer and programmer with extensive experience in the field of software engineering as it relates to both game development and general application production. My familiarity with software projects ranging from independent to corporate equips me with the tools to both recognize and mitigate scope issues for teams of practically any size. Though I'm comfortable operating solo, I generally prefer to work as part of a team, as my formative experience in retail management and the service industry has led to my feeling more at home on one than not.

Portfolio

• Guardians of the Wild Sky

  Engine/Framework: Unreal Engine 5

  Platforms: Windows, Consoles TBD

  Languages: C++, Blueprint

  Guardians of the Wild Sky is an expansive, open-world, survival/action/adventure/builder game in which the player amasses a legion of mystical creatures to defeat a mysterious menace. Though I was brought onto this project somewhat late in development, I've been proud to contribute to it in the following ways: updating our interaction system to be more responsive; implementing our input rebinding system; helping to ensure all logic and data operate as expected across dedicated server, listen server, and standalone environments; implementing various smaller features across the gameplay, systems, and UI domains; fixing myriad bugs and adding polish as necessary.

• Towers of Aghasba

  Engine/Framework: Unreal Engine 5

  Platforms: Windows, PlayStation 5

  Languages: C++, Blueprint

  Towers of Aghasba is an open-world action/adventure/builder game in which the player sets out to revitalize their estranged homeland by restoring its once-vibrant ecosystems and settlements. Throughout this project, I was privileged to play a part in implementing and modifying many of its systems. Examples include, but are most definitely not limited to: utilizing our entity/proxy pattern to implement converting stations which repurpose and transform items on timers, regardless of the player's location in the world; refactoring gliding and mount controls to be camera-relative instead of character-relative; implementing the main map (along with the icons that populate it); implementing our landmark system for "region/site entered" notifications and associated region/site-driven gameplay effects; heading much of our PS5-specific endeavors (e.g. TRC compliance, trophies, activities, online-specific requirements, etc.); implementing our melee auto-targeting mechanics; implementing our subtitle system; implementing much of our time-of-day system (including resting at tents in both single and multiplayer); migrating prototype code from Blueprint to C++, updating and optimizing it all the while; implementing the occasional gameplay ability; serving as liaison between the engineering and design teams; performing lots and lots and lots of debugging.

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• Rift World

  Engine/Framework: Unity

  Platforms: Windows

  Languages: C#

  Rift World is a fast-paced, hardcore FPS created by Cerulean Interactive, and for which I was brought on to perform various tasks related to polishing the game for release. My principal duties revolved around player ability implementations, bug fixes, performance optimization, and gamepad support implementation.

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• Payload

  Engine/Framework: Unreal Engine 4

  Platforms: Windows

  Languages: C++, Blueprint

  Payload is a cerebral, narrative-driven, 3D puzzle game developed by Black Banshee Studios for PC. I filled many roles throughout it's development, including creative director, principal designer, UI designer, gameplay programmer, graphics programmer, UI programmer, and tools programmer (I wrote the puzzle solver by which the level/puzzle designers plugged in values to determine whether or not a level was beatable, and if so, how many and what solutions it had).

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• Squirgle

  Engine/Framework: LibGDX

  Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android

  Languages: Java

  For Planar Gazer's first title, I was responsible for all aspects of game development. Leveraging some of the LibGDX framework's primitive screen drawing capabilities, I came up with and implemented the graphics generation process by which visuals are constructed and displayed to the player; I designed and programmed all game logic and UI elements, as well as those algorithms by which the game's distinct and theoretically infinite "shape within shape" aesthetic is made possible; I oversaw QA for the title, and referenced its findings for design-allowed adjustments to gameplay, usability and tutorialization. Additionally, I composed all of the music within the game.

• Sense

  Engine/Framework: Unreal Engine 4

  Platforms: Windows

  Languages: C++, Blueprint

  Sense is a 3D, 1st-person horror/exploration game I helped make for 2021's Global Game Jam. For this project, I handled all of the graphics programming and the vast majority of gameplay programming.

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• Annabell's Exchange

  Engine/Framework: Unity

  Platforms: Windows

  Languages: C#, HLSL

  A 3D, non-linear, telephone operator sim, Annabell's Exchange is a prototype for which I again handled all aspects of development. Most notably, I designed and implemented the finite state machine which governs every aspect of the switchboard's (and its callers') behavior; I wrote the algorithms by which level selection trees are visualized, thus making non-linear level selection clearly communicable and content-responsive; I wrote a small amount of shader code (CG/HLSL) to apply a silent-film-era-style appearance to the game; lastly, I implemented all (de)serialization behavior by which data may be retrieved, modified, localized and/or consulted.

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• Payload (2D)

  Engine/Framework: ORX

  Platforms: Windows

  Languages: C, C++, GLSL

  Payload (2D)'s a novel take on a Sokoban-style game in which the player's able to manipulate the playing field by independently switching between 1D and 2D, as well as between Cartesian and polar coordinate spaces. This format forces the player to reconceptualize the rote mechanics of pushing objects and navigating a finite, discretely partitioned space.

Proficiencies

• C++
• C#
• Java
• GLSL
• SQL
• HTML

• Unreal Engine 5
• Unity
• Godot
• ORX
• LibGDX

• Has years of object-oriented programming experience.
• Capable of providing detailed and accurate project timeline estimates upon request, and working with relevant parties to adjust them, design permitting.
• Familiar with using resources such as Jira, Perforce, GIT, and Slack to expedite workflows and facilitate the interoperation of my work with that of my teammates.
• Has excellent communication skills fostered by years of writing both academically and creatively.
• Has a deep appreciation and aptitude for writing technical documentation.
• Can learn new tools and techniques quickly, and works well under tight deadlines.
• Has a strong work ethic, sense of teamwork, and passion for the games industry.

Experience

Education

Interests

Apart from game development, most of my free time is spent playing narratively, atmospherically, mechanically, and/or systemically adventurous video games, whether old or new. Principle examples of the sorts of titles I seek out include The Stanley Parable, Silent Hill 2, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Hackmud, Limbo, and Deus Ex, to name just a few.

In addition to video games, I thoroughly enjoy cooking, listening to and composing a wide range of music, and watching what I'm told are glacially slow films. My movie tastes span many genres, though I've a predilection towards horror, experimental, and well-choreographed action flicks. When I'm fortunate enough to have the time and money to do so, I also love traveling and staving off the boredom of a flight with a good bit of philosophy, or any sort of text that centers around the human condition.