11th Hour Hero
Virtual Joshua
Vernacular Katfe
AmaranTime Arena
11th Hour Hero
The Quick Deets
Platforms: PC, Meta Quest
Genre: Multiplayer FPS Coop
Role: Software Engineer // 3D Artist
Tools: Unity, C#, Blender, ElevenLabs
The Dream
11th Hour Hero (working title) is a multiplayer coop first person shooter that challenges players and their friends to save the world in under one hour. The team must explore the ship for weapons to arm themselves, search for clues on who the enemy is, and ultimately destroy the enemy all before time runs out.
Turned Reality
ChallengesRealtime Multiplayer
Cross-Platform Builds: PC (Mouse and Keyboard), Quest
SolutionsRealtime Multiplayer
This game was built using the Unity game engine. I utilize the Unity Netcode for GameObjects to set up a Relay server networking solution. This game utilizes an unorthodox client-authoritative approach because this is a coop game that is not competitive. This approach allows for less client latency with the tradeoff of potential ease of cheating. Testing this game for GameObject interactivity in VR is a huge pain, so a local player solution was also developed to ease testing friction.Cross-Platform Builds
There was a lot of consideration towards how to build this game for two different systems. One codebase handles builds for both the PC version and the Quest version. I handle this by using Git (hosted on Github) to manage multiple build branches. The Main branch is where all the feature branches get merged into, and then Main will merge into the Windows branch for the Windows build, and the Quest branch handles the Quest build. This allows for flexibility towards optimizing build profiles for each system and adding hotfixes without disrupting the builds for all pipelines.
Joshua Angeley 2.0
The Quick Deets
Platforms: Meta Quest 3
Genre: AI Experiment
Role: Software Engineer
Tools: Unity, C#, ChatGPT, Avaturn, ElevenLabs
The Dream
Have you ever wanted to chat with a future version of yourself? A person that’s just like you, who knows you, but with approximately 5 more years of knowledge and expertise? I have, and I managed to replicate that experience with the power of VR injected with AI.
Turned Reality
Challenges2 Week Time Limit
Duplicate Voice
Create Dynamic Responses
Integrate Voice Recognition
Create a 3D Mesh of Myself
SolutionsIntegrate all the Tools!
I had a very tight deadline to produce this prototype to be run on the new Meta Quest 3, so I searched and integrated tools as needed to get the job done. I used ElevenLabs to duplicate my voice, one of their introductory plans allows a voice to be trained with just 2-3 minutes of voice data. It worked for this demo, I plan on using the more expensive plans later to make my duplicated voice more authentic. I integrated ChatGPT through a unity asset library named OpenAI Unity Package. That library also contained a speech recognition api, which meant I didn't have to spend time integrating the Oculus Voice SDK for this prototype. Lastly, I found this tool called Avaturn, which produces a head and body mesh using only 3 pictures of different head poses. I realized halfway through this project that the mesh generation was going to be the most difficult, and most uncertain, part of this demo, so finding this tool was a god-send. This head mesh also came with blend shapes for mouth movements, which allowed easy lip sync capabilities as well. I considered that a bonus, but definitely makes virtual Joshua look more realistic.
Vernacular Katfe
The Quick Deets
Platforms: PCVR, Meta Quest 2
Genre: Immersive Experience
Role: Software Engineer
Tools: Unity, C#, WitAI, Meta Voice SDK
The Dream
How can you learn a new language the quickest, quizzing yourself over flashcards, or immersing yourself in the new country, speaking the native language, and navigating the country’s culture? Our team tested this question by building Katfe, an experience where you must order a beverage in japanese in a japanese catfe! We built the PCVR version of this during the Oculus Launchpad in 2020, and used the won grant money to build out a Quest version of it!
Turned Reality
AmaranTime Arena
The Quick Deets
Platforms: PCVR, Meta Quest
Genre: Arcade Shooter
Role: Software Engineer
Tools: Unity, C#
The Dream
In 2016, the only way to experience VR was through a tethered headset. How can the player roam the virtual world while being so heavily constricted in real life? In this game, I built a novel locomotion system that simulates running in real life to provide a virtual movement that feels both realistic and immersive. This was essential to the player, as they also have to juggle powers and weapons as they defend themselves from a forever ongoing onslaught of robots!
Turned Reality