Screenshots

Due to various computer crashes and restorations I've ended up with several different versions of some of my main projects, with the rest scattered about. I've been sorting and consolidating them all into a single set, updating where possible to compile with Visual C++ Express 2008 and Direct3D 9.

I may need to break down and buy Developer Studio again; some of my projects use MFC or WTL and neither of those comes with the Express edition. I have one project (my 64 KB shooter) which needs to compile without the C runtime library; the new compiler is producing calls to a bunch more functions such as __IAtan2. The Express edition also does not include source for the C runtime library, so I haven't yet figured out what those functions are supposed to do.

“Penultima” started out as a turn-based game written as an exercise for a Mode X sprite system based on Michael Abrash's articles. Later, I was working on a COFF-based sprite animation system under DirectDraw, where the sprites are compiled into COFF-format object files (an almost entirely redundant phrase) and linked directly into the executable. I used this project as a testbed and turned it into a real-time game, although the gameplay isn't really all there. The main character is Link from his Minish Cap outing; not my own art.

Subdivision surfaces seem like they could be a handy tool to use for level construction. Here they're used to produce a cave-like space. I plan to revisit this soon; it ought to provide a good challenge for physics simulation.

These people are attempting to mill about without hitting each other; a project where I was exploring crowd movement. I think they're pretty cute; they also show up as bystanders in my 64 KB first-person shooter.

This is Marion Wolfe, love interest from Outcast, in her funeral bier. Outcast is a fantastic game and one that I spent quite a bit of time hacking on, deciphering the file formats.

When I was working on my 64 KB FPS I thought a lot about how to construct levels from tiny amounts of data. This house is made from a very simple input file describing the floor plan, and some descriptions of the door and window features. I'd love to pick this up again and expand on it; working from floor plans is a really quick way to build an environment.

After I finished Psi Ops I had some down time so I wrote an orrery. It uses massive tables of orbital elements from JPL to position the asteroids, planets, and comets. This shot illustrates the remarkable way in which Jupiter's gravity collects asteroids at points 60 degrees ahead of and behind it in its orbit.

This is the first level of Ultima Underworld: the Stygian Abyss. Another wonderful game that I've spent many hours hacking. Once I had the dungeon rendering it turned out to be a great place to work on first-person motion dynamics. Perhaps someday this will turn into a full-fledged remake, but there would be a lot of work to get to that point.