Portfolio

About Me

Who am I?

My name is Nelson Rodriguez and I'm currently a second-year Game Design and Development student at the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences.

When it comes down to it, my passion is software programming, especially in the context of games and interactive media. I truly enjoy learning about the foundational systems (i.e. physics engine, graphical pipelines, gameplay systems) behind many of the awesome games that I play and make.

What can I do?

My primary skillset revolves around programming, however, I do have expierence using asset creation tools (Maya, Shotcut, Paint.Net, and Aseprite).

While taught both C# and HTML/CSS/JavaScript from college classes, I have gone out and expiremented with C++, OpenGL (and some of the shader programming that comes with it), Lua, Love2D, and even some networking (using Socket.io).

What will you find here?

On this site you'll find all of my notable projects and links to their repositories (to view one, click on the title of the project). Each project has specific tags to help you quickly identify core details about the project. Additionally, if there are any projects made with JavaScript or WebGL (Unity), there will be seperate pages where you can view and play them!

You can find my contact information at the bottom of this page. Click "Contact" in the navigation bar to instantly jump to it!

Showcase

Taiko No Tatsujin Web Recreation

JavaScript
Rhythm
DOM
Class Project

Taiko No Tatsujin (lit. 太鼓の達人) is a Japanese rhythm game revolving around pressing specific keys to hit colored "notes", and is timed to the beat of the music. The "beatmaps" you play are user-generated and supplied by the popular rhythm game "Osu!", allowing for nearly limitless replayability.

Minecraft Demo

C++
Sandbox
OpenGL
Personal Development

Gallery

View all completed or in-development projects. Some of these projects are done with the intent of being playable on this website (such projects will have a "Play Online" or "View Online" button). To view the repositories of any project click on it's title.

Taiko No Tatsujin Web Recreation

Taiko No Tatsujin (lit. 太鼓の達人) is a Japanese rhythm game revolving around pressing specific keys to hit colored "notes", and is timed to the beat of the music.

This web recreation contains a main menu, a settings menu, a tutorial, a song selection, and the gameplay itself. The "beatmaps" you play are user-generated and supplied by the popular rhythm game "Osu!", allowing for nearly limitless replayability.

Done purely in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript with NO canvas element. A single external library, named JSZip, is used for extracting user-generated content. (Note: Textures belong to Bandai Namco; I did not make any of these assets)

Play Online

JavaScript
DOM
Rhythm
Class Project

NPC World

A small Unity environment where a user can watch different types of NPCs interact with each other. The user can also spawn more of these NPCs and even add to the existing collision.

Served as a solid introduction to the theory of autonomous agents (AI/NPCs) and their logic development.

View Online

C#
Unity
Class Project

Real-Time Jello Chat

A web application that allows for creating and joining custom user-created lobbies, with Discord-styled messaging inside of each lobby. All of these are updated in real-time via a custom API used to help communicate between browsers through a personally hosted dedicated server.

Lobbies can be password protected and users, once connected to a lobby, can message and send GIFs. GIFs are provided via the Tenor API , with users allowed to search with keywords for specific GIFs they may want. Additionally, users can upload their own profile pictures (which are stored locally, alongside information such as their username, for convenience).

View Online

JavaScript
DOM
Real-Time Communication
Class Project

Crazy Taxi

A small Unity game involving the player attempting to drive to randomly generated waypoints, on a simple map generated by Perlin noise.

Served as an introduction to the more complicated aspects of Unity's physics engine and Perlin noise generation.

Play Online

C#
Unity
Class Project

Minecraft Demo

A functional demo of “Minecraft” using C++ and OpenGL.

Includes multiple core Minecraft features such as physics, breaking/place blocks, targeted block highlighting, a simple GUI, and hotbar functionality.

his was a personal project, done with the intent of learning both the fundamentals of both C++ and OpenGL via practical application. The result was an increased understanding of C++ and a solid introduction to OpenGL, as well as the fundamentals of the graphic pipeline, shader programming, and GPU functionality.

C++
Sandbox
OpenGL
Personal Development

Console Snake

A real-time, interactive console application featuring the classic game of Snake.

Integrates real-time functionality through the use of manual delta-time calculations and the Window's API for input handling.

This was a personal project, with the sole intent of serving as an introduction to programming in C++.

C++
Action
Windows API
Personal Development

Moonwalk

An action platformer where the player uses a companion robot to navigate otherwise unreachable terrain, while also attempting to defend themselves from the remnants of the previous security force roaming a desolate laboratory. Programmed in Monogame with C#.

This was a class group project, focused on developing a video game while simulating a more professional environment. This included both documentation and demonstrations, therefore requiring not only practical skills but also communication and group problem-solving.

Additionally, third-party applications were both used and developed to aid the overall process.

C#
Platformer
Monogame
Class Project