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XALT: Last Stand
(2018)

Company : MotionX Studio

​Release : 27 September 2018​

Genre : VR, Shooter, Action, Arcade

Platform : Oculus Rift

Engine : Unreal Engine 4

Team size : ~10

At MotionX Studio, I had the opportunity to work with VR technology and Unreal Engine 4. It was also my first experience in full 3D game production! Since the studio was newly formed and the team was also new to VR and UE4, XALT served as a practice project for us.

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Highlights :

  • Learned UE4, Blueprint, Material Editor, and Cascade Particle System, along with new optimization concepts for 3D games and Unreal Engine, such as HLOD and Imposters

  • Performed typical technical artist tasks, including setting asset specifications for the artist team, implementing Blueprints, and working on materials and VFX

  • Also introduced game development mindset to some team members transitioning from a production studio background

  • Learned Substance Designer, to author effect textures used in shaders

xalt_onhit.gif

On hit shader effect

flash turns red upon hitting weakspot

Disintegration shader and particle effect

Stage transition shader effect

Dash Dash World
(2018 - 2020)

Company : MotionX Studio

​Release : 8 October 2020​

Genre : VR, Racing

Platform : Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest

Engine : Unreal Engine 4

Team size : ~20

Dash Dash World was our major project after the team became familiar with Unreal Engine. The team size also doubled, and we established a dedicated VFX department. I remained as a technical artist within the programming team. My contributions focused more on the programming and pipeline aspects of the project.

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Highlights :

  • Learned to develop project using C++

  • Acted as a bridge between the programming team and the creative team (3D, 2D, VFX artists), integrating their work into the project

  • Got introduced to and began learning Houdini. Initially, I planned to develop a tool for track editing. However, due to the high learning curve and complexity of the task, we opted to use a plugin for track creation instead. Nonetheless, Houdini remains one of my favorite tools

  • Assisted VFX artists with Material Editor and Particle Effects, ensuring their assets were optimized

  • Fully in charge of the avatar customization system, including creating base materials for facials, skins, and emotes, designing the database, and developing the customization asset workflow

  • Implemented a minimap system, sharpening my skills in linear algebra and matrix transformations

  • Responsible for addressing rendering issues and providing workaround solutions when necessary

  • Created a Utility Blueprint tool to automate repetitive processes such as making item cards and identify "incomplete" assets due to human error

  • Performed extensive optimization work for Oculus Quest porting (1st generation)

    • Developed a Python script in Jupyter Notebook to visualize "stat startfile" records to help identify bottlenecks

    • Implemented a workflow to reduce draw calls, where developers created snapshots before and after optimization. Then, running my Jupyter file showed draw call improvements and helped identify "hidden" objects for further culling

    • Created alternative materials to simulate mesh skinning without bones, addressing performance costs on Quest caused by bone count limitations

dd_card.png

Automated customization item card creation:

The system scans keys from the database and captures images under specific lighting setups, saving them into Texture2D

dd_emote.gif

Automated verify database integrity:

Items marked in RED is missing some data from human error

dd_report.png

Decoded performance reports from Unreal's "stat startfile"

I use this to aid in performance investigation and necessary actions

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