Hi there, I’m Zac!
I’m currently a 2nd year Games Development student studying my undergraduate degree at Staffordshire University. My passions lie with tool creation and Unreal Engine 5.
I love to pick apart programs and see how they work. I am a big fan of cards games of all forms. My currently research interests include Tool Development, AI in games, C++ for Unreal Engine 5 and PCG.
University Projects
Shotgun Chefs
Shotgun Chefs was the final product of the "Production, Process and Pipeline" module based in Unreal Engine 5. This game was made as a collaborative project in a group of 5 over the course of 8 weeks. The premise of the game is a crafting and combat game (a heavy inspiration for this game was Dave the Diver) where you “cook” dishes during the day which will serve as your weapons for night time where you have to fight of increasing waves of enemies. My role in this project, was to create the inventory system and to act as a generalist programmer.
C++ Project
The "C++ for Engines" module was an 8 week solo module which laid the groundwork for using C++ in the Unreal Engine. My C++ project was coded entirely in C++ and was designed to showcase a variety of game mechanics. This project was less of a game and more a showcase of the various mechanics coded solely in C++.
VFX Project
The "VFX for Video Games" module was an 8 week solo module which taught us how to utilize Substance Designer, Blender and Unreal Engine 5’s Niagara System to create in depth VFX. In this module I was trying to adhere to a theme of butterflies by incorporating them into as many of the VFX as I could. This module was very interesting as it gave me an insight into the more art oriented side of games development and has given me a better understanding of the art production process.
Tools Development for Games Engines
The “Tools Development for Game Engines” module was a module I was very passionate about as I felt like I was given free reign to do what I wanted to do. Because of this a lot of passion was put into this project and that was clearly shown in the results as I got 100/100 on my module feedback. The tool I ended up creating was essentially a recreation of the Slay the Spire map in the style of a tool so users could create their own presets and have it generate at runtime.
Miasma Ashlung
“Miasma Ashlung” was the end product of the 30 person collaborative module I undertook at the end of my 2nd year. In this module I was the co-producer alongside creating the procedural level generation system for the project! I really enjoyed working with my team for this module and I am really proud of what we were able to create together!
You can go ahead and play our game using the itch.io button below!
Global Games Jam 2025
I participated in the Global Games Jam for 2025 with a team of 6 people. This year the theme was bubbles and we had 2 days to create a game and Ripcurrent was our team's creation. Ripcurrent is a fast paced speedrun oriented game where your goal is to get to the end of the sequence of levels in the shortest time possible utilizing various bubble themed abilities from your bubble gun. This games jam was a really enjoyable experience for me and my team and I loved participating in this.