Nathan Bowdish

Project currently in progress. A story-focused management game in which you are the tavernkeep handing out quests to adventures while maintaining your bar. Collaborated with 5 other students in addition to the sound team for our senior capstone project. I primarily work on systems design and gameplay programming.

Features I've worked on:
- pitching, demoing, and iterating game mechanics
- team communication
- AGILE development
- programmed node-based locations to chain paths… Show more

Project currently in progress. A story-focused management game in which you are the tavernkeep handing out quests to adventures while maintaining your bar. Collaborated with 5 other students in addition to the sound team for our senior capstone project. I primarily work on systems design and gameplay programming.

Features I've worked on:
- pitching, demoing, and iterating game mechanics
- team communication
- AGILE development
- programmed node-based locations to chain paths for adventurers
- experience working in and adding to an existing code-base Show less

Winning game for Columbia College Chicago's Manifest Game Jam. Made in 24-hours using Unity given the pitch "living, breathing city." Created alongside four other students. I was the sole programmer, and we all worked on design.

Programming features include:
- minimap to track player's location, pickups, and the main paths
- multiple level, tile-based movement system
- patrolling obstacles
- timer, pickups, and score counter

A 30-hour game jam given the prompt "impending death." Worked alongside 15 other students of varying skill levels and time availability, of which two or three were other programmers, which I often pair-programmed with. Tasked with programming, game design, and simple systems design. Made using Unity.

Features I worked on:
- Reticle movement, throw-off, screen-locking, firing, and cooldown
- Falling respawn pickups (generalized for any pickup), determined by which players have… Show more

A 30-hour game jam given the prompt "impending death." Worked alongside 15 other students of varying skill levels and time availability, of which two or three were other programmers, which I often pair-programmed with. Tasked with programming, game design, and simple systems design. Made using Unity.

Features I worked on:
- Reticle movement, throw-off, screen-locking, firing, and cooldown
- Falling respawn pickups (generalized for any pickup), determined by which players have died
- simple camera movement
- firewall of death
- assisted with general premise, game feel, and systems design Show less

A one-week sprint with 4 other collaborators. All players look through the building's "security screens." One to three players play as thieves, one player plays as a security guard. Game ends when one thief steals five artifacts or the security guard spots all thieves. Features includes aimless AI, interaction between canvases and multiple cameras, and a player join screen.

Solo project: A block pushing puzzle game made in Unity whose primary feature is a level editor (created levels are saved on your local computer). With the exception of naming your level, all input is with a mouse.

Features include:
- movement along a grid-based system
- saving and loading custom levels
- a level editor
- pushable blocks, pressure plates, death spikes, walls, start and end flags
- 10 pre-built levels that demonstrate how each gameplay feature can be… Show more

Solo project: A block pushing puzzle game made in Unity whose primary feature is a level editor (created levels are saved on your local computer). With the exception of naming your level, all input is with a mouse.

Features include:
- movement along a grid-based system
- saving and loading custom levels
- a level editor
- pushable blocks, pressure plates, death spikes, walls, start and end flags
- 10 pre-built levels that demonstrate how each gameplay feature can be combined and used

While not included in the link, I have since worked on this project adding the following features:
- fixing bugs and improved code readability
- reading from a JSON file
- preventing saving over default levels
- adding story progression to the game Show less

Solo project. 2D side-scroller made with Unity. I designed, programmed, and composed music for the game. Art assets were found on OpenGameArt.org. Premise: reach the end of the level using your powers of magnetism to push and pull magnetic blocks to solve puzzles. Programming done in Unity, level design done using Tiled2D.

Features include:
- pushing and pulling "magnetic" objects
- magnetic spikes (gravity and anti-gravity)
- magnetic blocks (gravity and anti-gravity)
-… Show more

Solo project. 2D side-scroller made with Unity. I designed, programmed, and composed music for the game. Art assets were found on OpenGameArt.org. Premise: reach the end of the level using your powers of magnetism to push and pull magnetic blocks to solve puzzles. Programming done in Unity, level design done using Tiled2D.

Features include:
- pushing and pulling "magnetic" objects
- magnetic spikes (gravity and anti-gravity)
- magnetic blocks (gravity and anti-gravity)
- respawn checkpoints
- triggers and end states
- basic movement and jumping
- level design strives to introduce a mechanic and iterate on it throughout levels Show less