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Nimrod Barak

nbarak@smu.edu

 

Game Experience

Leviathan, Unreal Tournament 3 project                                                                                   December 2008 – March 2009

Lead Programmer, 17-person team (3 programmers)

  • Added gliding model to Unreal’s freefall physics system (using drag, lift, air resistance, wing resistance, and counter-forces to enhance gameplay), and three control schemes with variable controls for level designers to change
  • Scheduled tasks for team members and communicated with other Leads (met all deadlines)
  • Worked with game designer to clearly set and refine the implementation of game mechanics

 

Nightbear: The Stuffening, Unreal Tournament 3 project                                                             May 2008 - December 2008

Lead Programmer, 8-person team (2 programmers)

  • Programmed new UT3 weapons (gravity gun, flamethrower, swarm gun)
  • Coded network-replicated in-game objects that link together and mirror each other’s movement
  • Implemented a character class selection system (for any number of classes)
  • Aided artists with HUD work and particle systems, and level designers with Unreal Editor

 

Retail Quest, Programmer                                                                                                                      January 2008 - May 2008

  • Programmed a 2D engine and game (simulating forces, collision detection, alpha blending, fonts)
  • Integrated FMOD for music and sound using an abstract sound manager

 

Game Technology

Master’s Project: Frequency Space Manipulation of Voice                                                      December 2008 – June 2009

  • Programmed a Fast Fourier Transform and spectral analyzer for processing a sound bite
  • Coded different sound effects that are applied in frequency space (changing properties of voice)

 

3D Rendering Engine                                                                                                                      January 2008 – December 2008

  • Coded a general interface and general data structures that connect transparently to both OpenGL and Direct3D (to the depth of programming HLSL and GL assembly shaders for per-pixel light, bump, and parallax mapping)
  • Developed and unit tested a math library (fixed point math, 2D and 3D vectors, matrices, quaternions) and met performance benchmarks (used for particle systems, integration, 3D rendering, and movement)
  • Built a QUAKE map loader (BSP, lightmaps, textures) which does fast ray traces with the BSP
  • Coded an Importer and Exporter for 3DStudioMax files and a custom file format (includes models, textures, animations)
  • Unit tested and benchmarked the performance of the engine ( Engine was used in multiple projects afterward, on both Direct3D and OpenGL machines)

 

 

Interpreted Scripting Language                                                                                                     August 2008 – December 2008

  • Wrote a grammar for a C-like syntax with weakly-typed variables and built-in vectors
  • Coded a lexical analyzer to create tokens from language use, a parser to build a tree from the token stream, and a compiler for converting the syntax tree to custom bytecode
  • Programmed a stack-based virtual machine to operate on the bytecode (supporting recursion)

 

Directed Focus Study: Flocking AI and Emergent Team Behavior                                         August 2008 – December 2008

  • Simulated unit awareness with radius tests, field of view tests, and individual unit memory
  • Implemented an A* search to compute shortest alternate path over tiled geometry
  • Created modular decisions and behaviors for each unit (similar decisions create flocking)

 

Education

The Guildhall at SMU                                                                                                                                         Graduating June 2009

  • Master of Interactive Technology in Digital Game Development, Specialization in Programming
  • Current Overall GPA:  3.768

 

California State University East Bay                                                                                                    Graduated December 2006

  • Bachelor of Science in Computer Science                                                                                                             
  • Magna Cum Laude Graduate, Honors and Deans List
  • Overall GPA: 3.87

 

Related Experience

Golan Technology, Sunnyvale CA                                                                                                         June 2005- December 2007

Technical Support for Bluetooth Virtual Keyboard

  • Fixed customer issues (Research, Diagnosis), and handle website (Install, Maintain, Forum)
  • Trained external Sales Associates (Fry’s, Power Positioning) and internal employees

 

California State University East Bay                                                                                                            January 2003-June 2005

Technical Assistant

  • Supported 500+ students with their computer hardware and networking challenges
  • Decreased the volume of problems from 25 per day, to 4 per week, within 2-months

 

Skills

  • Languages: C/C++, Java, UnrealScript, Assembly, HTML, Python
  • APIs: Win32, Direct3D 9, OpenGL, HLSL(FX), GL assembly, FMOD
  • Math: Calculus, linear algebra, algorithms, numerical analysis
  • Physics: Newtonian dynamics: movement, collisions, numerical integration, spring-mass-dampener systems, rigid body motion, particle systems
  • Computer Science: object-oriented programming, application design patterns, debugging own and other’s work, A* pathfinding, state machines
  • Applications: Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, Unreal Engine3, UnrealEd, 3DStudioMax, Adobe Photoshop CS2, Adobe Illustrator CS2, Microsoft Office 2007 (Word, Excel, Project), Subversion (SVN), Windows XP
  • Other: fluent in Hebrew