Marina Chavarria - Game Programmer

Career & games

Work experience

The tasks I took on at each studio and the games I worked on there.

Piccolo Studio

October 2024 - Currently

Engine: Unreal 5 | Language: C++

Working on Age Twisters as a gameplay programmer, building gameplay features and systems in Unreal Engine 5.

Games I worked on

Age Twisters is the game I'm currently working on at Piccolo Studio. As a gameplay programmer, I develop gameplay features and systems using Unreal Engine 5 and C++.

Melbot Studios

January 2022 - April 2023 | October 2023 - October 2024

Engine: Unity | Language: C#

In Melbot, I had the opportunity to be part of two consoles games launch and contribute to its ports. Additionally, I was involved in developing tools for various departments.

Games I worked on

Nick Junior is a platform game that was developed over the course of 2 years.
In this game, I worked on developing tools, gameplay, internal systems for the company, playStation 5 port, localization...
One of the biggest challenges was the transition to the Switch, as we encountered optimization issues with it.

Tasks

Implement key gameplay systems.
Re-develop a new UI system with DoTween, for improved performance.
Develop and led the PlayStation 5 port and supported the PlayStation 4 port.
Optimizing the game for Switch due to its limitations.
Develop the marketing build (shortcuts, cheats, special cameras...)
Developed a tool for creating levels that was highly flexible, allowing designers and artists to seamlessly incorporate their artwork into the tool, with the map adapting to the art. Tool video

Final levels from the game (screenshots extracted from the trailer).

I joined the development of My Little Pony, during its final stages. My primary contributions involved optimizing the game and addressing existing bugs to ensure a smooth release. Additionally, I took on the responsibility of porting the game to the PlayStation 5 platform.

Tasks

Responsible for the port Play Station 5 port.
Debugging the game to enhance its performance and resolve existing bugs.
Working with the Nintendo SDK and Xbox to assist in the development.

Magnetic Games

April 2023 - October 2023

Engine: Unity | Language: C#

I developed on a live videogame, developing essential functions and helping to create the first in-game shopping system for the game. I was also developing features which required server-client communication.

Games I worked on

With more than 500k+ downloads, is a game that I implemented client-server communication code, introduced significant features, and actively applied dependency injection techniques by debugging complex issues in the existing codebase, ensuring the game's stability.

Tasks

Developed significant features for a live game.
Implementation of code for the client-server communication.
Actively applied dependency injection in the codebase.
Integrated third-party libraries into existing projects to extend functionality.
Debugged complex problems in existing code base.
Develop the first in-game purchase system for the game, from the client side.
Participated in design meetings with other team members to discuss ideas for future content.

Kaneda Games

June 2021 - August 2021

Engine: Unity | Language: C#

I was helping to develop a local multiplayer jet ski game. I was in charge of organizing the game loop and the UI.

Games: Smoots JetSki

Xnergic - Tecnocampus

October 2020 - January 2022

I work as a teacher at Xnergic Tecnocampus, where I provide curses about Unity, Scratch, and Arduino to children throughout the year.

Independent — By me

A game I built on my own, taking full responsibility for every system.

Games I worked on

I independently created a puzzle game, taking full responsibility for developing various key components. This included designing the level saving system, crafting the character controller, implementing a UI system, and designing a random level generation system.

Tasks

Create all the systems from scratch.
Player movement.
Local save system
Procedural level creation

Toolbox

Competences

Languages

C#

C++

Lua

Python

Engines

Unity

Unreal

Defold

Version Control software

Sourcetree Tortoise git Perforce GitHub

Software

Raider Visual Studios FMOD studios

Tech & tooling

Tools

Tool for level creation for Nick junior

I was responsible for designing and developing a tool that help designers and artist make all the levels and level selectors of the game. The game consists of 72 levels divided into 6 distinct worlds.

The tool was designed to help designers create level structures, place traps, entrances, exits, and assist artists in decorating. With this tool, devs can not only place and remove various elements but also integrate artists' meshes and adapt them to each of the game's IPs.

What the tool can do

Place full and half cubes.
Place paths.
Place tricks.
Set a skin for the map.
Set a custom skin in parts of the map.
Set the waypoints for the AI.

View the video for a better understanding

Final levels from the game (screenshots extracted from the trailer).

Tool for procedural map generation with a biome system

This tool generates procedurally generated maps based on user-customized biomes. The tool is developed for Unity and utilizes the Unity UI Toolkit system.

The tool is divided into three parts: the biome, the map, and the brush.

To determine the height and color of the biome, Perlin noise is employed, which possesses various properties such as octaves, persistence, and lacunarity to achieve a more natural effect.

For vegetation generation, a technique called Poisson Disc sampling is used, allowing each of the biomes to be assigned a specific prefab and vegetation density.

Once a biome has been created, it can be layered, allowing for the creation of maps with different biomes. Voronoi diagrams are used for biome subdivision, as they are easy to use and effectively divide any surface.

When generating the map, it divides a plane into sub-biomes, and each section is assigned the characteristics of a specific biome.

Once the map has been generated, the tool also includes a brush that can modify the map, and the vegetation adjusts to this new height.

Highlights

Procedural maps based on user-customized biomes.
Perlin noise for biome height and color (octaves, persistence, lacunarity).
Poisson Disc sampling for vegetation generation.
Voronoi diagrams for biome subdivision.
Brush to modify the map, with vegetation adapting to the new height.

View the video for a better understanding

Who I am

About me

Marina Chavarria Gonzalez

I'm a passionate video game programmer specializing in object-oriented programming, with 4 years of experience in the industry, including the development of two commercially published games and one live game.

I worked at Melbot, where I was involved in the development of commercial games for consoles and handled their ports.

Additionally, I gained experience working for Magnetic, where I focused on mobile game development for a live game with over +500k downloads.

For both companies I have developed tools which have been used in production.

Furthermore, I took the initiative to create my own Android game and gained valuable experience through various internships. My enthusiasm for game development extends beyond work, as I've engaged in more than 15 game jams, earning honors in four of them.

I'm a proactive and sociable person, always excited to take on new challenges and experiences.

Download my CV

Recognition