Volumetric Cloud Shader

This Volumetric Cloud Shader Prototype is an early-stage exploration of rendering simple cloud formations using raymarching techniques. While still in development, it offers a basic framework for creating procedural cloud volumes with adjustable parameters for density and lighting.

The shader uses a straightforward implementation of Perlin noise to generate cloud shapes, which are far from realistic but serve as a starting point for further refinement. Lighting calculations are rough, employing simple scattering approximations to simulate basic interactions between light and the cloud material. The adaptive sampling system provides a basic method for balancing performance and visual fidelity, though it is not yet optimized for complex scenes or large-scale volumes.

This project represents an experimental step toward building a more advanced solution, with room for improvement in areas such as realism, efficiency, and visual quality.

Learnings: Custom Render Features and Passes in Unity URP, Raymarching, Noise Calculation.

Bottle shader

The bottle shader created in Unity using HLSL was designed to be both visually appealing and efficient. It consists of three main parts: the lighting and textures of the bottle, the creation of the liquid using a copy of the mesh offset and cut to a certain height, and the imitation of transparency using prebaked reflection probes and a rendering offset for the cubemap, eliminating the need for expensive transparency. The shader's stunning visual level is achieved through a combination of refraction and these techniques. Inspired by the shaders in games such as Counterstrike 2 and Halflife: Alyx, this shader provides a high-quality visual representation of a bottle containing liquid.

Learnings: making a optimized shader, deeper understanding in HLSL and imitating transparency with lighting probes

Saving Angkor Wat

For the 3rd semester, our task was to collaborate in small teams and create a virtual reality project centered around a cultural heritage site, exploring the concept of "overreality" - a term encompassing the unreal, oversized, and awe-inspiring. In line with this theme, our group chose to develop an adventure game set in the renowned temple of Angkor Wat. Our aim was to provide an immersive experience that not only entertains but also educates players on the temple's rich history and the significance of preserving cultural heritage. Through this project, we hope to instill a greater appreciation for the importance of safeguarding our cultural legacy.

My tasks for this project involved coding a dynamic building block water system to create water puzzles, implementing both water and toon shaders, and performing numerous bug fixes.

Learnings: working in a group, optimizing for low end hardware like oculus/meta quest 2, coding in a simple and understandable way and using documentation so that other people understand your code

Toon shader

This Toonshader was specifically created for dynamic objects in the project "Saving Angkor Wat". It was crucial for the shader to align with the artstyle of the project and maintain good performance on mobile hardware. Additionally, great emphasis was placed on ensuring that the shader was user-friendly for both myself and the artist in the group who also utilized it. The shader exclusively functions with directional lighting and is designed to give objects a cel-shaded appearance with spectral lighting. It was developed using HLSL in Unity, drawing from the knowledge acquired in the Shader programming elective.

Learnings: making a optimized shader, deeper understanding in HLSL and simplified light calculation

The Kraken Attacks!

This was a design class project in the second semester of the Augmented and Virtual Reality Design bachelor program. The objective was to create an art piece using VR drawing programs and showcase it based on the theme of stranger creatures. For my project, I decided to create a scene where you are standing on a ship being attacked by the mythical creature, the kraken. I used gravity sketch to design both the ship and the kraken. Additionally, I utilized Unity to create the environment and the water effects.

The water simulation was a separate personal project, where I focused on creating a shader to simulate realistic water and implemented physics calculations for floating objects in scripts. The Shader was created using Shader graph and incorporated vertex displacement and dynamic tessellation techniques. The buoyancy of the ship was calculated at various points, indicated by the green boxes. Looking ahead, there are plans to rewrite the shader using code, enhance the complexity of the ocean simulation by using gerstener waves, and ultimately develop a VR game or experience based on it.

Learnings: using VR sketch programms to create 3d models, bouyancy calculation, ocean simulation

Shader Collection

In the winter semester of 2023/2024, I decided to enroll in the elective course "shader programming". The course began by delving into the theoretical aspects of the rendering process in Gameengines, followed by practical lessons on programming shaders using HLSL in Unity. Throughout the course, I developed a collection of shaders, some of which were assigned for class projects while others were created for personal training purposes. These shaders encompassed various techniques such as transparency, different types of lighting including diffuse lighting, specular lighting, parallax mapping reflection, refraction and lighting with multiple light sources. Additionally, I also explored the implementation of textures and normal maps in my shaders.

Learnings: basics of light calculations, basics of programming shaders in HLSL in Unity, how does a render pipeline work

Beff Jezos Simulator

This game was created as my entry for the VRJam23, where I developed a VR game within a span of 7 days, based on the theme "special delivery". My concept revolved around delivering orders using drones. The real challenge for me was handling everything on my own, and I believe the end result is something I can truly be proud of. Unlike others, I took on almost every aspect of the game's development, except for the sound design.

The biggest surprise at the end was discovering that my ranking was much higher than expected. I placed 29th out of approximately 130 entries, and in some criteria, I even made it into the top 20. I never would have imagined achieving such a high rank, especially after seeing the entries of other teams, some of which were made by five or more people. Another great aspect was the comments and feedback I received from other individuals. It was a pleasure communicating with people who truly understood the topic and were able to provide constructive feedback.

Learnings: time management, making a lot of assests in not a lot of time, staying motivate even when you are stressed, sharing unfinished stuff to get early feedback

AI-Car

In the summer semester break of 2023, out of curiosity, I embarked on a project to delve deeper into Neural Networks and Artificial Intelligence. My aim was to develop a neural network capable of driving a car equipped with distance sensors, with just two inputs for steering and acceleration. To achieve this, I utilized a mixed system of evolution and reward-based training methods. The most fascinating aspect of this endeavor was experimenting with the structure of the neural network itself, such as adding hidden layers or altering the number of nodes within. Through these modifications, I was able to observe the subsequent changes in the network's performance.

Learnings: coding a neural network, training a neural network, learning about different structures of neural networks