Hi, I'm João Marinheiro, a game developer with several years of experience in the industry. My main technical skills and interests lie in artificial intelligence, game engines and gameplay programming.
I've been interested in computers and technology in general since a very young age, starting with making and scripting scenarios in the Age of Empires 2 scenario editor. This passion eventually led to my choice of working with games for a living (much to my mom's dismay). You can find some examples of what I've worked on below. I'm skilled in a variety of technologies and languages, though I do tend to prefer more systems oriented languages such as C++.
I also helped organize and expand the game developer meetings in Porto and you can find me there frequently either showing something I made or just seeing what other cool stuff other people brought to show.
Outside of programming I dabble in art as well (mainly of the pixel variety, but not only) and I also love to learn about history and I practice historical fencing!
Working as a Senior AI Programmer on an unanounced AAA project based on a known IP. Leveraging the power of Unreal Engine and its several AI related tools, such as Behaviour Trees, State Trees and its query system, to make fun and engaging AI.
Worked as a gameplay programmer with a focus on AI in Star Wars Outlaws, an open world Star Wars game. I helped bring the world of Star Wars to life by contributing to several AI related tasks as part of the Ambient Life team. I worked closely with level designers to provide them with easy to use level design ingredients to setup believable environments.
Worked as an AI programmer on XDefiant, a fast-paced multiplayer online shooter, where I had to quickly get up to speed on Ubisoft's Snowdrop engine as well as Perforce. Worked directly with Tech Designers, Level Designers and Dev Testers, taking full ownership on the GPP side of AI related features in a complex networked environment.
Due to my experience with OpenGL and game engines, I became a key member of the Engine Architecture team, working on improving and maintaining the game engine powering FMQ's landbased games. I assisted in planning and developing several core engine systems including: sound, scripting, animation, particles, prefabs and rendering.
Worked on developing and improving the common game framework powering all land-based FMQ games, using technologies like C++, OpenGL and Javascript. I worked as part of an agile and multidisciplinary team directly with designers and artists where I became familiar with the Scrum methodology. The game product lines I helped develop were released in several markets such as the Philippines, to great success.
I helped to bring the Computer Graphics Student Group (NeCG) back to activity as a founder and director of the new NeCG. As a member of this group I contributed to internal projects using technologies like OpenGL and OpenCV. I also helped organize the monthly game developer meets in Porto, where we achieved a maximum attendance of over 100 attendees.
An open world Star Wars adventure game that lets you live the life of a scoundrel and explore the galaxy. The game features stealth gameplay, action, exploration and space combat.
As a gameplay programmer I'm working with the Snowdrop Engine in collaboration with Technical Designers and Level Designers to bring some of the game's features to life.
A competitive multiplayer online shooter featuring characters and locations from multiple Ubisoft franchises. The gameplay is inspired by games like "Call of Duty" and "Overwatch", with multiple factions and abilities for the player to choose from.
During my time working on this game, I had to take ownership of important game systems, debug network related issues, work directly with Tech Designers and Level Designers, as well as articulate work with external teams.
A 3D multiplayer arcade air racing game inspired by classic games from the early 2000s like Freaky Flyers and Diddy Kong Racing. Players race a variety of different jets through fun environments and collect powerups to gain an edge over their opponents.
The game features singleplayer and local split-screen multiplayer at the moment, with a view to include online multiplayer in the future. It's also the first time I'm experimenting with a cartoon cel-shaded artstyle. Planned platforms for release are Windows and Linux, with possible console ports in the future.
A 2D game engine built in C# on top of MonoGame. It is meant to be an easy-to-use code first game engine.
Its features include an entity-component system, integrated physics engine, Lua scripting, scene loading, nested prefabs, a fully featured level editor, a robust event system, and several prebuilt game components to make it easy to get a game up and running.
A 2D platform fighter game similar to Super Smash Bros made in Caravel as a testbench for engine features and scalability.
In addition to the gameplay and engine programming, all of the art and animations are also made by myself.
Project made for a Real-time Rendering course. It's a C++ OpenGL renderer that supports features like model loading and displaying, realtime shadows, bump mapping and post-process effects like bloom and HDR.
A local multiplayer asymmetrical game about echolocation that I worked on for the Global Game Jam where the theme was 'Waves'. The idea was to provide completely different experiences to the two players, the human and the monster.
The human must guide himself through a dungeon and retrieve the monster's egg using only limited echolocation vision while the monster tries to hunt the player using only the sound. The screen is always focused on the human, but only the monster has audio.
'I Hear You' won the award for innovation and creativity at the local GGJ site where it was created.
A game made in Unity in 32 hours for the Retro Gamejam 2020 where the theme was space.
The game attempts to sensitize people to the possible future problem of space trash and how it can hinder space exploration.
A particle system made in OpenGL for a custom C++ game engine.
It supports tens of thousands of animated particles with changing colors, scales, attractors, repulsors, and several other customization options.
One of my earliest projects, a 2D strategy game built in C++ with Allegro. It is inspired by games like Advance Wars and Fire Emblem, and set in a Napoleonic Wars fantasy world.
I never ended up finishing it but I was quite happy with how the art and gameplay came out, and I learned a lot about game engine development while working on it.
As with the Platform Fighter game, all of the art and animations were made by me.
joca.mar2011@gmail.com
(+351) 917875684
