Hi, I'm Michael Boschwitz!

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— Game Projects —

Click For an Overview!

Avalon is an upcoming MMORPG developed by Avalon Corp, where players can explore new worlds, conquer dungeons, battle, collect rare items, and craft new experiences for others all using the power of Unreal Engine 5. From lush forested lands where you wield swords and spells to a gritty cyberpunk city with nothing but guns to dispatch enemies, Avalon features a world filled with both developer and community-created experiences for the players. 

Learn MoreWatch Trailer

Avalon

UnrealMMORPGOpen WorldAction RPGUGCCutting Edge

Set in the near future, a growing force of robots controlled by a corrupt AI is hell-bent on destroying humanity. Corrupted AI code caused thousands of industrial robots to turn into human-killing murder machines, pushing humanity to the brink of extinction. 

Inspired by the likes of Doom, Titanfall and Halo, Mantra takes you through an expansive world where you'll encounter a healthy mix of action-packed combat, swift traversal spaces, and engaging puzzles to complete!

Learn MoreWishlist

Mantra

UnrealSingleplayerFPSActionSci-fiStory DrivenRubyshark

Winner of the 1Bit Jam 2023! This game is goofy mashup of Warioware, Rougelites, and Ice levels revolving around the theme of "Start with everything, end with nothing". 

Evoking an addicting frenetic feeling, the game revolves around a shopkeeper forced by a demon to sell his entire catalogue of cursed wares before the clock strikes midnight.  Skate, grapple, or rocket boost out into the streets to find "new customers" by crashing into them in this totally normal game.

Learn MorePlay Now!

Firesale

Award WinningUnityGame JamMicrogamesRougeliteShortFunny

Heavily inspired by Ghost of Tsushima, This is a small proof of concept project that I've been working on with a few other developers.

My role has mostly been related to combat and AI, where there is an extremely heavy focus on realism. The game is a mix of stealth and action, similar to various other games. Additionally, the level design is meant to reflect the conventions and trends of AAA games, leading to seamless levels and strong player autonomy.

Learn MoreLatest Build!

Project Ghost

UnrealSingleplayerActionStealthHistoricalStory DrivenSmall Team

The project I worked on at Hangar 13 has yet to be announced. As such, I cannot disclose much about the game itself.

Check out my Resume for a bit of an overview though!

ResumeHangar 13

Unannounced AAA Game

Custom EngineMP / Live ServiceOpen WorldBullet HellLooter Shooter

A short game jam project. The theme we got was "Minimalism", and this short, silly game about cleaning your computer is the result!.

The game jam was a 48 hour jam, so this game had to be made within that 48 hour window. I initially had to manage both the game jam and my group at the start, after a while I was mostly just in the trenches with my team. I was exhausted by the end, but it turned out great!

Learn MorePlay Now!

Spring Cleaning

Award WinningUnityGame JamPoint & ClickRelaxingShortFunny

A cross between Ultrakill/Titanfall 2, and a Racing/Speedrunning game. High-Speed Hominids is a multiplayer 'Shmoover' (movement-shooter) about racing other gorillas to escape an experimental facility. 

To make sure we really encourage speed and movement tech I replicated the Source Engine's movement and physics extremely closely, allowing tech like air-strafing and B-Hopping. Up to 4 players "Ape Out" and try to escape first and with the highest score.

Learn MorePlay Now!

High-Speed Hominids

UnityMultiplayerFPSRacingShmooverScore AttackVGDC

Probably one of the most complete VGDC projects to date. The themes for this game were "Unconventional Weapons, Copy, and Can't Stop/No Stopping". Inspired by everything from Mega Man to Bloodborne, this was a challenging project!

While I could explain all the mechanics like the Rally system, boss items, and the Remnant mechanic, why not give the game a shot and discover it all yourself!

Learn MorePlay Now!

Remnants

UnitySingleplayerTop Down RPGBoss RushPixelReplayableVGDC

The final glimmer of hope in this dark future, is you Su. You may not know much about you or the world around you, but remember this well Su. As long as you keep destroying, you'll stay alive.

Welcome to ruined city of Varkamon. You play as Su, a rebel renegade fighting hordes of enemy bots in a dystopian future. However, your life is directly tied to your money. As you fight you can grow your health pool, but beware as the legion of bots grows stronger with each passing second. 

Learn MorePlay Now!

Dystopian Defiers

UnitySingleplayerBullet HellScore AttackUniqueVGDC

This was inspired by Guns Akimbo, which was an upcoming movie at the time. Some people in my group really like rhythm games, so we came up with the idea of making a pseudo-rhythm game.

The twist was that the "notes" are actions. Each note makes the character perform an action like shooting, jumping, blocking, etc. It ended up as a really fun prototype, but since it was made in a month it is a bit too janky to release.

Learn MoreLatest Build!

Untitled Rhythm Shooter

UnitySingleplayerTop Down RPGBoss RushPixelReplayableVGDC

This project was my Final for a game dev class in highschool. Of my Personal Projects, this one is the least interesting. It was inspired by "Motherload", and "Factorio"

The gameplay revolves around mining resources. The gameplay loop is fairly circular; mining earns money, money is used to buy upgrades for your miner, upgrading lets you mine more, etc. The biggest struggle I faced was doing complex tasks in Construct 2, which is a fairly rudimentary engine.

Learn MoreLatest Build!

Sonic Drill

ConstructSingleplayerMiningProgression BasedRelaxingSolo

— Code Projects —

Click For an Overview!

Our goal was to create a demo where each level becomes more and more overt that rooms are physically impossible sizes. Using Stencil buffering, we made a demo from scratch that is seamless to explore.

However, one of the main issues is that a 6mx6m play area is required. That being said, we were fortunate enough to have that amount of space, and I even showed it to some of my friends. When not primed, most did not even realize!

Watch DemoLatest Build!

Impossible Inc.

UnityVR / XRC#CSCI 5619

Platforming Under Pressure is an auto-platformer, where you help design the level. The character moves automatically, but you have to help get them across the gap!

We used an SPH fluid simulation to power the core of the gameplay. There are four levels inspired by the seasons, each with their own unique challenges. Help the lil fella cross the gap using the power of water pressure, and physics!

Platforming Under Pressure

UnityWebGLSimulationC#CSCI 5611

Our goal was to make a simulation using an IK (inverse kinematic) motion solver. We implemented this project as a robot shopkeeper simulator, by using IK, Euler angles, quaternions, and a few models, we created our demonstration.

To make our character more lifelike, we used a recursive method to loop through all the bones in the skeleton, then moved the bones bit by bit to the desired location. Finally, we added some reactions based on if the object could be reached or not.

IK Solver

UnitySimulationC#CSCI 5611

Although this project looks pretty game like on the surface, the majority of the project revolved around proper implementation of a multitude of interaction techniques. From basic controller and pointer-based grabbing techniques, to more unique and uncommon methods.

These were implementations such as Go-Go grasping, Spindle, and Fishing Reel. These techniques helped create a better common understanding of how creative you can get with numerous interaction techniques, as well as how they impact your control and influence in a virtual world.

VR Interaction Systems

UnityVR / XRC#CSCI 5619

To create the cloth simulation, we first generated a mesh composed of multiple ropes. Each rope had subsequent nodes attached to it. Then ropes were connected horizontally via their nodes to form the mesh. Soon after, we added a collision system for interactivity.

To try to make our simulation more accurate, we implemented the The Runge–Kutta method (RK4) of integration. RK4 let us have much higher accuracy with our simulation. With some optimizations to our code, it ended up at a level that felt realistic and nice to watch.

Clothing Simulation

OpenGLSimulationC++CSCI 5611

This project had my partner and I implement an intelligent collision - avoidance system. To do this, we generated several random obstacles indicated by islands or circles, several random nodes, and two randomly generated points for the start and the goal positions.

To find the best path, we tried implementing Dijkstra's Algorithm to find the shortest path from the start to the goal points via our nodes + graph. Similarly, if it made more sense for our ship to "skip" a node and advance to the next node, it would do so.

Ship Wayfinding

Processing 3AI / PathfindingJavaCSCI 5611

So You Think Ants Can Dance? Yes. Well... with the help of motion captured dancers they can. Dancing Ants was a very unique project. The goal of the project was to interpret Motion Captured Data of dancers and map it onto simple 3D characters.

While a bit minimalist, the project was still a great learning experience. It focused mostly on how to properly interpret the data, creating bones and joints for the characters, and properly keeping track of local vs. global spaces. The ants may look fairly simple, but they will bust out some moves!

Dancing Ants

OpenGLMotion CaptureData ParserC++CSCI 4611

Car Soccer a was really fun class project to work on! Although this was not part of the requirements, by making my functions more modular, it allowed me to make the project two-player! I also added a basic scoring system that displays in the console.

The biggest part of the project was making a simple, but consistent enough physics simulation for the ball. Likewise, creating a system for the collisions was integral for the project to even be playable. Balancing these systems to allow a minimalistic, simple arcade game was a really fun class project.

Car Soccer

OpenGLSimulationMultiplayerC++CSCI 4611

For a project that used software that was fairly new to me, this was still a great learning experience. The thrust of the project was interpreting a video or webcam feed, having text fall like rain, and simulating interactions between the video feed and the text rain.

Implementing the video and webcam feeds was not exactly difficult; however, making the text react was the real challenge. My solution to this design challenge was to create a faux-physics system for the falling text. All in all, it was definitely a unique project.

Text Rain

Processing 3SimulationJavaCSCI 4611

For this project, we were "tasked" to create a simulation and return a report to a hypothetical bus company.

The simulation was achieved by creating classes to model the behavior of each element of the system as well as each activity (event) that occurs in the system. There was no overall controller except for a main driver loop that runs queued events until time runs out. Each element in the system models its own behavior and interactions with other elements in the simulation.

Bus Simulation

Command LineSimulationJavaCSCI 1933

This project involved us making "Battle Boats"... The battleship project consisted of 4 major parts that had to be built from scratch. The board, the boats, a turn system, and a debug mode.

For the board, The program simulated a rectangular X×Y board using a 2-dimensional array. Boats were represented by a line of X's on the board (Array), For turns, the user inputs a location (x, y) to attack and if they want to use an item. For the debug, it would display both boards so we could properly debug and test the game.

Battle Boats

Command LineAI  / StrategicJavaCSCI 1933

I've done several projects that relate to Data Structures, so for this card I will just list a few.

-HashMap (Java)
-ArrayLists (Java)
-Linked Lists (Java, C)
-Binary Trees(Java, C)

These projects all either involved making and/or using data structures for problems such as sorting, benchmarking, aggregating data, converting, etc.

Data Structure Projects

Command LineData ParserJavaCCSCI 1933CSCI 2021

5+ Years

Professional and Personal Experience

6+ Games

Released and/or Publicly Available 

5+ Awards

For Leadership and Academic Achievements

20+ Years

Spent playing too many games...

...and more!

...and more!

— Work & Awards —

- Gameplay Programmer -

Avalon is an MMORPG developed by Avalon Corp, where players can explore new worlds, conquer dungeons, battle, collect rare items, and craft new experiences for others all using the power of Unreal Engine 5. From lush forested lands where you wield swords and spells to a gritty cyberpunk city with nothing but guns to dispatch enemies, Avalon features a world filled with both developer and community-created experiences for the players. 

 - Lead a team in overhauling the Animation Locomotion System to bring it to modern standards.
 - Created an Animation Cancelling system for the 100+ player networked environment.
 - Upgraded 3C's with various features such as Input Buffering and Coyote Time.
 - Significantly improved the complexity and depth of combat with a "Combo Mixing" system.
 - Developed an enormous amounts of both unique abilities and weapons for players and enemies.

Avalon Corp.

- Vice President -

"VGDC" is a club at the University of Minnesota all about making games! Each semester, we get 3 new themes and have to try to make a game based on our interpretation. I was 'Lead' for several projects. I led the group, worked on anything, and supported everyone. Art, Music, Programming, Managing Pushes, etc. I was either working on it or helping the people who were. The VGDC Vice President's job is mainly to handle aspects of club at a similar level to the president of club. This includes things such as reserving rooms for club meetings, planning events, et cetera.

Another important role is being in charge of handling public presence of club. This was done by promoting the club on campus, outreaching to other clubs, and communication with gaming related people/companies. Some examples of this from the past are getting guest speakers who've worked in the industry to come to a meeting and chat; or our group having a field trip to the organization Glitch - a company in Minneapolis that offers services to upcoming indie devs.

Video Game Development Club at the University of Minnesota

- Technical / Combat Designer -

Mantra is a fast paced, high mobility, first person shooter made in Unreal Engine. Many of my major deliverables on this project have been related to combat, AI, enemies, and boss design. Lately, I've been focused on designing enemies that require the player to keep mobile, while also pushing the conventions of FPS games with new twists on mechanics such as bullet-hell and evolving boss encounters!

- Lead a small team in enemy creation, from concept to implementation.
- Upgraded existing AI, such as improving pathfinding and awareness.
- Refined combat flow to improve overall player experience and game feel.
- Developed multiple intersystem assets with a high standard for quality.

Feel free to check a look or wishlist the game on Steam. (It'll be free)

Rubyshark Games

- Teachers Assistant (VR/XR) -

My senior year of college I was asked to help as a TA for the class on Virtual Reality and 3D Interaction (CSCI 5619), due in part to my exceptional performance as a student when I was took the class!

 - Facilitated expansion of students’ breadth of knowledge in VR/AR.
 - Demonstrated proficiency and adaptability to accommodate everyone.
 -  Left concise and communicative feedback on students’ VR/AR projects

University of Minnesota

- AI/Enemy Design Intern -

The project I worked on at Hangar 13 has yet to be announced. As such, I cannot disclose much about the game itself.

- Used a powerful proprietary toolset and game engine to work on a unannounced Open World Multiplayer AAA game.
- Drafted new abilities while enhancing existing attacks, locomotion, group behaviors, reactions, and combat roles.
- Maintained and thrived with an extremely high level of quality in an international, fluid, and fast paced setting.
- Evolved classic 2D game mechanics and concepts to construct a ground-breaking new style of 3D gameplay.
- Aided overhaul the design of multiple enemies to create a more unique and consistent player experience.

Hangar 13

- Boating Director -

I have thousands of stories about Camp Teko, and I'd love to talk about them all but I only have so much space! Here's an overview of my job at least.

- Being prepared to perform emergency rescues at the waterfront, and maintaining the safety of both campers and counselors.
- Directing and coordinating boating specialist and lifeguards during rotations, while being engaged and welcoming to campers.
- Identifying potential hazards, handling them to maintain the safety of the campers during, and between boating rotations.
- Provide leadership and maintain the boating beach, boats, and equipment.
- Providing a positive role model for the campers, especially younger campers.

Camp Teko

Current Side Project: Mantra

Set in the near future, a growing force of robots controlled by a corrupt AI is hell-bent on destroying humanity. Corrupted AI code caused thousands of industrial robots to turn into human-killing murder machines, pushing humanity to the brink of extinction. 

Inspired by the likes of Doom, Titanfall and Halo, Mantra takes you through an expansive world where you'll encounter a healthy mix of action-packed combat, swift traversal spaces, and engaging puzzles to complete!

Learn More!

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