About me

I currently work as a Creative Technologist & Game Designer 🎮 at the Digital Society School, part of the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. 🎓I'm a Media Technology M.Sc. and Computer Science B.Sc. Graduate, based in the Netherlands. 🏠 I worked as a game designer on "Seeker Chronicles", for the University of Innsbruck, as well as on GéoGaming, for the studio RubisWolf, based in Paris. 🥐I have been able to work on the design, development, art and management of various projects ranging from games to software programs to technological installations and more. 💻I am also a self-taught digital artist, and use those skills to help me design, create and communicate about the creative projects I take part in. 🎨

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Workshops

IN A WORLD OF SILENCE… MAKE SOME NOISE!

Description

Name: In a World of Silence, Make Some Noise
Year: 2021
Type of project: Academic development project
University: Leiden Universiteit(Public Exhibition in V2, Rotterdam)In this interactive sound and light installation, you can enter into a dark and quiet room where you will discover what silent mutations are. You will be prompted to break this silence and explore what noises are needed to reveal the silent mutations. Playing on the notion of silence and darkness in opposition to noise and light, the installation lets you explore the idea of cumulative noise in order to reveal the silent mutations. At the end of the experience, you will help to illuminate the room, discovering that you are the silent mutation.

My work

Concept Art & Sketches
Worked on concept sketches to represent the team's ideas for the project and present them to our teachers and to the other students.User Experience Designer
Working with the team to design an interactive and intuitive installation for the experience we were aiming for.Main Programmer
I was the main coder on this project, although the other students also contributed. I worked on building a prototype with Arduino and Pure Data, and on the final installation, which was using DMX controlled stage lights, Processing and Pure Data.Installation
We installed all the physical equipment of the first prototypes and final installation with one of my teammates.Design & Project Documentation
Documenting about the Research Process and the Interaction ProcessEvent Hosting
I was able to host the installation for a public exhibition that was open for a few days. We could then introduce the project to the visitors and explain to them the meaning afterwards or answer their questions.

Lumen x ombra

Description

Name: Lumen x Ombra
Year: 2021
Type of project: Game Project - B&W Game Jam 2021"Ombra is a being of shadow that needs light to not completely be swallowed by the darkness and to avoid becoming a mass of shadow forever. She's out discovering the world and its secrets, and on a quest to collect Lumens. She might seem like she's only made of darkness that can turn into pure shadow in the dark, but her heart is made of light, that we're able to see through her flowy bright hair, eyes, and tattoos. The balance of shadow and light allows her to have a physical body, and she needs to consume the Lumens she collects to keep that inner fire alive."Lumen x Ombra" is a 2D platformer prototype game developed by a small team for the "B&W Jam", under a week."

• Game Page

My contribution

Main Game Designer
Worked on the main idea and mechanics of the game, directed the team regarding the design with another game designer.Concept Art
Worked on all the concept art of the game.Graphics
Worked on all the graphics of the game (illustrations, environment elements, animations, etc.).Project management
Writing announcements for the team regarding the progress of the project. Creation of tasks for the team members. Organization of the Trello boards, etc.

Treasure island generator

Description

Name: 2D Treasure Island Map Generator
Year: 2021
Type of project: Solo academic development project
University: Leiden UniversiteitThis project consisted of developing, in Python, a 2D pixel art map generator based on a simple map generator code using the Perlin noise algorithm.
It generates a PNG format image with the randomly generated map registered in the project folder after running the program. Each map has an exotic island type of biome, containing different levels of water to create a believable ocean, several ships in the deeper waters, sand, grass, forest, and snowy mountains. The land part of the island also contains houses and trees, as well as a hidden treasure represented by the treasure icon. The generator has been coded so that no elements would end up in unbelievable places (example: Having a house in the water).

ConvoBot

Description

Name: ConvoBot
Year: 2020
Type of project: Academic development project
University: Leiden UniversiteitOur goal was to create an interactive system, able to give emotional responses through a predefined sonic language. Each sonic output uses two voice recordings, recorded by us. The system has an emotional state that can range from happy to angry with different levels of intensity for each emotion and a neutral/unbothered state in the middle (this is also the starting emotion).Thanks to an OSC controller app, the user is able to press a sequence of different buttons which will create a “sentence” with an emotional value. This sentence is not played or heard by the user but conveys a message for the ConvoBot. What you will hear is ConvoBot’s response to this sentence. This sentence can have a happy/joyful/excited connotation or an angry/annoyed/confused connotation (depending on the intensity of the angry or happy emotion), which is reflected in the emotional value. When the emotional value is a positive number, the system’s state will slide to the extremely angry emotional state when it’s a negative number towards the extremely happy emotional state. The languages Processing and Pure Dara were used to develop this project.

My contribution

For this project, the design and development phases were worked on in collaboration, this includes:Interaction Design
Design of the installation and project.Programming
- Coding of the sonic processing and generation of the sonic outputs (In collaboration).
- Development of the main software running the sonic system and linking it to every peripheral used in the project.

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Reflective garden

Description

Name: Reflective Garden
Year: 2021
Type of project: Academic hardware and development project
University: Leiden UniversiteitThe aim of this project is to give plants a way to express themselves to us, as they are normally thought of as passive objects unable to influence their environment. We installed multiple plants with sensors that pick up on movements and moisture levels. The audience can interact with the plants in a multitude of ways: they can water the plants, they can move them, and they can touch/stroke their leaves. When the audience interacts with the plant(s), the mood in the room changes depending on the nature of the interactions occurring at the time. This is done to communicate the ‘mood’ of the plant to the audience. The mood is set using LED strips that can change colour, brightness, and LED blinking speed. This project was developed with the Arduino language.

My contribution

Interaction Design
Design the concept of the project as a team.Installation
Find the right placement for the components on the plants as a team.Programming
- Main coder for this project
- Algorithm connecting the sensors to the LED lights through the arduinos.
- Algorithms transforming the values of the sensors to create effects on the LEDs.
- Optimisation of the code.

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Dinomap

Description

Name: DinoMap
Year: 2020
Type of project: Academic development project
University: Leiden UniversiteitThe initiative behind this project is to create a better visualization experience of the dinosaurs’ locations, displayed in a more understandable way. In order to achieve this, an existing interface has been analysed and used as an inspiration for the project. During the development process, several usability tests have been conducted, and the most common usability errors have been improved according to the prototype testing results.
The goal was to create an interactive globe based on the current map of the world, that way the users are already familiar with it. The users are able to explore the current map while seeing all the markers showing locations of species and are, furthermore, able to see more information about each species.

My contribution

For this project, I focused on the code for the website and did the early prototype sketches, while my teammate focused on the user and competitor's analyses and the usability tests. The design of the application and functionalities have been determined in collaboration.

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Description

Name: The Butterfly Effect: Escaping the Maze
Year: 2020
Type of project: Academic Project
University: Leiden UniversiteitThe goal of the project was to create a piece of art/media respecting the theme of "board games". Creativity and the design of the product were the main focus for this course. The team decided to go with a literal board game based on the subtheme of "Time Travel", which was selected by us. The whole project was designed and put together in one week (the duration of the course). The team met daily to come up with all the rules and adapt them after testing those each day.
To play this game, a number of 5 players is the most optimal. Each player randomly draws a "player card" to find out their role. There exist two "Time Traveller" cards and three "Regular Traveller" cards. The goal for the regular travellers is to escape the maze by each proposing a direction and movement (Move north, south, east, west or use a Joker move) for the group to avoid dead ends and the poisoned walls. During each round, the group can do 3 movements, each represented by one of the travellers. The difficulty is that the goal of the time travellers is to keep them trapped. Knowing that the time travellers can control the maze and can decide to switch one of their actions in the past to avoid them from finding the exit of the maze. It is then important for the regular travellers to foresee that change to avoid being stuck in traps and never leaving the maze...

My contribution

Game Design
Rules and design of the gameGraphics
- The graphics of the cards and board were worked on by a teammate and myself
- "Simulation" sketch of how the board game could be played physically (see picture 3)

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Description

Name: Block Jumper
Year: 2018
Type of project: Game Project - Ludum Dare 42 Game JamBlock Jumper is a platformer game with pixel art graphism. Your mission as a player: Escape a room by jumping on the falling blocks to finally land safely on the end platform.
But! You must avoid being crushed by a block, or falling into the void, or even, ending up imprisoned between 4 walls.
Will you be able to join the safe platform? ... Or will you perish?

Game Page

My contribution

- Game Design
- Concept Art
- Graphics and Animations
- Sound Design

PillShooter

Description

Name: Pillshooter
Year: 2018
Type of project: Academic game & development project
University: Université de ParisPill'Shooter is a "Shoot 'Em Up' game for IOS mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, etc.) made in the context of the second year "Tutored Computer Science Project" course. The game was designed by the whole team and developed in Swift on Xcode, with the framework Sprite Kit. The graphics and sounds were all made by the team.
A doctor decides to hop on a "Pill Ship" that is reduced in size to fight the sickness of their patient from within. The ship on the left of the screen constantly moves forward while automatically shooting projectiles. The ship can be moved from bottom to top to get rid of the various enemies and bosses while avoiding being touched by them.

My contribution

Documentation & Design
Establishing and documenting the concept, and development plans of the project (In collaboration).Project Management
Project manager (First 3 weeks): Assigning tasks and making reports for all the team meetings.Programming
- Item collision management and projectiles' related code.
- Development of functionalities in cooperation with another student: Tutorial, bonuses (collectibles in-game), settings, scrolling background.
- Code optimization (In cooperation).

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HitLoop

Description

Name: HitLoop
Year: 2023
Type of project: Development project
Company / Organisation: Digital Society SchoolHitloop is a fun project where we developed a playful and user-friendly web app interface for everyone to enjoy.I focused on the front-end development of this interface, which is connected to two AI APIs. One samples sounds from files, and the other generates music tracks. It's got a cool, track-based look.Users can create their own music tracks and melodies easily. The interface is both easy to understand and exciting to use, making it a lot more fun than typical music composition software.

My contribution

- Front-End Development
- Collaboration and Brainstorming with the UX & Graphic Designer
- Facilitation of the project with the clients

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Ethical Edge

Description

Name: Ethical Edge
Year: 2023
Type of project: Serious Game Prototype
Company / Organisation: Digital Society SchoolDescription

My contribution

Tasks

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Glory Moment

Description

Name: Glory Moment
Year: 2019
Type of project: GameProject cancelled.

My contribution

- Game Design
- Game Documentation
- Project Management

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Effectiveness of Simulation Training

Description

Name: Effectiveness of Simulation Training
Year: 2022
Type of project: Academic Master Research
University: Leiden UniversiteitA study about how simulation and games can compare to paper manual in a training context, focusing on the desktop PC building activity.
A study was conducted with 7 participants to either play a PC game simulator or learn from a PC building manual before actually completing PC building related tasks on an actual desktop.Abstract
Simulation training is becoming more and more commonplace. However, there is little research into how effective it is for learning how to do manual tasks. While this pilot study examines the effectiveness of simulation training for learning how to replace PC components, the primary purpose of this pilot study was to test study feasibility and methodology to inform future larger studies of this type. To this purpose, we compare how accurately previously inexperienced participants replaced five different components in a physical PC after training with either the MSI “How to build a computer model” manual or “PC Building Simulator” by Claudiu Kiss and The Irregular Corporation. Due to a small population size, our results are non-generalizable. However, we present observations on our methodological and logistical experiences which are important to consider for future studies of this type. This pilot study shows that studies of this type are both necessary and feasible, although a larger population size is needed and researchers must carefully choose the type of learning they want to examine before choosing / creating their simulation and control group learning materials.

My contribution

The following tasks were done in collaboration with my two team mates.- Early research, finding the concept and planning our own research
- Designing the experiment
- Running the experiment
- Analysis and interpretation of the results
- Documentation

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Social Bonding in Games

Description

Name: Split or Steal: The Influence of Social Bonding in a Video Game Environment on a Prisoner's Dilemma Variation
Year: 2021
Type of project: Academic Master Research
University: Leiden UniversiteitDuring the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, popularity has shot up for online multiplayer video games, the most notable one being "Among Us", a game where one player secretly sabotages the rest of the group.
This is a game with an interesting social dynamic: When do people decide to turn from cooperative to uncooperative behaviour, and what factors influence it? Therefore, we were inspired to pose the following research question: does social bonding in an in-game environment positively influence the ability to achieve mutual cooperation? This question presupposes that the option to act in self-interest could produce a more optimal outcome. The main focus of this paper is on the research method: an online experiment in the in-game environment of the Nintendo Switch video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020). Our hypothesis is that social bonding of this kind indeed positively influences mutual cooperation.

My contribution

The following tasks were done in collaboration with my one team mate.- Early research and finding the concept for our own research
- Designing the experiment
- Running the experiment
- Analysis and interpretation of the results
- Documentation

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The Art of Game Making Workshop

Description

Name: The Art of Game Making Workshop
Year: 2023-2024
Type of project: Workshop
Company / Organisation: Digital Society SchoolDescription

My contribution

Tasks

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Description

Name: Carreo
Year: 2019
Type of project: Academic Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) Project
Course: Artificial Intelligence - University of Paris (Descartes)
Team: Solo projectI designed my own version of the "Tic Tac Toe" game, developed it in Python (playable on the console) and developed an AI to play against using the recursive Minimax Algorithm.The game rules are simple and as follows: The goal is to create a square, of any size and rotation, through the 4 corners in the grid. One player uses "X" as a symbol, the other uses "O" as a symbol. The first player to create a square by its 4 corners wins. Of course, the player will attempt to block the other if they are close to reaching the winning condition. This is what the Minimax AI here does.

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Description

Name: ModImage
Year: 2019
Type of project: Academic development project
University: Université de ParisModimage is a tool developed for spatial relations modelling for scene representation in Python 3.7 and PyCharm.
As part of our third and last year of Bachelor’s degree, we were gathered in a team of four and had to work during the whole semester in conditions close to ones found in the professional world.
This project was a scientific image processing software which consists in analysing two binary images, each image representing a white object on a black background, in order to analyse the position of the first object compared to the second one. The result of the application is an evaluation of spatial relation(s) represented in a histogram with a linguistic description below it.
Scientific papers were analysed to come up with a proper algorithm and methodology. The role of the project manager was passed on between the students so that every member could endorse it for a period of three weeks.
We used a V-model in terms of project management. UML was used to document the software architecture.

• Project Report (French)

• User Manual (French)

My contribution

Documentation & Design
Establishing and documenting the concept, and development plans of the project.Project Management
Project manager during the first 3 weeks of the project: Assigning tasks and making reports for all the team meetings.Development
- Algorithm for swiping each binary image, which is used for the analysis
- Algorithm for storing the relevant pixels of each binary image
- Implement the linguistic interpretation of the spatial relation.
- Algorithm to normalise the histogram
- Algorithm for the items' comparison
- Writing of the unit tests

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Description

Name: Simulator of emergence of bilingualism
Year: 2020
Type of project: Academic Computer Science Project
Course: Language Evolution - Leiden University
Team: Duo projectFor this project, we were required to modify a model software allowing two sets of populations to interact with each other and create a new language together. We were required to modify the python code to model another linguistic phenomenon. We chose to go with the phenomenon of bilingualism.
The program starts with a set of two populations, each with their own vocabulary composed of a list of words for specific objects. The program makes them interact with each other so that each inhabitant of a population is able to learn the language of the other population. Therefore, creating two bilingual communities at the end of the simulation.The simulation also shows when during an interaction between two inhabitants, if they knew the same word for an object, and if not, if knowledge was transferred during that interaction. Graphs based on those two parameters are created during the simulation, as well as an .xlsx document listing all the information of all the interactions simulated.I was the main developer on this project.

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Description

Name: Ambient Canvas
Year: 2020
Type of project: Solo academic development project
University: Leiden Universiteit“Ambient Canvas” is a software I designed and developed for the second part of the course “Creative Programming”.
The technologies used are Processing and Pure Data.
This project is focused on creating a sonic environment to a painting according to the brush strokes of the user while they are painting. Erasing the colour will reduce the intensity of some sounds, while adding colour will amplify it. The painter is the one to decide how the sonic and artistic experience goes.
The prototype only uses nature-related sounds, but the project could be developed further by adding different palettes, each having a completely different sound theme. Another way this software could be improved is by making the painting software smoother (always have continuous lines).Colour and Sound Relations
- White: Represents the rubber, when the canvas is all white no sound is played
- Yellow: Walking
- Red: Steps in leaves and leaves moving
- Green: Harsher leaves sounds
- Light blue: Water
- Brown: Soft rain
- Light green: Wind and birds
- Orange: Birds

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