2021
Game Physics For Freight Hopper

Ayrton Muniz
August 2021



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Link to Capstone Presentation]

This project was developed by a student lead organization called “Husky Game Studio.” The primary focus of this studio is to develop interesting video games with an emphasis on good gameplay. As what makes a game interesting is its core gameplay.

Currently, the studio is working on a 3D physics platformer named “Freight Hopper.” The gameplay focuses on jumping on trains that are moving and affected by physics. For example, a train may collide into another one causing its carts and locomotive to explode and fall apart.

My part of this project was to work on the physics interactions for Freight Hopper. This involved working on features like teleportation portals which can teleport and launch the player around. It also included complex gravity systems that involve multiple gravitational bodies with different shapes. I have also worked on other systems including the player controller and different abilities such as a slam. The development of these features involved collaborating closely with other developers and game designers.

After working on the physics-side of this project, I learned how to collaborate with other developers, profile my features to optimize performance, and apply linear algebra concepts. My contributions are used throughout the game for level building and the core gameplay of Freight Hopper.

A short demo of player on top of a moving train moving around inside of an inverted sphere with inverted spherical gravity

A short demo of player swinging around corners using the grappling hook.

Under supervision of Dr. Kelvin Sung. Division of Computing Software Systems at UW Bothell