GradiusEngine

GradiusEngine is a custom engine that was supposed to be used to recreate Gradius V,

Responsibilities and Work

  • Overall engine architecture
  • Various engine features
    • Editor interface
    • Serialization and deserialization (scenes and objects)
    • Entity component system
    • File IO
    • Resource manager
    • Input system
    • Audio support (using FMOD)
  • Automated builds

Additional Information

Language: C++
Team size: 3 (1 engine programmer, 1 graphics programmer, 1 gameplay programmer)
Project Duration: September 2019 – November 2019 (8 weeks)

Overall Engine Architecture

Before getting started on any implementation, I planned out the engine’s overall layout in a UML diagram. I used “Game Engine Architecture” by Jason Gregory as reference for multiple features.
In retrospect, I worked on the planning for too long before actually getting to any implementation. Part of the planning was based on speculation on what we might need, and not on hard requirements for the game (due to some communication issues between me and our gameplay programmer). I ended up overcomplicating some things that eventually went unused, so the fact that I should plan my code around project requirements better was definitely a takeaway for me.

Editor Interface

For this engine, I worked on an editor that made it possible to edit entities and their properties in a scene. All component properties that have been registered can be modified through this.
The editor also has the option to undo and redo actions, storing up to 20 steps in each direction.
Aside from saving and loading levels, it is also possible to save and load specific entities as prefabs.

The editor can also be used to enter and exit play mode. Additionally, it is possible to pause the game’s execution and edit the entities in their states at the time the game was paused.