Nicholas Hildebrant >



About Me

I began learning Computer Science in 2016 as a freshman in highschool but the excitement to learn programming began when I was in elementary school. That drove me to see the complexity in everyday items and see how the mechanics of something made it work. This lead me to take things apart, find flaws, and discover the process of how to put the item back together again. Naturally, these interests and my love for games drove me to pursue Game Development. I am completing a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and plan on pursing a Master's Degree with research pertaining to Graphics and Artificial Intelligence. I also am completing an undergraduate certificate in Computer Gaming. I challenge myself to learn new things each day such as learning a foreign language or even building this website!





Programming Languages

C++ Logo C# Logo C Logo Java Logo
Python Logo HTML and CSS Logo HLSL, GLSL, & GC
MIPS Logo Prolog Logo Scheme Logo


Tools

Unity Logo Unreal Logo Visual Studio Logo GameMaker Logo MonoGame Logo Ubuntu Logo




Projects

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DirectX11 Renderer

Currently researching how to develop a renderer using the DirectX11 Library and C++. I have made some great developments since taking my first University Graphics class but I still have a lot to learn about programming using C++ and the WinAPI. There is a lot to learn about DirectX; I intended to reimplement what I learned in the C# XNA framework and bring that into this project and more! GitHub Repo

Picture of many primitives floating in 3D Space. Picture of my renderer displaying a RGB Triangle in a Window.

Various Graphics Exercises

In Spring 2023, I researched a lot about Computer Graphics and using HLSL. Below is some projects where I implemented many different graphics programming techniques in the C# XNA framework. Below are some examples: Catmull-Clark Subdivision and Adaptive Tessellation, Screen-Space Ambient Occlusion, and Cube Mapping and Refraction Shaders. You can find more about these projects and the other techniques I learned such as Vertex Displacement, Bump Mapping, Shadow Mapping, and Reflections in my GitHub Repository.

Demostration of Catmull-Clark Subdivision Demostration of Screen-Space Ambient Occlusion Demostration of Cubemapping and Refraction Shader

My own Game Engine

During Fall 2022 I developed my own Game Engine using the MonoGame/XNA framework using C# and HLSL for graphics programming. This project was very important to my interest in Game Engine development and Graphics development. As a display of the work I did in the engine, I created a 3D maze game complete with sounds and 3D graphics. In the game, entitled Overtime, you must collect 3 documents before you can go home for the day. In the office, your boss is searching for you and if they catch you, you must work overtime. The pathing for the boss AI is a modified A* search algorithm, using some 3D math, when the boss sees you down the hall they will come running after you so you must sneak around. The maze uses bump and normal mapping to quickly create the maze geometry and there is some trigonometry used for the animation curves.

3D Unity Game

Parts Not Included: A 3D dimensional puzzle game made in Unity3D using C#. I worked on a team to design and develop this game following Agile/Scrum methodology. I handeled the enemy design, AI pathing, animation states, and assisted in general systems. Read more about it on: Itch.io

Title Picture of Parts Not Included

Unreal Engine 5 Environment

A very simple forest and cabin scene to learn the tools inside of Unreal Engine 5. This was a good jumping point for my next Unreal Engine 5 project.

A cabin in the woods: Afternoon A cabin in the woods: Morning A cabin in the woods: Midday

Chameleon LED Shirt

Using an Arduino, I worked with a team to create a shirt that changes colors to a color that the attached glove touches. The RGB sensor on the finger sends values which we used to change the RGB LEDs underneath the shirt.

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