Hello!

Student of Computer Games Development at University of Limerick

Hi there! I'm Dylan King. I'm currently a 2nd year student of Computer Games Development, at University of Limerick. I've always had an interest in programming, having first started learning Javascript and Python at a young age, and formally beginning to learn once I entered university in 2017. I chose the Games Development course because I thought it allowed for more creative expression, and would lead to being a better disciplined programmer, with the need to manage computer resources for computer games.

Interests

I am passionate about programming, having started to learn Python and JavaScript when I was 13. I've always wanted to learn more, and went to my local CoderDojo for some time, where I also leaned HTML and CSS, which you can see now.

I also have a deep interest in video games, having grown up with various consoles. I was drawn to Games Development, and am now the Public Relations Officer of ULs Games Development Society, where I am responsible for the societies social media accounts, and the weekly email for members. The society also runs workshops for various technologies used in game development, such as Unity, and Krita for animation. We also host Game Jams every semester, open to members of the society. Below, you'll find my entries into them.

My Skills

Java

Java was my first language I learned in University. I have made several projects using the language, some of which you can see below. I like the language because it's very approachable for new programmers, and is great for learning Object-Oriented Design.

I also have experience with JUnit for software testing, and Test-Driven Development.

C/C++

I started learning C last year as part of an Operating Systems module I had. While it wasn't one of my favourite languages at first, I have grown to like it. It takes away a lot of the restrictions and safety measures of Java, and is great for writing efficient programs.

C++ brings all the performance advantages, and Object Oriented Design. I've only recently started C++, but I've made good progress with my work on my Zork project, which you can see below.

MySQL

I started MySQL last semester, as part of my Database Systems module. I made a sample database as part of a group project, for the multiplayer system of a First-Person-Shooter.

Python

Python was one of the first languages I learned. I found it very easy to learn and it is great to teach the concepts of programming. I currently do not have any projects hosted in Python.

HTML/CSS

You're looking at my main Web Design project! While I had worked on HTML/CSS previously, my first major project is this very website. All the CSS is my own, I haven't used any external libraries, except for favicons. As of right now, I plan on using my own images and assets.

Teamwork

I have worked on several group projects during my time in university, both as part of my course-work, and as part of game jams.

I believe game jams are great ways to improve your teamwork and communication skills, as they are short termprojects, packed with content, and the need to both communicate and delegate. Some of my projects below are from Game Jams.

Social Media

As P.R.O. of the Games Development Society in UL, I've learned how to manage a Facebook page, and write expressive and clear emails, as part of the societies weekly news-letter.

My Work

I've done plenty of projects as part of my course, including a League Tables Manager, a Vending Machine using JavaFX, a booking system for a Recreation Centre, a Relational Database for the Multiplayer backend for a First-Person Shooter, a text-adventure based on the classic game Zork, and an 8-puzzle solver using the A* algorithm.

I've also done other projects as part of Game Jams, and personal projects.

Projects

League Tables Manager

I worked on this as part of a group project with three other members, using Java Swing and JOptionPanes. You can create and edit leagues, and generate fixtures and leaderboards. All data created by the user is persistent between sessions.

I plan on rewriting this with Object-Oriented Design, and possibly in C++ instead of Java, or another Object Oriented Language.

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Recreation Centre Manager

I worked on this project as part of a group also, using Java and JOptionPanes. You can create and edit bookings for a room in a community recreation centre.

I plan on rewriting this project with many more features, such as multiple rooms, form filling instead of dialog boxes for inputting user information. The original specifications provided by the lecturer were more robust, but were simplified due to time constraints. I plan to rebuild the project according to the original spec, and add my own ideas and improvements.

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Vending Machine

I worked on this project as part of a group, using JavaFX. I worked on the command-line interface, and linking everyone's parts of the project together.

This project was based off a lab assignment we had completed several weeks earlier, with the assumption we would use the code from the lab as a base. I expanded greatly on that base, allowing for the vending machine to be operated from both a Command-Line interface and a Graphical Interface with ease.

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Slay the Princess, Save the Dragon!

I made this game as part of a group of four for a Game Jam in first year. We used Twine, an online text adventure creator built with JavaScript. I had a lot of fun making this game, as it was one of our first experiences with a fast paced project, and we got a lot of work done in a short amount of time.

More coming soon!

Spooky Dodge

This game was made as part of another Game Jam, using PICO-8, an all-in-one creation suite for 8-bit games. The game was programmed in a variant of Lua, but I would not consider myself proficient in Lua, due to the vast differences PICO-8's API brings.

The objective of the game is very simple. You play as a woman, who must jump to avoid all the monsters passing across the screen. You have 3 Hit Points, and a period of invulnerability after being hit.

This game was a lot of fun to make, and I hope to work with PICO-8 again at some point.

More coming soon!

The Saga... of Something...

This game was a solo project made as part of my Event-Driven Programming module, and was based on code provided by my lecturer. The purpose of the project was to create a text adventure, like the classic game Zork.

The purpose of the project was learn C++, and the principles of Event-Driven Programming through Qt. I chose to write the game from scratch, for more practise with both the language and the API.

The objective of the game is simple. Collect all the pieces of armour and the sword and drop them in the correct room.

I plan on greatly expanding this project. I plan to add a story, enemies, a turn-based combat system, and redesign the user interface.

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8-Puzzle Solver

This was a group project as part of my Intelligent Systems module. We had to create a program that could solve the 8-Puzzle using the A* algorithm. The program is able to solve the most complicated 8-Puzzle configuration in 17 seconds, and is also able to solve 15-Puzzle configurations.

The project specification required it was written in Java. I am currently rewriting the project in C, and further improving its efficiency.

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8-Puzzle Solver (C Edition)

This is a recreation of my previous course project in the C language. I chose C because it is a much more limiting language than Java, and I wanted to test my ability with the language.

Another reason I chose C was because I had no previous experience with using structures in programming, and thought this project would be a good opportunity to understand them.

This project is a work-in-progress, so come take a look!

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Multiplayer Shooter Database

This project was part of my Database systems module. Our group had to create a relational database in MySQL which included multiple tables with meaningful relations. Most of the tables also had to include data from other tables in the database.

Our group chose to make a database for a multiplayer first-person shooter, because it was easy to conceptualise the different tables that could exist in such a database, and to be able to connect these tables to each other.

We also had to include triggers, stored procedures and functions, indexes, with justifications for all of them.

The entire project, along with a more detailed report, including an Entity Relationship Diagram and more is available if you click below!

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Online Portfolio
(This website!)

As I said above this website is my first HTML/CSS project. I learned most of my knowledge from w3schools.

The cover photo is from the President's Access Scholars Award Ceremony, and all other photos were taken by me.

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Get in Contact!