My Work - Nikhil Suresh

My work at Space Ape Games (2018 - present)

At Space Ape, I'm an all-rounder programmer working on gameplay features for live game titles on Android and iOS, as well as prototype work on unannounced games.

Treasure Tails - King of Mischief

Feb 2018 - Jan 2019

Prototyped early gameplay mechanics to find the fun, and generate depth in the core interactions
Implemented UI and prototyped ideas for first-stage metagame around building villages with people
UI implementation and refinement

Transformers: Earth Wars

Feb 2018 - Jan 2019

Developed brand new gameplay features such as Raid Events as the game progressed into Live Operations mode
Implemented systems upgrades and maintenance work such as a transition to the Git Large File System
Bug fixes and designer-focused tools development, such as Streaming Assets tech

My work at SMG Studio / Soap Creative (2015 - 2018)

At SMG Studio, I was an all-rounder programmer working across gameplay, UI, physics, plugins, version control, and intra-team communications.

Fast and Furious: Takedown

Sep 2016 - Feb 2018

Developed core gameplay features, including driving controls, car physics, and suspension systems
Implemented menu screen and in-game-HUD designs through code, based on reference motion-guides
Built editor tools and integrations for the artists to create a comprehensive vehicle design workflow
Assisted in designing CG shaders for the car paints

Death Squared

May 2016 - Aug 2016

Assisted in programming a bespoke quad-based UI system to improve performance over Unity's basic UI system
Implemented menu screen and in-game-HUD designs through code, based on reference motion-guides
Created achievements-tracking system for use across PSN/Xbox Live/Steam achievement platforms

Thumb Drift

Nov 2015 - June 2016

Worked with the lead programmer to design and implement the game architecture
Implemented menu screen and in-game-HUD designs through code
Built visual-quality system for granular control of effects such as smoke and tyre-marks, in order to deliver a better experience on a wide range of mobile devices
Optimised vertex/fragment shaders to run well on a large range of devices across Android and iOS
Implement mobile advertising plugins, social features such as Apple Game Center and Google Play Games, as well as in-app-purchases across all platforms

Hasbro Risk: Global Domination

Aug 2015 - Nov 2015

Created achievements-tracking system for use across Android and iOS achievement platforms
Developed functionality to generate icons of countries at compile-time using a render-to-texture system
Implemented sound-effects throughout the game and made improvements to the audio management system

One More Line: Steam Edition

Jul 2015 - Aug 2015

Performed builds and submissions to the Steam platform
Implemented bug-fixes and special post-release content updates
Version Control (Git) management of branches and merges across Android/iOS/Steam versions of the game

Thumb Drift: Apple TV Edition

Aug 2016

Tasked with delivering an Apple TV version of Thumb Drift within 3 weeks
Led the design and implementation of new features specific to the Apple TV platform
Coordinated with designers and artists to produce new 16:9 aspect-ratio UI layouts and interaction for the Apple TV version, based on mobile version's 2:3 ratio
Interfaced with Apple Developer Relations team to build a tilt control system for this version of the game

One More Dash: Windows Store

Sep 2015

Sole developer charged with porting the game to Windows 10, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8
Implemented new advertising frameworks, in-app-purchasing capabilities, and sharing functionality

Self-Published Games (2011 - present)

In my own time, I've concepted, designed, programmed, and maintained a number of games across Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and PC

Super Cricket All Stars

April 2020 - January 2022

Improved the fast-paced cricket engine for maximum performance across all devices
Built and maintained a Live-Ops pipeline with PlayFab backend services
Created Live Events weekly for players, using server-side logic to organise and distribute prizes for leaderboards
Used BI tools and analytics platforms to make data-driven decisions on new game features, tuning difficulties, and general game growth strategy
Built and maintained an in-game Economy for players to own and manage their cricket teams; generated IAP revenue through virtual items

SUPER CRICKET 2

Dec 2014 - present

Designed a fast-paced, stripped-down version of cricket for mobile
Maintained a strong userbase of 30,000 Daily Active Users through continuous updates over 2 years
Built a system to override gameplay curves through server-side data files
Developed and tested multiple app monetisation strategies
Started building a larger economy system with virtual currencies and sources/sinks in order to drive better long-term interaction

BLASTR

July - Nov 2014

Designed a linear third-person character adventure with multiple levels and interactions
Built a physics-based weapons system that would interact with enemies by pushing or pulling them with magnetic forces
Developed a bespoke spoken-dialogue engine and music cue system
Concepted and created all art assets; 3D models, textures, and UI
Showcased at a Microsoft-sponsored booth at Penny Arcade Expo Australia

Air Racing

Nov 2013

My attempt at bringing the thrills of the Red Bull Air Race to mobile devices, with simple mechanics that are hard to master
One of my first games on the Unity engine, I did all the art, code, and design
Custom flight controls and checkpointing system

Cargo: Locked and Loaded

Jan 2014 - Feb 2014

I was inspired to explore Uncharted's aesthetic and atmosphere in my own games. Only a couple of weeks into development did I realise how immense the task was!
Character animations, keyframing, and using Mecanim was a part of the development process
Implemented dynamic camera system that combined character tracking with pre-built camera patterns when in special locations

DownForce - V8 Preview

Sep 2013 - Dec 2013

One more my first 3D games. I used this to learn the basics of 3D texturing, modelling, etc.
Built a motorsport race director system that keeps track of all racers' laptimes, positions on track, and checkpoints

Bouncy and the Apple

Oct 2011 - Nov 2011

HTML Canvas-based 2D game using custom Javascript engine
Utilised the experimental Mozilla Gamepad API to implement controller support in-browser
Created achievements system, UI layer using the DOM, an audio engine with SFX and music
Won the Mozilla Dev Derby for succesfully utilising the HTML5 Canvas element