Callandra Ruiter

Game Development and Management

(Right: myself and my cat Squeaktoy, who is very silly.)

Senior majoring in Game Design and Development at Quinnipiac, getting minors in Computer Science, English, and Asian Studies. In team projects, I've primarily worked as team lead/management and as a programmer, but I try to take classes in a broad range of roles. I like to have a clear plan of attack - both short term and long - when it comes to projects.

I've primarily worked in Unity, and have coding knowledge in C#, Java, Javascript, and HTML. I also have experience creating games in Unreal Engine, AR/VR using Unity's XR Interaction Toolkit, and creating cinematics with Unity’s cinemachine system. I've additionally worked with ZBrush, Blender, Maya, ProCreate, and Photoshop. In the projects that I’ve lead, we primarily used Scrum/Agile methodology with bi-weekly meetings and frequent online communication.

Past Projects

The team project for GDD410. We started with the idea of a zombie shooter, but wanted to add something interesting. The idea we settled on was to merge that premise with house decoration. In ‘Cursed By Night,’ the player must accumulate and strategically place furniture to help them defend themselves during the dangerous night.

Roles:

  • Scrum Lead (Project Management)

  • Lead Programmer

  • QA & Bug Hunting

  • Implementation

  • UI and Design

Our team's first project for GDD211 was 'Adventurer's Guild Manager'. In this game, you hire adventurers and send them out on quests.

Roles:

  • Team Lead (Project Management)

  • Lead Programmer

  • QA & Bug Hunting

  • Implementation Lead

The team's second project for GDD211. We wanted to work in a different genre, so created a 2D action game 'GunSnake Train'.

Roles:

  • Team Lead (Project Management)

  • Secondary Programmer

  • QA & Bug Hunting

  • Implementation Lead

  • Tertiary Artist

‘Jest or Die!’ was created for the 2024 Global Game Jam. The player selects jesters to perform for the king, adjusting their choices to fit the king’s preferred style of comedy. (Despite it’s similarities to ‘Adventurer’s Guild Manager,’ the idea came from an unrelated party.)

Roles:

  • Documentation & Project Management

  • Implementation Lead

Art and Writing

Though I mainly take programming and project management leads in teams, I have experience in art and writing as well. I find that having a good idea of what goes into each part of production is important, as is being able lend a hand in multiple disciplines.

Areas: 2D Concept art, 3D modelling, UI art

Programs: ProCreate, Photoshop, Blender, ZBrush