Martijn van der Willigen

Web-game

Web-game is a 2D web game built with the Excalibur Engine. In short, it is an endless runner: the player continuously runs through a level, avoids obstacles, and earns points for every second survived. The game supports local co-op on one keyboard: Player 1 (Space = jump, E = shoot) and Player 2 (Right Shift = jump, Enter = shoot). Both players can regain lives by picking up hearts that spawn randomly; when one player dies, that player’s score stops; when both players die, the game ends.

This project was made for Hogeschool Rotterdam as an assignment to learn the Excalibur Engine and create web games.

Solved problems

One problem I had was that the background wouldn’t loop correctly. I solved this by respawning it behind the last background using offsets 2275 and 514.

Technologies used

• Excalibur Engine
• Visual Studio Code
• GitHub pages
• JavaScript

My role

I developed the entire project myself. We received game-concept templates, which gave me a clear set of goals to work toward, such as building an endless runner.

Demo and Screenshots

Project Repository

Reflection

In the process of making this game, I learned how to create web games using the Excalibur Engine and JavaScript, and how to work properly with object-oriented classes. If I were to redo this project, I would focus on removing the slight janky feel—for example, improving collisions—and on better spawn rates for obstacles and hearts. I would also display the final scores on the game-over screen so players can see how well they did.

TicTacToe-in-Python-with-machine-learning

A 6×6 Tic-Tac-Toe game that uses the Minimax algorithm to play as your opponent. I made a few versions, but MCTS_AI_implementation_game.ipynb is the final one. In short, the player (X) plays against an AI (O) that uses Minimax to choose moves. The player can select a difficulty—easy, medium, or hard—and enters moves by specifying the row and column.

This project was made at the request of HR Datalab Healthcare as an internship project. The target audience was adults with little to no technical background.

Solved problems

I initially got the visuals working, which improved the user experience, but this came at the cost of the Minimax implementation’s quality. I raised this in a meeting and was advised to prioritize functionality over visuals. I then removed the visuals and focused on making the Minimax algorithm work properly, which improved the game overall.

Technologies used

• Visual Studio Code
• Python
• Jupyter Notebook
• Minimax algorithm
• Anaconda
• Jupyter Notebook plug-in
• pygame package

My role

I was asked to create a project that met the criteria of “a zero-sum board game with a machine-learning opponent and a graphical user interface.” After research, I chose Tic-Tac-Toe, and my supervisor recommended the Minimax algorithm.

Demo and Screenshots

Visual end version gameplay:

Functional end version gameplay:

Project Repository

Reflection

I learned what machine learning is used for by implementing Minimax in a game, and to value functionality over visuals based on feedback. If I were to redo this project, I would focus on functionality from the start to allow more time to test and improve the algorithm. I would also experiment with other approaches to compare them with Minimax.

Memory-game-in-Unity

A 2D memory game made in Unity where the player can choose between themes—flowers or humans— selected based on research into topics that resonate with elderly people with dementia. The game tracks the amount of matches, attempts, and time to monitor the player’s progress.

The project began with a self-written project proposal for SintLucas MBO while I was studying Software Development at SintLucas. The proposal assumed a hospital for dementia patients wanted a fun way to test their patients’ memory. Therefore, the target audience for this project was elderly people with dementia.

Solved problems

The UI was not fitting the screen correctly. I fixed this by assigning the Scene camera to the Canvas.

Technologies used

• Unity
• C#
• Visual Studio

My role

I was asked to write the proposal and develop the project solo.

Demo and Screenshots

Project Repository

Reflection

I learned more about the target audience of elderly people with dementia by doing research, where I learned that seeing faces helps them remember people better, and that flowers align with a common gardening hobby. If I were to redo this project, I would add an end-of-game summary where the player gets a performance overview and advice, and I would also add more options like grid size and more themes to choose from.