I'm a game designer and Unity developer specialising in gameplay programming and design - 3 years C#/Unity experience, dabbled in Unreal.
I'm interested in practically every genre, but I often create shooter games to chase niche gameplay ideas - focusing on intuitive controls, modularity, scalability, and good game feel.
Reach out to me at evelynstraughton@gmx.com!
All the projects I've been involved with!
The works here are a combination of solo and team projects, I'll explain my role and contributions below each of them.
Please note that all art and visuals are placeholder - I'm a programmer, not an artist :p
Flagship Solo Project
My heavily in-development passion project, conceived as a true hybrid between a singleplayer RTS and third-person shooter.
The player uses an entire squad of intelligent units in immersive third-person combat, emphasising the importance of their allies - they're just as capable as you, and going solo is not an option.
Features include goal-oriented planning AI for both player and enemy units, seamless gameplay transitions, and deep squad/multi-unit mechanics blended with classic FPS/TPS gameplay.
The game is in heavy concept and testing at this stage, more images will be shared as the project develops.
Flagship Team Project
Our in-development third-person magic boomer-shooter, (ETA 2026) developed by a team of 6.
I take the role of joint project lead, my responsibilities include development of combat and movement, along with important game design contributions, such as the unique healing system.
The game is in heavy development at this stage - images will be shared as the project develops.
Solo Project
A gameplay proof-of-concept for a drone-based combat moveset - which may be implemented into “Squads” in the future.
Features some basic combat with target dummies. The wings deploy a swarm of drones, which can be commanded to attack or shield.
A playable demo is available on itch.io here.
Solo Project
A toybox simulation of two well-known algorithms in game development - a boids simulation with multiple groups and obstacles, and an implementation of A* pathfinding.
A playable demo is available on itch.io here.
Unity Developer Tool
My user-friendly and modular weapons framework for Unity, allowing non-technical developers to create anything that shoots some kind of thing, whether that's a gun, spell, ability, or space fortress megalaser.
Weapons are made entirely with the Unity inspector and some prefabs, without touching any scripts. If custom mechanics or functionality are desired, just attach new scripts and hook into some events - it's an extendable system.
Out of the box, it supports multiple weapon slots per character, custom inputs, and an as-complex-as-you-need weapon actions system for any required alt-fires, double barrels, or overcomplicated ammo-swapping, remote-detonated things.
It's designed for modularity and compatibility, hooking into Unity's systems rather than relying heavily on custom libraries. All of my solo and team projects use this system, and it remains under heavy development.
Unity Developer Tool
My custom module for health and damage mechanics, including all the basics of damage and healing, along with features such as overhealing, lifestealing, and more.
It also contains a system for status effects - I used this component in many of my projects, and it remains under heavy development.
Unity Developer Tool
My movement system based on Unity's rigidbody physics - modular, designed to take a single input vector from player input or AIs.
I have used and iterated on this component more than most, and I have larger plans for it - including advanced movement such as sliding, bunny-hopping, and wall-running.
I am a hardworking, passionate game designer and developer, specialising in gameplay programming and the Unity engine. I particularly enjoy working on shooter games and similar, but I enjoy all genres and would love to broaden my horizons.
I was exclusively home educated as a child, and had never set foot in a traditional schooling environment before university. As such, I had freedom to follow my interests alongside my education, which instilled in me a deep love and passion for games – they have repeatedly changed how I see the world, and allowed me to meet and connect with some of the most important people in my life.
They are also simply something fun to play, and I think all these aspects – being satisfying, beautiful, challenging, emotional, connective, and fun all at once – are what give the medium its soul, and I believe the interactivity atop it all allows them the greatest potential of all contemporary artforms.
As an individual, I value kindness above all else. I also consider myself to have strong skills in communication and supporting others, and the ability to receive and adapt to constructive criticism.
• University Centre Grimsby – BA (Hons) Game Design (Game Development) -–2023-current (anticipated grad. 2026)
• The Open University - Science, Technology, and Maths Access Module (Y033) – 2019-2020 – Distinction
• Pearson Edexcel iGCSEs – 2023
o Computer Science – Grade 9
o Physics – Grade 9
o Mathematics – Grade 9
o English – Grade 9
o Human Biology – Grade 9
• Codename “Squads” – An in-development solo passion project (release date TBA), conceived as a true hybrid between the real-time strategy and third-person shooter genres. The player uses an entire squad of units in immersive, third-person combat, with intelligent and adaptive AI, deep yet intuitive controls, and the ability to directly control unit weapons as an extension of the player.
• Codename “Spellslinger” – An in-development third-person magic-shooter game, set to release in 2026 and developed by a team of 6 including myself. I am a principal game designer and gameplay programmer for the project, responsible for the development of player movement, weapons (via module), health (via module), among other systems. I also contributed to many important aspects of game design, such as the unique healing system.
• “Drones” Prototype – A solo project and gameplay proof-of-concept which may be implemented into “Squads” in the future. Featuring combat based around a swarm of drones stored in the player’s wings, commanding them to perform tasks such as attacking enemies or shielding the player. A playable demo is available on my itch.io.
• Resident Evil Fan Remake – A vertical slice remake of the 1996 classic, developed by a team of 4, myself included. I was one of two programmers for the project, responsible for player movement, including the recreation of Resident Evil’s famous “tank controls”, as well as an alternate modern control scheme, weapons (via module), enemy AI, and the remaking of the fixed camera system.
• “Project Stealth” – A duo project stealth game, developed by myself and another programmer. The demo features traditional stealth gameplay, with the addition of a drone owned by the player hovering above the playable area. The drone may be used to supplement the player’s limited resources, but is only available in outdoor areas. I was responsible for the weapons (via module), the most of drone’s mechanics, and a portion of the enemy AI and stealth mechanics. The demo is available on itch.io.
I take particular interest in gameplay programming and game design, especially the intersection of the two – I like to design mechanics and then immediately implement them.
I enjoy all aspects of game design, but I particularly wish to promote physicality, persistence, game feel, weird and unique gameplay, fast and fluid movement, intuitive controls, accessibility, approachability, and better tutorials.
I still play games regularly – my favourites include ULTRAKILL, Celeste, Minecraft, Titanfall, and many, many others.
I enjoy travel and hope to visit more countries and cultures, to even further broaden my horizons. I also enjoy hiking around the UK countryside.
I have been learning Japanese for around 6 months - I hope to eventually become fluent.
Available upon request
