Unity · C# · Technical Art · Team Project

CALLIE'S Cleanup

A fast-paced arcade action game about a cleanup robot fighting to restore an Earth made uninhabitable by climate change and natural disasters.

The Goal

CALLIE'S Cleanup was built as a fast arcade-style experience centered on cleaning a damaged environment, surviving escalating action, and chasing a high score. The released game includes a real-time leaderboard and is available for browser, Windows, and macOS.

  • Keep the action responsive while many gameplay objects are active at once.
  • Build systems that could support a score-driven arcade loop.
  • Create a stylized visual presentation that remained readable during fast gameplay.
  • Integrate programming with UI, level, animation, audio, and art work from a multidisciplinary team.
  • Ship the finished project to browser and desktop platforms.

Programming and Gameplay Systems

I served as the project's programmer. My work connected the game's player-facing mechanics, scoring flow, environmental systems, and technical presentation into the final Unity build.

  • Implemented gameplay systems in C# and integrated them with the team's assets.
  • Supported the fast score-focused arcade loop and moment-to-moment game state.
  • Connected gameplay events to visual and UI feedback.
  • Built reusable systems rather than relying on one-off scene logic where practical.
  • Worked across disciplines to integrate level, UI, animation, sound, art, and music into the game.

Grid-Based Object Pooling

One of my main optimization systems used grid-based object pooling to manage repeated gameplay objects. Instead of continually creating and destroying objects during play, reusable instances could be activated, repositioned, and returned to the pool as the game needed them.

  • Reduced repeated runtime allocation from frequently reused gameplay objects.
  • Organized reusable objects around the needs of the playable space.
  • Reactivated pooled objects instead of repeatedly instantiating replacements.
  • Designed the system to support the density and pace of an arcade-style game.
  • Kept optimization work tied to gameplay needs rather than treating it as a separate pass.

Custom Lighting and Shader Work

I also worked on the technical-art side of the project, including custom shader and lighting behavior used to establish the game's stylized presentation. This gave me a chance to work on both the rendering side and the gameplay systems consuming those visuals.

  • Developed custom shader work for the Unity project.
  • Implemented a custom lighting model for the game's stylized look.
  • Balanced visual effects with the readability required by fast gameplay.
  • Integrated rendering work directly with the rest of the game's production pipeline.

Team Integration

The project was produced by a five-person student team with distinct responsibilities across programming, animation, sound, level design, UI, 2D art, and music. As programmer, I regularly worked at the point where those disciplines met inside Unity.

  • Programming — Jonathan Swardson
  • 3D Animation & Sound — Steven Beltz
  • Level & UI — Tony Devens
  • 2D Art & Music — Ace Altair
  • 2D Art & UI — Ariana Cruz

Shipping the Game

CALLIE'S Cleanup was released publicly through itch.io. The project has browser, Windows, and macOS versions, with downloadable desktop builds provided for improved graphics and frame rate.

  • Released as a completed Unity project.
  • Playable in HTML5-capable browsers.
  • Packaged dedicated Windows and macOS builds.
  • Integrated a real-time leaderboard into the score-driven experience.

What I Learned

CALLIE'S Cleanup strengthened my interest in technical art because it required me to move between rendering, optimization, gameplay code, and team integration rather than treating those areas as isolated disciplines.

  • Reusable runtime systems can improve both performance and iteration speed.
  • Technical-art decisions are most useful when they support gameplay readability.
  • Programmers on small teams often become the integration point for many disciplines.
  • Building for multiple platforms exposes technical assumptions early.
  • Visual systems and gameplay systems are strongest when designed together.