Level Design, VR Development and Tabletop Games

I am Marc Cook, an independent games/vr developer from the UK.
I have both a BSc & MSc in Computer Games Technology and my studies focused on the creation of levels and worlds using game engines.

Since 2014 I've worked on VR and application development predominantly for health, training and entertainment. And independently I develop both digital and tabletop/roleplaying games.

Here you will find links to all of my work and projects.

Virtual Reality

Since graduating in 2014 I have worked on a number of long term VR projects which you can find below:

PONToon Project

The PONToon Project was a technology and digital upskilling project funded by INTERREG and based in the South of England the the North of France. It focused on providing training and tools to women. The goal of the project was to develop a toolkit of digital tools and software, to assist with the training partners and project stakeholders were providing to beneficiaries.

I was a Research Associate on this project. My primary responsibility was the development of the Digital Toolkit, researching the areas that tools would be helpful, working with our partners to collect information about the tools, developing the tools and managing other developers who were involved in the project.

The apps that were developed on this project were:

  • PONToon Map: I managed a developer within the University in the development of a map designed to help job seekers find careers based in their area.

  • Career Guide: This web app gives the user a personality quiz before recommending jobs that match their chosen answers. I managed the programmers and graphic designer who too the prototype through to completion.

  • 360 Train Station: I was responsible for the design, UI and implementation of a small train station viewer for Google Cardboard. Created in Unity.

  • Community: A web and mobile app which allows community groups to share pins on a map between their members. I liaised with an external developer who created the android/ios version and managed a team of 2 student programmers who developed the web alternative.

  • Virtual Gallery: A Google Cardboard and Web representation of Aspex Gallery. The web version has images from across the PONToon Project and the Android version allows users to upload their own photos. I designed the software, did 3d modelling and texturing while managing a programmer who developed the functionality. Created in Unity.

  • VR Train Station: An app for the Oculus Quest that allows users to practice at buying tickets, navigating train stations and interacting with station staff. I designed the app, did 3d modelling, texturing and scripting. Created in UE4.

  • PONToon Digital Quiz: Originally a card game developed by a French Partner. I designed the digital version and developed the UI and content while managing a programmer who developed the question system. Created in Unity.

Fatherland

Fatherland was an immersive VR and Motion Capture focused theatre production. This was created in partnership between the University of Portsmouth and Limbik Theatre and funded by CreativeXR.

The performance saw an actor using motion capture interact with a user in a HTC Vive along with the audience. The Person in the headset would be the eyes of a character for the audience, everything they looked at would be shown to the audience projection screens.

In this project I developed the 3d artwork for both characters & environments and built the digital sets and scenes within the Unreal Engine. To develop the final performance I would work with the actors and writers of the production in an iterative workflow to see the final production through to completion.

University of Portsmouth Virtual Reality

From May 2014 to July 2017 I worked for the VR research team at the University of Portsmouth. Here I was a Research assistant on a wide variety of projects. Many of these projects were focused on healthcare and wellbeing including tools for walking rehabilitation, phantom limb pain and substance abuse.

Some of the projects I worked on during my time with the VR team included:

  • RITA AR: I created an AR version of the RITA project avatar which could be loaded using a phone and business card.

  • Life 3D: We worked alongside the Bioscience department to create a 3d printed molecule with interactive digital training elements.

  • ICJS: I developed a VR viewer and interactive scene for a project based around alcohol misuse and rehabilitation. The scene was viewable in Gear VR and Google Cardboard and was linked with a text based game app. Choices in the text game would influence the VR scene based on the state of mind of the character.

  • HEIF: I created the 3d art and textures for an endless runner game using the Myo sensor.

  • Virtual Walking: I reimplemented and updated assets for an application using D-Flow which uses an interactive Treadmill and rear projected screen.

  • VR Panic Room: I created the software and art for a VR Horror art installation for Sticks Gallery and Live Art Local CIC's Director, Beth Davis-Hofbauer. This was a UE4 project where the user was placed in a HTC Vive and navigated around a horror themed environment.

Alongside my research and development duties I also assisted with the teaching of the Application of Virtual Reality (APPVR) course. This was a final year VR course and I wrote course content, assisted with teaching and ran the VR Club additional training sessions.

GameDev

I often take part in gamejams with the goal to create a game within a set period of time. Below are a selection of my games I have worked on for these jams. Click each image below to be taken to the page or video:

Tabletop and RPGs

Since 2020 I've been working on a number of tabletop projects including RPGs and miniature wargames. Click each image below to be taken to their respective itch.io pages.

Work History

  • Research Assistant - University of Portsmouth - Working as a developer with the VR team developing apps for a number of research projects.

  • UE4 Developer - Fatherland - Worked alongside Limbik Theatre developing the assets for Fatherland, a vr/mixed reality stage performance.

  • Research Associate - University of Portsmouth - On the pontoon project I was the lead developer, creating apps for training using unity and unreal. As part of my job I was responsible for managing other many other developers on the project both within the university and externally.