🎈Pranksters - Aether Interactive

A party game inspired by Ultimate Chicken Horse and Super Mario Party for PC, Mobile, and Console on the Roblox platform built using a TypeScript-to-Luau compiler (roblox-ts).

In my role as a gameplay programmer at Aether Interactive, I contributed to a small yet dynamic team focused on crafting compelling experiences within the Roblox platform. The inherent nature of being part of a small team meant I was often expected to be more of a generalist programmer and pick up tasks in lots of different areas relating to: Gameplay, UI, Testing, Networking, Game Design, Sound, Animation, DevOps, etc.

My core responsibilities revolved around the following disciplines:

  1. System Design

  2. User Interface programming

Within these domains, I played a pivotal role in shaping the overall structure and functionality of core systems, ensuring seamless integration and optimal performance. Additionally, I undertook UI programming tasks, contributing to the overall player experience. The dynamic and multifaceted nature of my role allowed me to actively engage with various aspects of game development, allowing me to develop a more comprehensive skill set as a result.

Key Skills

TypeScript, React Lua, Luau, ESLint, GitHub, GameAnalytics

Key Roblox Libraries

Flamework, Janitor, Reflex (Redux alternative), Ripple, Sift, t.

Full Roblox Libraries (from Package.json)
"dependencies": {
    "@flamework/components": "^1.0.1",
    "@flamework/core": "^1.0.1",
    "@flamework/networking": "^1.0.1",
    "@gimmethemoney/topbar-plus": "^1.0.3",
    "@rbxts/bezier": "^0.2.0",
    "@rbxts/faker": "^0.2.8",
    "@rbxts/flipper": "^2.0.1",
    "@rbxts/gameanalytics": "2.2.3-ts.1",
    "@rbxts/gizmo": "^2.0.5",
    "@rbxts/inspect": "^1.0.1",
    "@rbxts/janitor": "1.15.4-ts.0",
    "@rbxts/log": "^0.6.3",
    "@rbxts/make": "^1.0.6",
    "@rbxts/message-templates": "^0.3.2",
    "@rbxts/mock-memory-store-service": "0.2.0-13",
    "@rbxts/mockdatastoreservice": "^1.0.2",
    "@rbxts/object-utils": "^1.0.4",
    "@rbxts/pretty-react-hooks": "^0.3.3",
    "@rbxts/profileservice": "^1.4.2",
    "@rbxts/promise-child": "^1.2.1",
    "@rbxts/r15-ragdoll": "github:AetherInteractiveLtd/rbxts-ragdoll",
    "@rbxts/radialimage": "0.1.0-ts.5",
    "@rbxts/rbx-debug": "^1.0.0",
    "@rbxts/rbx-format-number": "^1.0.0",
    "@rbxts/rbx-react-error-boundary": "^1.0.0",
    "@rbxts/rbx-react-spring": "^1.1.2",
    "@rbxts/react-reflex": "^0.2.0",
    "@rbxts/react-roblox": "^0.2.0",
    "@rbxts/reflex": "^4.3.1",
    "@rbxts/ripple": "^0.7.1",
    "@rbxts/roact": "npm:@rbxts/react-ts@^1.0.1",
    "@rbxts/services": "^1.5.1",
    "@rbxts/set-timeout": "^1.1.2",
    "@rbxts/sift": "^0.0.8",
    "@rbxts/signal": "^1.1.1",
    "@rbxts/streamable": "^0.1.0",
    "@rbxts/t": "^3.1.0",
    "@rbxts/validate-tree": "^2.0.2",
    "@rbxts/visualize": "^1.1.1",
    "rbxts-transform-debug": "^2.2.0",
    "rbxts-transform-env": "^2.2.0"
},
"devDependencies": {
    "@milahu/patch-package": "^6.4.14",
    "@rbxts/compiler-types": "2.2.0-types.0",
    "@rbxts/types": "^1.0.738",
    "@roblox-ts/eslint-config": "github:christopher-buss/roblox-ts-eslint-config",
    "@typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin": "^6.17.0",
    "@typescript-eslint/parser": "^6.17.0",
    "cross-env": "^7.0.3",
    "eslint": "npm:eslint-ts-patch@8.56.0-0",
    "eslint-flat-config-viewer": "^0.1.4",
    "eslint-plugin-format": "^0.1.0",
    "eslint-plugin-react": "^7.33.2",
    "eslint-plugin-react-hooks": "^4.6.0",
    "eslint-plugin-sort-class-members": "^1.19.0",
    "eslint-ts-patch": "8.56.0-0",
    "lint-staged": "^15.2.0",
    "prettier": "^3.1.1",
    "rbxts-transformer-flamework": "^1.0.1",
    "rimraf": "^5.0.5",
    "roblox-feet": "^0.0.1",
    "roblox-ts": "^2.2.0",
    "simple-git-hooks": "^2.9.0",
    "typescript": "5.2.2"
},

Technical Skills

  1. Knowledge of TypeScript (in a non-web environment), writing type-safe, performant code that is maintainable, consistent, and meets the business rqeuirements of the project.

  2. Cross-Platform development; developing controls for Keyboard + Mouse, Touch, and Controller; and creating dynamic UI that works on multiple platforms, and many different screen sizes (from 4K to Ultrawide support down to the iPhone 5s).

  3. Understanding client-server architecture to create multiplayer experiences that are less susceptible to cheats.

  4. Implemented analytics using the GameAnalytics API. Implemented new features to boost retention and session engagement.

  5. Version Control using GitHub, including feature branches, pull requests, code review, merge conflicts, etc. Followed conventional commits for commit messages.

  6. Understanding Luau when debugging transpiled TypeScript code.

  7. Took full ownership over many features, from the design phase, to implementation, and testing.

Examples

React Lua (TypeScript)

React Lua is a comprehensive, but not exhaustive, translation of upstream ReactJS 17.x into Lua. As this project was built using roblox-ts, decleration files were used to type our version of React, making it very similar to the development experience of typical react, but using Roblox elements, rather than HTML.

An example of a file I worked on can be found below:

import { useAsyncCallback } from "@rbxts/pretty-react-hooks";
import Roact, { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useState } from "@rbxts/roact";

import { Events } from "network/client/network";
import { TextUtil } from "shared/util/text-util";
import { Backplate } from "ui/components/backplate";
import TextButton from "ui/components/buttons/text-button";
import { Group } from "ui/components/group";
import { createNextOrder } from "ui/functions/create-next-order";
import { useRem, useTheme } from "ui/hooks";
import useConfirm from "ui/hooks/use-confirm";

interface Props {
    Position: UDim2;
}

/**
 * A set of buttons that appears in the 'match-over' window, allowing for
 * players to either play again, return to the lobby, or continue with
 * their current session.
 */
export default function InnerButtonBar({ Position }: Readonly<Props>): Roact.Element {
    const confirm = useConfirm();
    const nextOrder = createNextOrder();
    const rem = useRem();
    const theme = useTheme();

    const [isContinue, setIsContinue] = useState(false);

    const allText = useMemo(() => {
        return ["Play Again", "Continue", "Return to lobby"];
    }, []);

    const buttonWidth = rem(10);

    const [textSize, setTextSize] = useState(0);
    useEffect(() => {
        setTextSize(TextUtil.getMaxTextSize(allText, theme.fonts.primary.bold, buttonWidth));
    }, [allText, buttonWidth, rem, theme.fonts.primary.bold]);

    const [, handleBackToLobby] = useAsyncCallback(async (): Promise<void> => {
        const choice = await confirm({
            ConfirmationText: "Are you sure you want to return to lobby?",
        });

        if (choice) {
            Events.requestReturnToLobby.fire(false, false);
        }
    });

    return (
        <Backplate Position={Position} Size={new UDim2(0, rem(40), 0, rem(8.5))}>
            <Group key="buttons" Size={new UDim2(1, 1, 1, 1)}>
                <uilistlayout
                    key="layout"
                    FillDirection="Horizontal"
                    HorizontalAlignment="Center"
                    SortOrder="LayoutOrder"
                    VerticalAlignment="Center"
                />

                <TextButton
                    key="play-again"
                    BackgroundColor={Color3.fromRGB(93, 255, 23)}
                    LayoutOrder={nextOrder()}
                    Text={allText[0]}
                    TextSize={textSize}
                    onClick={useCallback(() => {
                        Events.requestReturnToLobby(true, false);
                    }, [])}
                />

                <TextButton
                    key="continue"
                    BackgroundColor={Color3.fromRGB(255, 216, 20)}
                    Enabled={false}
                    LayoutOrder={nextOrder()}
                    Text={isContinue ? "Waiting..." : allText[1]}
                    TextSize={textSize}
                    onClick={useCallback(() => {
                        setIsContinue(true);
                        Events.requestReturnToLobby(false, true);
                    }, [])}
                />

                <TextButton
                    key="return"
                    BackgroundColor={Color3.fromRGB(69, 215, 255)}
                    LayoutOrder={nextOrder()}
                    Text={allText[2]}
                    TextSize={textSize}
                    onClick={useCallback(async () => {
                        return handleBackToLobby();
                    }, [handleBackToLobby])}
                />
            </Group>
        </Backplate>
    );
}
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