Michael David Chase – Freelance Development Portfolio
About Me
Hello!
I’m Michael David Chase, a UC Davis graduate, professional software engineer and passionate freelance game developer.
With a background in C/C++ programming and Python scripting I have designed gameplay, programmed and created technical art for projects over the past 7 years across a variety of tools and interfaces.
If you think that I may be a good fit for your team based on the projects presented here, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
CS Education
-3 years of professional scripting in Python.
-7 years of personal programming projects in C/C++.
-2 years of CS undergraduate study at Hartnell College.
Additional Curriculum
Essential Mathematics for Games and Interactive Applications – James M. Van Verth & Lars M. Bishop
Linear Algebra and Its Applications – Gilbert Strang
Game Engine Architecture – Jason Gregory
Foundations of Game Engine Development – Eric Lengyel
Game Programming Patterns – Robert Nystrom
Contact Me
chase.michaeldavid@gmail.com
My Skills
Languages
C/C++
C#
Python
Lua
SQL
DAX
GLSL
Engines
Unreal Engine 5
Unity
GameMaker Studio 2
Pico-8
Development Tools
GitHub
Visual Studio/Code
Emacs
GCC/MSVC
CMake
Batch scripts
OpenGL
Blender
Krita
Aseprite
My Projects
Heartwrench Advance – C++, JSON
2024 – 2025
Heartwrench Advance is a love-letter to my favorite childhood games on the Game Boy Advance and an exercise in systems programming, technical art and gameplay design. This project is my largest solo-dev undertaking to date, in which I designed all gameplay, wrote all game systems and created all art assets from scratch while working under the tight constraints of the Game Boy Advance’s memory and processor.
You can read more about my development of Heartwrench Advance here.
Unhinged Prototype – Unreal Engine 5
2025
Unhinged is a puzzle game mechanic prototype in which rooms are “unhinged” and able to be placed within other rooms in long recursive chains and branches.
This prototype was made in Unreal Engine 5 and utilizes both C++ and Blueprints classes. To implement this project I used UE5’s HUD widgets, mesh, material, lighting, animation and audio systems in addition to my own C++ system for managing rooms on a 2-dimensional grid.
The majority of functions that place, take, orient, hide and reveal rooms are recursive.
Tranq Frank – Unity
2024
A short “Where’s Waldo” type browser game made with a single teammate in less than 20 hours as part of the Nordic Game Jam 2024 in Copenhagen, Denmark. We focused on the concepts that made us laugh the most during our brainstorm for Tranq Frank, and while the game lacks polish I’m proud to say it received many smiles in playtesting – probably for its sheer absurdity.
Recursive Space in OpenGL – C++, GLSL
2023
A fully implemented orthographic recursive camera using OpenGL.
For this project I wrote my own library of Linear Algebra math objects and operations, .obj and .bmp file loaders, GLSL fragment and vertex shaders, an asset manager, orthographic perspective camera with a recursive effect, and implemented a Struct of Arrays (SoA) entity component system for grid based game objects.
To prepare for this project, I studied Gilbert Strang’s Linear Algebra and its Applications and completed the popular LearnOpenGL tutorials to implement classic techniques such as the Blinn-Phong reflection model, shadow mapping, space transformations, and depth testing.
Tool Developer for Wheeler Accountants, LLP – Python, SQL, DAX
2022 – 2025
At Wheeler Accountants, LLP I had two primary roles:
-Develop and test a suite of proprietary Python scripts to automate work for the administrative team. These scripts used a variety of REST APIs and SQL queries to retrieve data from our databases, format and move files into client folders, assign tax preparers to clients in our CRM, send letters of engagement and notify clients of updates in the tax preparation process. After development and testing, I trained the administrative team on proper use and maintained the scripts as updates were needed.
-Develop reports in PowerBI using DAX to interface with and ultimately rebuild Wheeler’s CRM database for fast queries. These reports provided dynamic tables and filters for typical business analytics such as billing and realization, employee hours and project tracking.
Want to hear how I did? Reach out to the Wheeler Accountants, LLP office at (408) 252-1800 and ask for Michael Gurr, my former direct supervisor and firm partner.
Michael Chase - Freelance Development Portfolio 