Hi there, I am Atanas Laskov, the author of this blog. I work as a freelance web developer under the brand name “SEN Works”.

If you are looking for a freelancer, my skills are at your disposal for any web design, web programming, or illustration task.

I am proficient in PHP, XHTML/CSS, MySQL, JQuery, JavaScript and Ajax. I also have a very good grasp of the WordPress publishing system and theme making (the theme used by this blog is my creation.)

My design toolbox includes Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and 3D Studio Max. You have probably seen some of my artwork in the blog gallery. For a list of previous projects you are also invited to my portfolio website.

I place much importance on honesty and good work ethics. My work is my personal pride and once committed to a task you can be assured I will do my utmost to deliver an excellent result.

Get in touch now by e-mailing me (laskov@sen-works.net). I’m currently based in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh.

~

In my free time I’m also an indie game developer. Below is an overview of my long-term personal project, codenamed “Jumping Ron.”

JR is a 3D jump & run game, combined with streamlined hack-and-slash RPG. It is focused on player dexterity, battles with evil monsters, and storytelling. You can visit the JR website if that sounds interesting.

I’m actively working on the project. The game is currently in “advanced stage of development”, meaning that there is still a lot of work to be done but the list of completed features is also impressive.

The technology (engine) that drives the game is entirely my own creation. The graphics are OpenGL-based and I am using a couple of other libraries for various specific tasks. I like to call that part of the JR project the “cubicEngine”. Currently, I have no plans to release cubicEngine separately but that may change after I finish the game.

Completed Tasks

• AI system, based on a perception model and FSA
• Several types of monster AI – walker, flyer, “lava” monsters
• Battles with monsters
• Holding weapons, weapons inventory
• Potion and “crystal” collectables
• RPG sheets for monsters and the player character; levelling up

• Collision Detection and response with 3D geometry
• Particle Effects for fire, smoke, and others – flexible and parametrized :).
• Exporting and loading animated models into cubicEngine
• Very flexible data file parser for world objects and other elements (XML like)
• GUI library for cubicEngine – Sliders, Buttons, Edit boxes, Dialog boxes

• Concept art for about 10 different monsters
• Concept art for 2 worlds ( codenamed “City of Shwa” and the “Outer World” )
• Some NPCs and player character concepts
• 3D Models for about 5 monsters and the player character
• 3D Models for 1 location (still incomplete, I lack the background elements)

• Partially implemented Level Editor and Level Generator
• Some amount of debugging and high-level optimization

• Consistent design document

Pending Tasks

• Designing the game campaign ( I do have a draft )
• More concept art and 3D models, as required by the campaign
• Level design for individual levels
• Making the levels

• Debugging monster AI
• Moving on to a “real” XML parser for the data files (probably TinyXML)
• Finishing the tools (Level Editor and Generator)
• Sound programming (currently, there is some minimal sound functionality )
• Performance optimization and more debugging

Things currently I don’t have a solution for

1. Sound FX and Music are something of an issue. I’m good at programming and making the artwork, but music is really not my thing… so someone will have to help.
2. Also, I would love it if more people get involved in the project at a stage when the tools (Level Editor and Level Generator) become more robust. The idea is to use the Generator as an initial “draft” for levels (sort of like the map generator can be used in Heroes of Might and Magic). It is not intended as a replacement for manual level design.

As you can see JR is an indie game, I am the programmer, the artist and the game designer. This explains why it takes so long to complete (since the winter of 2007!), as I have to switch from one task to another in a sequence, rather than having a team that works in parallel. However, I’m quite advanced in my work on JR, and fairly confident now that the project will be brought successfully to completion.