Jacob Peltola
Software Engineer & Technical Artist
Virbela
Virbela was developed to provide an immersive, virtual solution for the real-world challenges facing organizations, remote workers, and learners today. By creating an inclusive, community-driven online space that promotes productivity, collaboration, and realistic interactions, we empower companies to grow and scale their businesses and ideas - faster, more efficiently, and more sustainably.
Contributions:
- Technical Art & Design
- Unity3D Development
- UI/UX Design & Development
I executed iterative art decisions in a hybrid role between product design and engineering teams to bring 3D environment art and application UI/UX to life through performant art and development content creation and integrations.
Projects:
Virtual Environments
Realtime 3D environments design and development + digital twin recreation. Generated meshes, textures, materials, and metadata for interior objects, architecture, and technical design layouts.
Avatar Customization and Art System
3D art human body & face shaping, clothing integration, and animation adjustments. Led user experience flow and interface design for avatar customization user interface options. (See embedded guide below for detailed step-by-step overview)
Hitpoint Studios
HitPoint Inc was an independent game studio in Western Massachusetts. HitPoint has designed, developed and distributed PC, mobile, social, AR and VR games for dozens of clients and partners including Microsoft, Disney, BigFish, WildTangent, Hasbro Toys, DeNA, Nokia and Dreamworks.
Contributions:
- Technical Art & Design
- Creative Direction
- Environment Art
Led 3D art asset development, design, integration, and optimization within multi-platform Unity game engine and Autodesk projects. My responsibilities included creating and maintaining art assets, internal engine tools, and researching and executing best practices in emerging tech for production artists and art directors.
Projects:
Venture Valley
An award-winning fast-paced business simulation game where players take on the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur. Available for free on PC and mobile (iOS and Android) and has no in-app purchases or ads, Venture Valley has been recognized for excellence in teaching financial literacy and entrepreneurship, winning first-place recognition from the Serious Play Awards and the Tech & Learning Awards, as well as finalist positions from GEE! Award and the International Educational Games Competition at the European Conference on Games Based Learning. The game is a project of the Singleton Foundation for Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship, a nonprofit with the mission of making financial competence fun and engaging for everyone by using the power of entertainment to capture attention, create change, promote entrepreneurship, and to inspire individual achievement. https://venturevalleygame.com
Gettysburg AR
a mobile AR geolocational bases tour guide app aid designed and developed for the Beyond Reality Developer Content with Niantic’s goal was to encourage developers to use and give feedback on their platform while exploring new use cases and gameplay mechanics. As one of ten finalists, HitPoint’s goal was to create an experience at Gettysburg that would engage the almost 1,000,000 annual visitors in new ways!
Petricore Inc.
Petricore crafts captivating software and unique products. Born in 2015 in Worcester, MA, from a deep passion for game development, we’ve since expanded our horizons, helping global clients while creating our own engaging experiences.
Contributions:
- UX/UI Design
- Sound Effects Artist
- Video Editor
Contributed to mobile game front end development, sound design, and advertising material for the mobile games Gelato Flicker and Mind the Arrow 2.0.
Figur8
FIGUR8 began as a collaboration between MIT scientists, Massachusetts General Hospital Orthopedics and the Boston Red Sox, in search of a better way to diagnose and treat injuries. The result was a state-of-the-art sports lab providing objective, actionable data around MSK function. FIGUR8 has now adapted that technology for use at any point of care.
Contributions:
- XR Design
- iOS/Embedded Unity3D Development
- Technical Art
I worked with Figur8 on with their technology, a 3D motion tracking startup company based in the heart of Boston. They are actively developing custom Bluetooth sensors in a constantly improving technology that accommodates human health and habits first in design and development of their products.
A project early on in development for use in engaging users with sensors was a "Zombie Boxing" demo app to gauge specific Bluetooth characteristics as input. I found making something engaging with these custom controllers exciting and stoked the fiery passion I have for serious games and apps that not only held the attention of a user/player but also improved their health and body consciousness rewarding.
Octave is a musical adventure game where the music you play interacts with the environment around you. Rally your lost notes and discover what's disturbing this once peaceful musical isle!
Flimbo's Hair is an action packed stop motion animated game where you fly and fight your way through a dungeon of bats and eventually face your biggest fears. Made during Stop Motion Jam 2018!
SporeWar is a twin-stick shooter/strategy game placed in a fantastical mushroom world where you lead the charge into battle with platoons of fungal creatures at your command!
Quest Tycoon is a quest giving simulator! Play as an innkeeper desperately trying to stay in business. Send adventurers out on dangerous quests in hopes of them surviving and needing your inn to rest!