Filipe Rodrigues

I’m a software engineer that draws inspiration from loud music, thought-provoking arthouse films, and the quirky charm of B-movies. I have a special interest in the blend of art and technology to craft meaningful interactive media experiences.

I view myself as a versatile coder fueled by passion rather than paychecks. My approach to problem-solving is rooted in a balance of creativity and pragmatism, with unwavering commitment to precision and meticulous attention to detail throughout the entire project lifecycle—from the initial conceptualization to the final code abstraction.

| Where it all began

My passion for technology ignited at a young age, around five years old, when I caught a glimpse of Super Mario running in the window of an electronics store. There, I first encountered a (counterfeit) NES, complete with the iconic Super Mario Bros., the mythical Duck Hunt, and the stressful Contra.

One of the most cherished memories of my childhood remains the day I beat Contra. On that unforgettable day, after hours of grappling with the pointy gamepad, the power adapter dangerously heating up the carpet, and my retinas feeling like they might detach at any moment, I finally vanquished that otherworldly, alien-infested heart boss thingy. As the end credits rolled, it was an enchanting sight that left an unforgettable mark.

| More recently

The COVID-19 pandemic led me down an unexpected path: the birth of my game dev alter ego, SUBTALES, kickstarting my solo game dev journey. I'm now pouring my creativity into my debut title, Gloomy Juncture.

Gloomy Juncture is the haunting tale of a mundane person about to meet his fate in a peculiar world. A fully voice-acted, unique hand-drawn 3D world, with gripping enigmas, items to collect, notes to take, and environmental puzzles to solve. Think hopelessness of REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, unease and obsession of VERTIGO and fever of SUSPIRIA.

For more details:
🕹️ subtales.studio
✏️ Gloomy Juncture on Steam


Education
  • Ph.D. Course in Digital Media | Specialization in Technology and Human-Machine Interaction

    Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto

  • Master in Informatics and Computing Engineering

    Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto

  • Bachelor in Informatics and Computing Engineering

    Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto


Experience
  • Software Engineer

    INESC TEC Porto

  • Android Engineer

    Thing Pink / 7egend

  • Assistant Professor

    Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto

  • Entrepreneur / Software Engineer

    IT Startup Co-Founder: "Questtrip"


My Skills
Software Engineering 99%
Mobile Development 99%
Game Development 95%
Virtual and Augmented Reality 90%
Computer Graphics 88%

Areas of Expertise

Mobile Development

Crafting native mobile apps following the latest design guidelines, including custom animations and widgets, ensuring top performance on diverse devices. I employ fundamental computer science concepts, incorporating modern technologies and design paradigms such as MVC, MVP, and MVVM.

Software Engineering

Employing top methodologies (e.g., Scrum, XP), software paradigms (OOP, Functional Programming), and modeling languages (ORM, UML 2.0) from the requirements elicitation to continuous delivery. My approach involves meticulous architecture design, using the latest continuous integration techniques and tools.

Computer Graphics

In UX, NUI, or HCI, I consistently apply the industry’s best practices and use state-of-the-art algorithms. My toolkit spans from low-level APIs (e.g., OpenGL, WebGL) to high-level APIs (JavaFX, Three.js, Phaser) and engines like Unity. I'm skilled in 3D modeling, animations, rendering pipelines, geometry processing, shaders, image processing, and low level scene graph implementations.

Game Development

Games created by blending best practices, game and level design principles (e.g., Elemental tetrad, Bartle's taxonomy) with software engineering patterns like the Update, Game Loop, and Component Patterns, based on strong computer science fundamentals. My game development proficiency spans multiple platforms: PC (Unity and JavaFX), mobile (OpenGL ES and Unity), and web-based games (Phaser and WebGL).

Augmented Reality

My expertise ranges from complex low-level implementations (e.g., ARToolkit, OpenCV) to more streamlined tools (ARCore, ARKit, Vuforia, Unity). I'm skilled in various techniques, whether it's employing fiducial markers or markerless detection, developing IoT solutions with georeferenced data, or creating Mixed Reality experiences that span the entire reality-virtuality continuum.

Virtual Reality

Knowledge from full virtual reality setups (e.g., Oculus Rift, HTC Vive) to mobile-based solutions like the Google Cardboard. To develop native applications I use the OpenVR SDK, and, for web-based solutions, I'm skilled in WebVR. Additionally, I research HCI and NUI, integrating the best practices into UX and IxD to ensure optimal user experiences.

1820

Existential Crisis

25480

Cups of Coffee

18200

Hours on 9gag

My Portfolio

All Abridged SW Eng Games Mobile VR / AR R&D
image
Game Dev . Unity
Gloomy Juncture
image
R&D . Affective Computing . Game Dev
Aeon Village
image
Mobile . Wear . SW Eng . R&D . IoT
FC Porto App . Smart Store
image
R&D . SW Eng . Mobile
Fnac App . Smart Store
image
Mobile
McDonalds . MLovers
image
SW Eng . VR . R&D
AV360
image
Mobile . SW Eng . R&D
Levoo
image
SW Eng
Música das Estrelas
image
SW Eng . R&D . VR . AR
Simprove
image
R&D . SW Eng . Mobile
FC Porto . Seat Delivery
image
R&D . SW Eng . VR
Body Talk
image
SW Eng . R&D . Mobile
M2S - Mindfulness
image
Mobile . SW Eng
Galp Evodriver
image
AR . SW Eng . R&D
A Marriage Story
image
Mobile . Wear . SW Eng . R&D . IoT
GNG . Smart Store
image
VR . R&D . SW Eng
My Master's Thesis
image
Game Dev . Mobile . Unity
Poo Poo Cow
image
SW Eng . Mobile
QuestTrip
image
Game Dev . Mobile . Unity
Aeon Juncture
image
R&D . SW Eng
Master Splinter
image
Game Dev . Unity
Moustache Kong
image
AR . Game Dev . Mobile
Cowseye
image
SW Eng . Game Dev . Mobile
Snake 3D

My Research Blog

VR Natural Interaction

Body Talk: Emotional Body Gestures

Research in emotional body gestures in virtual reality for affective natural interaction.
An experimental framework to extract expressive features from the kinematics of the upper-body human movement, based on from non-verbal communication.

To acknowledge the possibility to acquire emotional data from the user movements, using nothing more than the required setup needed to sustain a proper VR experience

Read More By : Filipe A. Rodrigues
Affective Narratives

GDD: Aeon Village

A Game Design Document (GDD) describes the overall vision for a game. There is no consensus in the industry about what should be included in a GDD. However, I believe that it should, at least, respect and contain the Elemental Tetrad of games: Mechanics, Story, Aesthetics, and Technology.

This is the GDD for Aeon Village. An action role-playing game with an emotional driven narrative based on the appraisal theory established by the OCC model of emotions.

Read More By : Filipe A. Rodrigues
Immersive Technology in Telerobotics

Immersive Telerobotic Modular Framework Using Stereoscopic HMD's

The telerobotics field lacks immersive elements, like stereoscopic vision, and solutions are far from affordable. A modular and adaptable platform that can be used in various case studies would give more precious time to researchers focus on their investigation.

I have proposed an alternative approach to common teleoperation methods. The scientific focus was to test the impact that stereoscopic vision and HMDs can bring to the control of robots from a distance.

Available at Amazon By : Filipe A. Rodrigues
Tutorials

Game Development: An Introduction

This is a tutorial aimed at beginners both in computer programming and game development.

With the objective of providing an insight into the scope of developing a video game, it is written with the purpose of touching all the aspects of building a game; from the initial concept and level design, with Tiled, to the game programming process, relying on the Phaser 3 game framework and Javascript programming language.

Check It By : Filipe A. Rodrigues
VR Affective Narratives

Emotional tales: Affective Narratives Promoting Vicarious Immersion

Could affective computing provide cues to enhance the procedural generation of narratives? Could these affective narratives increase the sense of presence in VR?

This work starts by trying to conceive a definition for the concept of immersion, then proceed to a brief exposition to the uses and gratifications theory, then we propose a formalization of narratives for digital media, and finally narrow our focus on a literature review of affective computing for self-reflection in digital media and the problems of emergent stories and procedural generation of narratives.

Read More By : Filipe A. Rodrigues

Get in Touch

email

subrodrigues@gmail.com

linkedin

linkedin.com/in/filipesubrodrigues