About Me

Hello, there. My name is Manar Ajhar. I am a game developer with more than 7 years of experience in game development. I am highly skills in using Unity and Unreal Engine (4 and 5). I also develop various types of games, such as adventure-platforming games, augmented reality (AR) games, virtual reality games for phones, and first-person shooter games. I also have more skills, such as web-development and graphics design.

Location

Sharjah,
the United Arab Emirates

Birthday

10^th May, 1993

Nationality

Canadian

Visa

Golden Visa,
the United Arab Emirates

My Experiences

Education

1.

Queen's University

Duration

September 2021 - June 2023

Location

Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Degree

Master's Degree

Major

Computing Sciences

GPA

3.50

Website

Click Here

Webpage

Click Here
Description
- Learned about Game Architecture, Artificial Intelligence, Physics, and Networking in Unity;
- Used a program called RSTARE to program a software (uses C++);
- Learned about User Interfaces;
- Learned about Collecting Data in Python, using NumPy and Pandas;
- Studied Cyber-Physical Security;
- Studied Semantics in Programming Languages;
- Built two video games in Unity for both platforms, PCs and smartphones;
- Learned new techniques in programming video games These techniques include:
- Made an interface to make a playable character perform actions across multiple input devices;
- Learned about advanced Human-Computer Interaction.
2.

Sheridan College

Duration

September 2017 - October 2018

Location

Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Degree

Post-Graduate Certificate

Major

Game Development: Advanced Programming

GPA

3.18

Website

Click Here

Webpage

Click Here
Description
At Sheridan College, I learned new techniques about video games and how the game industry works. The platform that I used at my time there was Unity. During my time there:
- Learned how to save memory and prevent memory leakage in programming for video games;
- Implemented XML parsing in programming;
- Learned about creating decision managers in Unity;
- Have experience in how to debug code scripts;
- Created a game project similar to "Zork", a game made in the late 1970s with no graphics, but only texts and giving commands. Besides using C++ in Visual Studio, the mini-project we had to build incorporated XML parsing to load characters, objects and items, scenes and areas, and links between them.
- Learned about the history of games, video games, how the industry works, and how to manage projects and team members.
- Worked with a team to make a mobile game for the iPhone for a capstone project. The team had: One more developer besides me, two designers, and an artist.
3.

University of Sharjah

Duration

September 2013 - January 2017

Location

Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates

Degree

Bachelor's Degree

Major

Information Technology Multimedia

GPA

3.23

Website

Click Here

Webpage

Click Here
Description
My time at the University of Sharjah was the first time I have learned about programming. Some of the languages I learned included:
- C++;
- Java;
- HTML;
- php;
- SQL; and
- JavaScript (for Unity and HTML only);
The program that I was enrolled in included my specialities besides general programming, including:
- Game Development;
- Multimedia Programming;
- 3D Animations;
- Graphics Design;
- Web Programming;
- Video Editing; and
- Database Programming.

Projects

1.

University Zombie Crisis

Category

Video Game

Duration

September 2015 - May 2016

Company

University of Sharjah

Location

Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates
Description
This was my graduation project during my bachelor's program in the University of Sharjah. We used Unity to build this game. However, back then, we used JavaScript as our programming language, instead of C#, and the platform we used for scripting was MonoBehaviour.

The project was a first person shooter (FPS) game where the player needs to shoot zombies in the university's campus (specifically, the men's section). The arena of the game (which is the campus) consisted of 7 buildings:
- M4;
- M5;
- M6;
- M7;
- M8;
- M9 (Locked at first); and
- M10.
The player can roam around the campus freely, inside the buildings and out. The game consisted of riddles, weapons-switching, and helping a hostage.

The game is divided into 5 phases (we called them "waves"), and they are done in their respective order:
1. Shooting 20 zombies;
2. Activating an elevator;
3. Rescuing a hostage;
4. Fighting a boss; and
5. Destroying a scepter.
As mentioned earlier, this is an FPS game. So, mainly the campus is completely covered in zombies who are either patrolling around by default, or attacking the player when he/she is too near to one.

The plot
The plot of the game starts with the University of Sharjah (UoS) being invited to a conference in Argentina. The conference is for students from universities from around the world to present their projects. UoS accepted the invitation, travelled to Buenos Aries, and reserved a hotel there. UoS's group consisted of some students (roughly between 20 or 30), two instuctors, and a vice-chancellor who would be the main representative of the university.

One day, the group went to a museum to as tourists, and they were accompanied by a tour guide. As they were exploring the place, at one point, they entered a room that strictly had no window. In the room, there was a display of crown jewels. It was said that the jewels belonged to the ancient king of the Undead. While the crown was obviously the most supreme and prominent of all of the jewels, another piece was said to be the most dangerous.

In ancient times, day times would be safe from dark reigns. At night, however, there would appear an evil king who would rise his scepter to the moon. When the scepter's jewel is struck by moonlight, zombies would arise from the grounds around the king, ready to serve him. With his horde of zombies, the king would terrorize villages, kill innocent people, and expand his evil dynasty. Night after night, he would rise his scepter over and over again, to expand his army and slaughter anyone who stands in his way. It would seem that all hope is lost. Until finally a group of heroic warriors decided to put an end to the evil king. They fought bravely again the king and his army, toppling down his dark empire, and liberating the innocent people. The king tried to escape, but he was eventually surrounded by his foes. The king has died and the heroes screamed victory and freedom. They wrote history on a cloth and wrapped the cloth around the scepter.

Everyone in the group were amazed by the story. Then they continued their tour around the museum.

A few days later was the conference. The student were getting their projects ready for display. They were competing with other students from other invited universities. The judges came to evaluate all of the groups, where each group represented their university. The judges went to each group, one-by-one, taking notes from each in every student and his/her project to evaluate the his/her capabilities. After the judges were done evaluating, they would take 30 minutes to make their final decision. Then it was time to announce the winners. The winner was... the University of Sharjah! The students cheered for their win and came on stage to get their prize. The judges handed over a big, gorgeous wooden box to the winners, and when they opened the box, it had a replica of the scepter that the students saw in the museum the other day. Photos were being taken for this joyful and proud moment.

It was time to head back home. They took a plane to head back to the UAE, and everyone was excited to share their experiences in Argentina. The first day after the weekend, students and teachers were preparing a small presentation event in M9, where they would share their expereinces in Argentina. It was a pleasant experience, they would like to do it again. They event proudly showed the audience the replica scepter that they won and shared its origins. When the event was done, the audience gave an applause to the presenters. Then the presenters proudly placed their prize in the cabinet in M9. Another applause was given.

But danger lurks in every corner... At night, the moon was high enough in the sky that it is difficult not be seen without a window. The moon's light hit the roof windows of M9, while the scepter was still inside the building... Despite it being a replica, it will function as its original... As the moonlight hit the top jewen of the scpeter, the jewel started to glow brighter and brighter. A security gaurd patrolling around the campus suddenly noticed zombies arising from the grounds of the campus. Terrified, he ran with his life to call the rescue team to solve this problem. The gaurd managed to run and hide. Finally, the SWAT team arrived, and the game begins...
Slideshow
This is the main video of the project.

This is the UI to insert the code to access the elevator. After inserting the correct code, phase 2 is complete.

Switching and using the M4A1 rifle instead of the firearm.

The bloody screen effect indicate that the player was attacked.

This is the inside of M7. There are not much lights, other than the torch from the first-player person, since it is dark at night and lights are off.

These are a horde of zombies approaching the player to attack them.

This is the 3D model used for the FPS player. It is downloaded from the internet. Source: click here.

This is the 3D model used for the Hostage. It is downloaded from the internet. Source unknown.

This is a 3D model used for one of the zombies. It is downloaded from the internet. Source: click here

This is a 3D model used for one of the zombies. This model was the most used among the all of the zombie models. It is downloaded from the internet. Source unknown.

This is a 3D model of one of the zombies. It is downloaded from the internet. Source unknown.

This is the 3D model used for the scepter. At the end of the game, the player will need to shoot the scepter to win.

The model is downloaded from the internet. Source unknown.

This is the 3D model used for the helicopter. In phase 3, the player is required to deliver the hostage to it. The helicopter is located on the roof of M7.

The model is downloaded from the internet. Source unknown.

This screenshot is about the final boss that takes place in M9. The fight of the final boss is Phase 4. It consists of the following:

The Big Final Zombie Boss;

4 Evil Dogs; and

The Scepter.

The player needs to fight the big boss himself only. However, the dogs will aid the boss, making the difficulty of the fight higher.

In fact, thoughout the game before Phase 4, the entry to M9 is locked because it is saved for mentioned phase.

A view of the university's campus.
Content Description
1 / 4
2.

mARbles

Category

Video Game

Duration

January 2018 - August 2018

Company

Sheridan College

Location

Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Description
Slideshow
This is a "trailer" of the project, which was done by another team member of the project. In the video, I'm the guy with the red T-shirt that says "NYC".

This is the advertising poster of the game. It was done by the artist of our group.

This is a general view of the game. As you can see, there are:

2 marbles;

An arrow that fades from yellow to red;

Amber particles around the red marble;

The following UI elements:

A white over the red marble;

3 buttons on the bottom-right corner:

A blue button with a shield icon (Defense Button);

A green button with an arrow icon pointing to the top (Jump Button); and

A red button with a fire icon (Attack Button); and

A white button on the bottom-left corner with an arrow pointing to the right (Move Button);

A timer on the very top-middle of the screen;

2 big, full hearts and a small, empty heart on the top-left corner of the screen; and

A ranking system on the top-right corner of the screen.

This is a view of the marbles defending themselves. Notice the red and pink marbles being surrounded by blue particles, which indicate that they are defending themselves (The red marble is the marble of the current player). Also, take a look on how the blue frame of the blue button (Shield Button) has disappeared. It will gradually re-appear and refill by a certain number of seconds.

This is the starting point of a marble. There are 4 starting points in the scene, and each one belongs to a specific player/marble. When the game starts, or if the marble dies, they start from this spot. The player should press the red button to jump into the main arena.

This is the arrow of where the player is facing in respect to the camera.
Content Description
1 / 4
3.

Mixed Reality Project

Category

Application

Duration

June 2022 - July 2022

Company

Athabasca University

Location

Athabasca, Alberta, Canada (Remote)
Description
During my time at Queen's University, I was enrolled in a course in another University, called Athabasca University. The reason for my enrollment was to because I had failed a course. Therefore, to compensate for this, one solution was to enroll in a program while simultaneosly to my master's project during the spring and summer. The name of the course that I was enrolled in is "Human Computer Interaction". For more information, click here.

When I was taking this course, we had to do a final project for it. Initially, I wanted to make a mixed reality (MR) application in Unity that takes advantage of Nintendo Switch's Joy-Con controllers. These controllers were a perfect combination between XR controllers and traditional controllers. Unfortunately, capabilities of the Joy-Cons outside of their purposed console were very thin. Even open-source tools did not provide much help. Thus, I had to revert to a more traditional game controller, specifically the DualShock 4.

Basically, the application is about changing the propeties of a virtual cube in an MR environment. The most accessible way to create an MR scene was to have a phone be used as a headset. To make the experience complete, however, I also had to use a special type of headset, one that can be used for turning smartphone into one. The additional headset component is displayed and described in the slideshow.

The user can change the cube's:
1. Color;
2. Opacity;
3. Position;
4. Rotation; or
5. Size.
Additionally, the user can also "grab" the cube and move it from one spot to another. Besides the cube, the user is also given two UI canvases:
1. One is to change the visual properties (color and opacity) of the cube; and
2. The other is to change the geomterical properties (position, rotation, and size) of the cube.
Any changes that happen in the canvas(es) will reflect onto the cube. The canvases will be described further in the slideshow.

Another technology that was used to make this small application is called "Raycasting". In Unity, a raycast is a straight, invisible line that starts from a certain point (In this project's case, it would be the very middle of the user's view.) and continues either infinity or to a certain distance until it hits an entity. To demonstrate that raycasting works, there is a red circle in the center of the user's view. If the raycasting line detects something that the user can interact with, the red circle will turn green.
Slideshow
This is a video demonstrating the project in action.

This is the headset for smartphones that I used for the project. Conveptually, it is similar to Google's Cardboard. A user can insert his/her iPhone or Android phone into the headset and use this combination as a virtual reality (VR) headset. I bought the product from Amazon Canada. For more information about the product, click here.

This is the color canvas. It has 4 sliders, 12 buttons for preset colors, and a square to show the current color. The coloring scheme follows the RGBA coloring rule. RGBA stands for "Red-Green-Blue-Alpha".

The sliders give the user more flexibility and precision on what color and opacity that he/she might like to pick. Each of the sliders works as follows:

"Red" is used to change the level of the red color;

"Green" is used to change the level of the green color;

"Blue" is used to change the level of the blue color; and

"Alpha" is used to change the opacity level.

Another option to select colors is to use the preset colors provided. In the very middle of the canvas, there is the "Select Preset" button. At first, the colored buttons around it would be hidden. When the user presses it (via raycasting), the colored buttons will appear. When a colored button is clicked on, its color will be the selected color of the cube. Also, the first three sliders will change their values to match that for the selected color, and the value of the "Alpha" slider will be set to 100%.

As you can see in the image, the buttons are displayed like a prefect circle around the "Select Preset" button. Programatically, this is done using a "for" loop. The number of iterations of the loop equals the total number of colors provided. In this case, it is 12. The procedure of each loop is as follows:

We get the angle of direction for each iteration, using the following function: Θ_i = ((i * 360) / n), where:

"i" is the integer number of the current iteration (It increases by one in every iteration.);

"Θ_i" is the angle of the current iteration ("Θ" is a greek symbol, and it is pronounced "Theta".);

"n" is the total number of iterations (Also, an integer, 12 in this case.); and

360 is the angle of a full circle in degrees (In radians, it would be 2π, instead.).

"π" is also a greek symbol, and it is pronounced "PI". It is a constant value roughly equal to 3.1415926535.

We get the sine and cosine values of Θ_i to know the button's directions in the x and y axes, respectively.

dir_i.x = sin(Θ_i);

dir_i.y = cos(Θ_i).

We multiply the sine and cosine values with a magnitude (or a radius). I set the radius to 5.
pos_i.x = dir_i.x * 5;

pos_i.y = dir_i.y * 5.

This is the geometry canvas (Or Transform canvas). It has the following components (or UI elements):

A Dropdown List;

Three Tick Boxes;

"-" and "+" Buttons;

A Sensitivity Slider;

A "Reset" Button; and

A Display Panel;

Except of the last component, all of the UI elements in the canvas are interactable via the same raycast line that is used to interact with the color canvas and the cube itself.

The dropdown list provides the options of what geometrical property of the cube would the user want to modify. The options are:

Position (Default Option);

Rotation; and

Size.

The user can only modify one of the three properties at a time.

The three tick boxes tell in which axis or axes would the user want to modify the germetrical property of the cube. Each tick box correspond to a specific axis. They are:

x-axis (In Red, Right and Left Axis);

y-axis (In Green, Up and Down Axis); and

z-axis (In Blue, Forward and Backwards Axis).

When modifying the geometrical property of the cube, specifically via the canvas, it will be modified within the axes where their tick boxes are checked.

The cyan "+" button and red "-" button are used to respectively increase or decrease the values of the selected geometrical property of the cube. When pressing either button, the changes are based on the selected property in the dropbox, the selected axes in the tick boxes, and the value of the sensitivity slider. Mentioned slider is used for controlling the quantity/amount of change per press of either button.

The "Reset" button is for resetting the geometrical properties of the cube back to their original values.

Lastly, the panel in the middle shows the geomterical values of the cube. The panel updates with the changes that happen onto the cube. The panel is presented like a table, where the rows represent the geometrical properties and the columns represent the axes.

This is the starting point of a marble. There are 4 starting points in the scene, and each one belongs to a specific player/marble. When the game starts, or if the marble dies, they start from this spot. The player should press the red button to jump into the main arena.

This is the arrow of where the player is facing in respect to the camera.
Content Description
1 / 4

Award

1.

The Magic Number

Event

UoS Computer Festival

Time

December 2014

Company

University of Sharjah

Location

Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates

Ranking

Third Place
Description
During my time in the University of Sharjah, I took a course called "Web Development". In that course, I did a small project which was a webpage that can output any number between 1 and 31 inclusively. The procedure is as follows:
1. I would ask a user to think of any number within mentioned range;
2. I would go through 5 tables, each with a checkbox;
3. Lastly, I would click the "Submit" button and the number will appear in a textbox.
There are 5 checkboxes. However, there is a also an integer variable that is initialized to 0. The role of the checkboxes is to add to the value of the integer, and each checkbox corresponds a certain value. The respective addable values are 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16. Thus, for example, after you click on "Submit", if the first checkbox is ticked, the program will add 1 to the integer. Once all the checkbo are evaluated, the final value of the integer will be displayed.

Professional Experiences

1.

Intern

Duration

July 2015 - August 2015

Company

Newcastle University

Location

Newcastle upon Tyne, England, the United Kingdom

Website

Click Here

Description

As part of my Bachelor's program, I had to do an internship. I did mine in Newcastle University. There, I learned about two new game engines: Construct 2 and Unreal Engine 4.
2.

Cashier

Duration

September 2018 - August 2021

Company

Walmart

Location

Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Website

Click Here

Description

Hello, there.
3.

Game Developer and Research Assistant

Duration

October 2023 - Present

Company

University of Sharjah

Location

Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates

Website

Click Here

Description

Hello, there.

Courses

1.

Character Drawing

Official Name

Character Art School: Complete Character Drawing

Duration

June 2021

Platform

Udemy

Website

Click Here

Webpage

Click Here

Description

Hello, there.