Zachary Talis

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Résumé - Blog - Music - Firefish (Fediverse)

2022
Schlorpin'

A short 3D block-pushing game made (in eight days) with LÖVR for 1d1p 40. Code, models, textures, sounds, music, and puzzles all custom-made.

▸ View game

▸ Watch solutions video

Ivy Slyly

A pen-and-paper puzzle genre about meandering vines of ivy.

▸ View rules and puzzles

Ionic Squares

A pen-and-paper puzzle genre about square fences.

▸ View rules and puzzles

Tools for Looksy

Two related tools for making Witness-style puzzles in Looksy.

The first tool turns symbol patterns into images; the second tool randomly generates and serves these images.

▸ View looksy-foreground-gen code

▸ View looksy-rando-flask code

Lunge

A Hammer-built Portal 2 map. Features a custom ambient tune.

▸ View map

▸ Watch trailer

2021
"Full Bloom: Diegetic UI for musical phrases in virtual reality"

A paper I co-authored describing the interaction system of Full Bloom. Peer-reviewed by and published in RIT's Frameless Journal.

▸ View abstract

▸ Read paper PDF

paceboard

A template-based static site generator for speedrun leaderboards. Allows users to configure site details, implement categories, and add runs all from a single Python script.

▸ Visit demo site

▸ View code

PaceRIP

A community for streamers and speeddrunners who stream on open platforms. I maintain PaceRIP's various shared services, notably its streaming-only PeerTube instance and custom instance styling.

▸ Visit info site

alyx-multiplayer

A multiplayer mod for Half-Life: Alyx running on Windows, made in collaboration with a few folks.

"Modders have made an open-source multiplayer mod that lets you play the game alongside a friend, spawning them in as a floating moral support robot. And it's well cute." - Imogen Beckhelling, Rock Paper Shotgun

▸ Visit site

▸ View code

AltTextBot

A Javacord bot for Discord, designed to reduce message clutter associated with image alt-text. Code written and improved iteratively by my partner and I.

▸ Visit site

▸ View code

My twin twists to lower pressure

Hold music written for PaceRIP's Alternate Platform Day.

▸ Stream album

2020
Raster Stim

An ambient EP written at the tail-end of 2020, consisting of an eleven-minute looping tune divvied into three chunks.

▸ Stream album

Hull

A short map for Half-Life: Alyx. Features custom models and materials, all arranged within the Source 2 engine.

Reached the top of the HL:A Workshop.

▸ View map

Celeste Spring Collab Soundtrack

A dual-volume soundtrack for the 2020 Celeste Spring Community Collab.

I contributed five original tunes, and organized the soundtrack's distribution across various streaming services.

▸ Stream album

Ligament

A Celeste map for the 2020 Celeste Spring Community Collab.

▸ Watch playthrough

Nowhere New (Original Game Soundtrack)

An ambient soundtrack commissioned by Space Girl Studios for their game Nowhere New. Includes composition performed by pianist DS Music.

"Sounds like my brain is drowning..." - Swush

▸ View game

▸ Stream album

Full Bloom

A virtual musical instrument developed in Unity. I served as Team Lead/3D Artist on this project.

Showcased at VR Toronto, ACM Siggraph, and RIT Frameless Symposium.

▸ Visit site

▸ Read production booklet

VRTO 2020 - Fervor in Full Bloom

A talk I gave on the final day of VR Toronto 2020. "Fervor in Full Bloom" reutilizes Bloom methodology, transcribing user messages into ambient noise and video for the virtual space.

"A terrific experiment by Zachary Talis that fostered an unforgettable moment..." - Keram Malicki-Sánchez

▸ Watch talk

▸ Watch recording of direct feed

OwnTracks Log

This repository, when configured to run at startup on an internet-configured Windows computer, scrapes GeoJSON location data uploaded to AdafruitIO from an OwnTracks source.

▸ View code

Mushymania OST

A chiptune-inspired soundtrack composed for Mushymania, a game created for the Power Up With Pride 2020 community race.

This race, alongside game sales, raised over $800 in donations for the Trevor Project.

▸ View game

JOJOVANIA OST

Original soundtrack for JOJOVANIA, a game made with Hex and JohnnyJoestar for JoJo Jam 2020. The precursor to Mushymania OST.

▸ Stream album

▸ View game

Block Rocker

A Sokoban-style sound puzzler created within a week as a class group project. Heavily influenced by MIDI piano rolls.

▸ View game

2019
Space Wizard School OST

Original soundtrack for the game Space Wizard School, a game made with Hex for RIT's Jam for a Cause 2019.

Entire soundtrack composed within 24hrs.

▸ Stream album

Vacuity Gallop

A harsh and nervous electronic EP.

▸ Stream album

Berlebeck

A tug-of-war Team Fortress 2 map on a desert plateau, made within the Source Engine for the TF2Maps Payload Checklist Contest.

▸ View map

iD Tech Camp (Instructor)

Integrated programming and circuitry coursework with hands-on activities and group projects, coordinating with other instructors.

Proudly pied in the face by campers.

▸ View info

Lorem Gypsum

A short ambient EP about a loss for words.

"...[Zachary's] penchant for sampling large crowds makes me feel like I'm witness to an aural spectacle." - Chris Trottier

▸ Stream album

Drubb Machine

An electronic EP that serves as a dive into moral panic.

▸ Stream album

Bullet Glide

An arcade-style, score-driven game. Features a combination of unique mouse controls and enemy behavior that encourages swift movement. Developed using GameMaker Studio 2.

▸ View game

Star in a Lake

A small, audio-driven game about discovering chromatic fish. Developed using GameMaker Studio 2.

▸ View game

2018
Dejavu

A symmetrical capture-the-flag Team Fortress 2 map set in an abstract industrial facility. Made within the Source Engine, and playtested by the TF2Maps community.

▸ View map

Tradesmen International (Operations Assistant)

Acted as a liaison between field employees, branch offices, and corporate offices to facilitate accurate timekeeping. Managed business contacts via Bullhorn CRM.

▸ View info

Old San Juan

An electronic/sound collage EP about feeling like a tourist. I shot a ten-minute music video for the project using both standard cameras as well as a 360° camera.

This film was chosen for debut at the April 2019 RIT Student Government Art Show.

▸ Watch music video

▸ Stream album