← All work Solo capstone · Shipped

Bowling Alley + Arcade Simulator

A neon arcade and a bowling alley under one roof, where the player places arcade cabinets and walks the space. I took it from two asset packs to a public Windows download under a hard exhibition deadline.

Role: Integration, debugging, release
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Timeline: 2025 to 2026
Build: Windows, 1.64 GB, v0.1

What I did

Configured the Advanced Placement System's data tables so players can place arcade cabinets at runtime.
Debugged pack Blueprints and collision, including a PlayZone volume that blocked interaction with placed machines.
Migrated the project across UE5 engine versions and kept it building through the change.
Ran the cook and package pipeline, and fixed a stale Game Default Map redirector that broke two cook attempts the morning of the deadline.
Shipped the 1.64 GB build through Butler CLI after itch.io's web uploader rejected it at the 1 GB cap, with a store page, a controls readme and a public known-issues list.
Exhibited at the Tarleton capstone gallery in spring 2026 and selected for the Tarleton Student Exhibition at the Cross Timbers Fine Arts Council.

Play on itch.io Watch the walkthrough

Who did what. I didn't model the 3D assets. Both interiors came from two purchased packs, a bowling alley and an arcade, pre-dressed and pre-lit by their authors. The placement Blueprints came from the Advanced Placement System pack.

My work is the integration, debugging and shipping listed here. Images are editor captures from the shipped project.

← All work ARTS 4367 · 3D Rendering and Lighting

Forgotten Cabin in the Pines

An abandoned log cabin in a pine clearing at sunset. The brief: an outdoor UE5 scene lit with Lumen, with real depth from foreground to background and a sky that sells the time of day.

Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Lighting: Lumen GI, Good Sky
Year: Spring 2026
Deliverables: 4 renders, process book

The scene

Cabin from the Slavic Village pack, set in a clearing framed by pines and mossy rocks from the Nanite Environment Bundle, with painted grass foliage.
Good Sky sunset preset driving the directional light, with a real-time sky light, height fog and a post process volume.
Four 1920x1080 renders captured with HighResShot, plus layout and lighting-actor captures for the process book.

Who did what. The cabin, trees and rocks are marketplace assets. The lighting was set up with step-by-step guidance. My part was the composition and the calls on when the light read right.

← All work ARTS 4367 · 3D Rendering and Lighting

Industrial Loft Office

A brick-walled loft office with a desk, whiteboard and leather sofa. The goal was an interior where several light sources work together without washing out the room.

Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Lighting: Multi-source interior
Year: Spring 2026
Deliverables: 3 renders, process book

The scene

Brick, plank flooring and leather materials under mixed interior and window light.
A wide establishing shot plus two panoramic angles across the room.

Who did what. Furniture and props are marketplace assets. The lighting was set up with step-by-step guidance; the art direction and the call on the final look are mine.

← All work ARTS 4367 · 3D Rendering and Lighting

Desert Courtyard

A Moroccan-style palace courtyard with a central fountain, blue domes and desert plants, lit with a warm sun against soft sky fill.

Software: Maya, Arnold
Lighting: HDRI sky plus warm sun
Year: Spring 2026
Deliverables: 3 renders, process book

The scene

Arnold sky dome with a Poly Haven HDRI for fill, plus a warm directional sun for shape and shadow.
Three cameras: an overhead layout shot, a ground-level approach and a fountain detail.

Who did what. The architecture, plants and stones are downloaded assets. The lighting was set up with step-by-step guidance; I directed the look and judged each pass.

← All work ARTS 4367 · 3D Rendering and Lighting

Modern Bedroom

A modern bedroom interior lit as a night scene: warm lamp light inside, cool moonlight through the window.

Software: Maya, Arnold
Lighting: Point lights plus sky dome
Year: Spring 2026
Deliverables: 3 renders, process book

The scene

Interior multi-light setup with lamp warmth against cool window light.
I pushed back on early passes that only lit half the room until the space read like a real bedroom at night.

Who did what. The room, including the orange accent wall, came from an asset pack. Light settings were applied through scripts written for me; I ran them and judged the results.

← All work In progress

BAAS v2 rebuild

The shipped capstone was a placement demo, not a game: no customers, no economy, no playable bowling. v2 is a ground-up rebuild in Unreal Engine 5.8 with grid placement and real systems, built in milestone order.

My role: Design and art direction
Engine: Unreal Engine 5.8, C++
Started: August 2026
Status: Milestone 1 next

Milestones

M1 · next
Grid and placement
M2
Machine data
M3
Economy loop
M4
NPC customers
M5
Customer preference
M6
Day cycle

Who does what. I own the design and art direction. The C++ is written with Claude Code under my direction.

← All work Coursework · 2025

Basketball Hoop Animation

A short prop animation of a basketball and hoop on a concrete pad, rendered at 1920x1080. The focus was timing, material balance and presentation.

Software: Maya
Output: 1920x1080 animation
Year: 2025
Type: Coursework

Watch the render

← All work Personal projects · 2026

AI-directed automation

Two working systems that Claude built and runs under my direction. I don't write the code. I decide what each system is for, set the rules it has to follow, and judge what comes out. As companies bring AI into everyday work, that is the job: point it at a real problem, set the rules, and catch it when it is wrong.

My role: Direction, rules, review
Built by: Claude (AI agents)
Systems: 2, both running
Year: 2026

Short-form clipping pipeline

Watches 5 MrBeast channels, writes captions on the GPU, cuts vertical clips and posts them to TikTok, Instagram and YouTube through Buffer.
I set the posting rules and the compliance rules for paid clipping campaigns. The pipeline follows them.
128 clips cut from 25 videos in the first run.

Unreal Sleep video pipeline

Production pipeline for Unreal Sleep, a YouTube channel of 3-hour ambient videos rendered in Unreal Engine 5.
Six videos published, each one reviewed and approved by me before upload.
The channel's uploader passed Google's YouTube API audit.

Catching wrong output

Rejected a generated logo.
Caught a clip that broke a sponsor's brief.
Forced fixes before anything went back out.

How I work with it

1 · Spec
Say what it is for
What the system should do and what done looks like.
2 · Rules
Set the limits
Posting caps, campaign briefs, title and audio checks it has to pass.
3 · Review
Judge the output
Approve it, or send it back with what is wrong.

Who does what. Claude built and runs these systems. I directed them, set the rules, and reviewed the output. Ask me about the calls I made and why; the code is Claude's.

Justin Beck

Selected work