Bruno Stecanella

Videogames

I like to make video games. I enjoy working on small, challenging projects on my free time, usually cloning something I like and putting my own cheeky spin on it. Feel free to try these demos out and let me know if you like them :)

LIGHTBALL

2021

An Arkanoid clone with some space shooter thrown in for good measure. Featuring 3D graphics, procedurally generated levels, a lot of lights and wacky sounds. It's playable in the browser, with a downloadable version available.

The Tale of Zulma

2021

A short demo of a Zelda-like game I made in Unity. I had worked with the engine before, but this was the first project I got to a completed, playable state. I wanted to get a hold of the engine's basics with something that had simple mechanics, but used its 2D features. Playable in the browser!

ESTAR WORDS

2017

A scripted demo of a space battle created using WebGL. This project was created for the Advanced Computer Graphics class at FIng, UdelaR alongside a partner. We built our own engine in JavaScript and implemented model loading, mapped terrain, simple physics, particles, dynamic lights and even some shadows.

Technical writing

During my time at MonkeyLearn (now acquired by Medallia and closed) I wrote a lot for the company blog (I also implemented the blog itself). I actually enjoyed this a lot, and we had some viral hits — at least in the small world of B2B articles about text processing. Here are some articles that I had a hand in:

• Trump vs Hillary: sentiment analysis on Twitter mentions (this one included an interactive tool that is long gone, sadly)
• Machine Learning over 1M hotel reviews finds interesting insights
• A practical explanation of a Naive Bayes classifier
• Understanding TF-IDF: A Simple Introduction
• Support Vector Machines (SVM) Algorithm Explained

Reading

Here are some texts that taught me a lot about programming. I recommend all of them:

• The Codeless Code by Qi. A humorous set of fables that nevertheless taught me a lot about the philosophy of programming. I find myself internally quoting some of these stories on many decisions while I'm coding.
• Game Programming Patterns by Robert Nystrom. This book taught me how a video game is actually made. It shows what the requirements of a videogame as a computer program are, and the techniques that can be used to fulfill them. Nystrom is an excellent writer, and the book is engaging from beginning to end.
• Programming as Theory Building by Peter Naur. The most accurate description of how software development works, and what the relationship between the programmers and the program is. Can get a bit abstract and hard to understand; this article by Baldur Bjarnason has a good summary of the main points.
• The Grug Brained Developer. A hilarious, satirical, and completely true guide for being a competent software developer. I think about this article at least once a week.
• Stevey's Google Platforms Rant. Just completely on point. I hope one day I can write half as engagingly as Steve Yegge.
• Programming with Pascal by John Konvalina. This book taught me programming. Pascal is extremely outdated now, but the basic concepts outlined in this book are universal and hold up to this day.