Past Present.

Welcome to our shows from 2020-2023.

This is a showcase of work by students in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Anglia Ruskin University, who graduated from 2020 to 2022.

It's all of us, together, in a digital show you curate for yourself - not pre-arranged into rooms, courses or disciplines. You do the arranging. Want to see all the red things we made? Or all the work about identity, nature or isolation? Look at what you want to, when you want to, whether it's all the illustration, all the writing, all the movies or performance. You get the idea.

This exhibition is yours for the making. Go explore.

For more information about our faculty, visit the ARU website.
Whilst Anglia Ruskin University remains committed to freedom of speech for individuals, the views and opinions included in this showcase belong to their authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Anglia Ruskin University. If you've got any concerns please contact us.

Aidan McHugh

Computer Games Technology - BSc (Hons)

I am a games programmer driven to create unique experiences, through games as an art medium, by working on games with unique styles and ambitions.

I’m currently based in the southeast of the UK, and enjoy working on particularly niche genres of games. I’m adept in using Unity for Windows, WebGL and Android, but also have experience with the Unreal game engine. My specialty is conveying complex mechanics through intuitive and friendly UI and UX.

My biggest influences in coding stem from two different sources of inspiration; one side being enthralled with the detailed customisable worlds of SimCity and Civilization, the other in love with the aesthetic immersion of games like Ōkami; Celeste and even Tony Hawk’s Underground’s depiction of 00s alternative culture.

In the future, I would love to work on games to learn more about the industry and how to convey ideas through the medium. Having dual citizenship, I would be comfortable working in either the UK or US.

Here’s a collection of solo and team projects I have worked on over the past few years at Anglia Ruskin University. I picked these to showcase how varied games can be, and how games can be both complex and creative.

Micropolis is a solo city builder I made to showcase an understanding of both UI and complex systems. I wanted to develop a city builder with a simple concept to show that not all games in the genre need to be mechanically complicated, and that you can bring real world topics such as renewable energy into them.

Brink of Extinction was a team project where I worked on a dynamic difficulty system, similar to Left 4 Dead’s. Combined with the rest of the team’s efforts, we revamped the classic arcade game Defender into a narrative experience with unique experiences every play.

F.W.A.R.S. HD was a simple live brief team project where Stardew Valley met Mario Party, and showcased how to make a simple yet enjoyable online multiplayer game.

SUN::STAR was a passion project to create a god game with unique mechanics, and treat the player to an aesthetically immersive game about making a habitable planet.