Fae lights
GameMaker
GameJam
GLSL
Fae Lights is a small game we built in just 48 hours for MiniJam #150, working as a tight trio: Nacho Aviles handled visuals and audio, Marcos Pardo focused on gameplay and UI, and I took on the lighting system. The game was made in GameMaker using GML, and it tells a short, atmospheric story about a fairy reclaiming light in a shadowy world.
My main contribution was developing the custom lighting system from scratch. It uses shaders to cast dynamic shadows based on vertex silhouettes, giving the game a soft, mysterious visual identity that played into the theme of "magic" really nicely. Despite the tight deadline, we managed to get it running smoothly and looking exactly how we envisioned.
This was one of the first game jams where everything just clicked. We wrapped up a full project, polished it, and even placed second in the presentation category. You can check out and play Fae Lights for free on itch.io.
About me
I’m a C/C++ developer with a strong focus on graphics programming, low-level engine work, and optimization. I enjoy working close to the hardware, whether it’s refining rendering pipelines, improving performance, or just figuring out how to make things run better. Lately, I’ve been exploring the PS5, getting a feel for what modern consoles bring to the table.
What drives me is building systems that let others create without limitations, whether that’s artists bringing their vision to life or developers pushing their projects further. I like clean, efficient code, and I’m always looking for ways to make things more seamless, more performant, and more intuitive.
juansalvadoraviles@gmail.com