It’s all fun and (addictive!) games for ESI software engineer Jet Thompson

On April 16, 2025, UMBC held its annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) conference. This event features research done by undergraduates from all majors under the supervision of a faculty mentor. At URCAD, ESI software engineer Jet Thompson and his collaborators demonstrated a video game called Bullet Blox. Mr. Thompson's team developed the game over the last year with Dr. Marc Olano, Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at UMBC, for the Capstone Games Group Project course (CMSC493/ART485). 

Bullet Blox is a platformer similar to Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros., where the player jumps to progress through a series of vertical levels. In Mr. Thompson’s game, the player can break the blocks that form the platforms and use them against the enemies. “My role in development was Programming Lead, so I was in charge of determining what programming tasks needed to be done, who should do them, and of course do some core programming myself. Thanks for my prior experience with Unity, I also assisted with design decisions and in determining what art assets were necessary for the game,” he said.

Mr. Thompson showcased a second game, Phantom Feline, that he developed with a different group of collaborators at the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Student Games Showcase on April 28, 2025 at Baltimore’s MICA campus. Unlike with Bullet Blox, the player controls a sneaky cat that can travel through walls, but only if the wall is illuminated. Each level is short, but the player must maneuver carefully to take advantage of the lights, while avoiding enemies and pits.

At ESI, Mr. Thompson developed the operational software of AirHARP2, a collection of four

Earth-observation instruments that flew during NASA’s recent PACE-PAX field campaign. His software and after-hours troubleshooting with the ESI team in the field was a major factor in the success of AirHARP2 during PACE-PAX. He also leads a team of undergraduate software engineers at ESI in the development of a digital twin architecture for next-generation satellite measurements.

Photo (Bullet Blox): The title screen and an action shot from Mr. Thompson’s Bullet Blox

video game. Photo Credit: J. Thompson/ESI.

Photo (Phantom Feline): In Mr. Thompson’s Phantom Feline, the cat must make it up to the door in each level by passing through illuminated walls. Photo Credit: J. Thompson/ESI.