About

Rithvik Mandya profile photo

Game AI programmer and gameplay engineer focused on turning ML research into playable experiences. I build learning agents (DQN/Project Malmo, UE5 Learning Agents) and systems that feel responsive on real hardware. At the University of Utah I’m exploring human-in-the-loop RL for Minecraft and prototyping a wearable neck exoskeleton that delivers haptic posture cues for VR. Previously I shipped Unity/Unreal prototypes from 2D RPGs and a CV-driven sports sim to VR/AR molecular visualization and contributed ML tooling in drug-discovery workflows. I care about tight feel, clean, readable code, and performance.

Interests

Game Development

Reinforcement Learning

Game Programming

AI

Education

University of Utah logo

Master of Entertainment Arts and Engineering — Game Engineering

August 2025 – May 2027 (In Progress)
Relevant Coursework
  • Game Engine Architecture
  • Unity & Unreal Engine
  • Game Design
University logo

B.Tech. in Computer Science and Engineering — AIML

July 2021 – May 2025
Relevant Coursework
  • Database Management Systems
  • Algorithms & Optimization for Big Data
  • Machine Learning

Experience

Robotics Center and School of Computing, University of Utah

Sep 2025 – Present

Research Assistant

  • Designed and prototyped a wearable neck exoskeleton for VR, implementing a UCB1 multi-armed bandit to learn user preferences and switch among MLP, LSTM, and parameter-vector controllers; co-designed the evaluation simulation.
  • Built a baseline DQN in Microsoft Project Malmo for navigation and resource collection (replay buffer, target network, ε-greedy), and created datasets and training pipelines for imitation learning.

David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah

Aug 18 2025 – Sep 2025

Teaching Assistant

  • Mentored students on coding best practices and project work.
  • Graded assignments and provided feedback to improve student learning outcomes.

Zen Technologies

August 2024 – December 2024

Game Developer Intern

  • Developed and trained NPC agents using machine learning for battle simulations in military and special police force scenarios.
  • Used the Learning Agents plugin in Unreal Engine 5.3 to create adaptive, AI-driven characters for realistic combat environments.
  • Collaborated with teams to enhance realism and performance through advanced AI integration.

Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar

May 2024 – July 2024

Research Intern

  • Developed a VR/AR application for molecular simulation in Unity (C#) to predict nanoparticle orientation.
  • Created an interactive tool for research and education in nanotechnology.
  • Drove integration of cutting-edge visualization into nano studies.

Learning Curve Technologies, Bangalore

November 2023 – January 2024

Game Developer Intern

  • Built 2D first-person RPGs and educational modules using Unity, Blender, and C#.
  • Designed interactive learning resources combining gameplay mechanics with educational content.

Vasukam, Bangalore

August 2023 – October 2023

Game Design Intern

  • Designed levels, characters, and environments for a tower-based RPG with Unity, Blender, and Maya.
  • Created a Game Design Document (GDD) outlining core mechanics, narrative, and visual style.

Centella Scientific, Hyderabad

May 2023 – September 2023

AI/ML Intern

  • Contributed to optimization algorithms in AI for drug discovery.
  • Applied ML techniques to analyze large datasets and predict molecular properties.

Projects

  • All
  • GameDev
  • ML and other

Human-in-the-Loop RL for Minecraft (Project Malmo)

Human-in-the-Loop RL for Minecraft (Project Malmo)

September 2025 – Present

  • Baseline DQN with replay buffer, target network, and ε-greedy for navigation/resource missions.
  • Lightweight human feedback for reward shaping.
  • Built datasets and pipelines for imitation learning; logged learning curves.
GitHub

VR Neck Exoskeleton (Posture Support & Haptics)

VR Neck Exoskeleton project

May 2025 – Present

  • Wearable neck assist with posture cues and gentle support; Unity↔firmware telemetry/control.
  • UCB1 bandit to switch among MLP/LSTM/parameter-vector controllers from user preference.
  • Calibration, ROM safety guards, low-latency haptics.
GitHub

Indonesian VR History Shop Sim

Indonesian VR History Shop Sim

August 2025 – September 2025

  • Interactive VR “history shop” with artifacts, bartering, and context-aware dialogue.
  • Smooth locomotion, grab/physics, scene streaming; steady 90 FPS standalone VR.
GitHub

HellBert

HellBert game

August 2025

  • Character controller + platform-flipping with buffered input and tweened jumps.
  • Physics collisions, audio/animation triggers, platform state transitions; PC + Android.
GitHub

Pompeii (Fast-Paced FPS)

Pompeii fast-paced FPS

Epic Games Jam 2025

  • Unreal Engine (C++ & Blueprints), Blender, Maya.
  • Contributions: weapon mechanics, health/damage system, animation setup.
GitHub

Howzat! (CV Cricket Simulator)

Computer vision cricket simulator

Aug 2024 – Oct 2024

  • Unity cricket with real-time gesture batting via Python CVZone.
  • Blender stadiums/animations; physics-based ball dynamics.
GitHub

Driving Cars Using Reinforcement Learning

Reinforcement learning for driving project
  • UE 5.3 Learning Agents + Blueprints to train autonomous behaviors.
  • Reward shaping, curriculum tasks, evaluation scenarios.
GitHub

Flappy Bird Q-Learning

Flappy Bird Q-Learning
  • Tabular Q-learning; ε-greedy and reward tuning.
  • Metrics logging to compare exploration schedules.
GitHub

Lunar Lander DQN

Lunar Lander DQN
  • DQN with experience replay & target networks on Gym LunarLander.
  • Reward shaping for soft landings; return vs. episodes plots.
GitHub

Book: Level Up!

Level Up! book notes
  • Condensed design patterns, loops, and balancing into a practical playbook.
  • Applied to prototypes to tighten game feel and pacing.
Buy Now

VR/AR Molecular Simulation

VR/AR molecular simulation
  • Unity + C# app for interactive molecular visualization and orientation prediction.
  • Optimized rendering and VR controls for smooth exploration.
GitHub

Smart Emergency Response System (ESP32)

IoT emergency response system
  • ESP32 sensor fusion and event triggers; real-time alerts over Wi-Fi.
  • Modular firmware and cloud hooks for rapid prototyping.
GitHub

Startup Success Prediction

Startup success prediction ML project
  • Classifiers over funding, team, and market features; feature importance and ROC analysis.
  • Simple API for inference and experiment tracking.
GitHub

Snow Boarder

Snow Boarder game
  • Arcade physics with responsive input and ramp/rail interactions.
  • Level scripting and camera tuning for flow and visibility.
GitHub

Reinforcement Learning Agents

Reinforcement learning agents project
  • Sandbox of RL experiments for NPC behavior and control policies.
  • Metrics dashboard for reward curves and ablation studies.
GitHub

Skills

Languages and Databases

Java HTML5 CSS3 C++ C# Python

Frameworks

Django Node.js TensorFlow PyTorch OpenCV scikit-learn

Tools

Unity Arduino Jupyter Anaconda Salesforce Blender Unreal Engine

Publications & Achievements

Level Up (Book on Game Development with Unity)

2023

Authored Level Up, a practical guide to game development in Unity. Buy on Amazon

Evaluating Deep Q-Networks Based Agents in Game Environments

2024 — Under Publication

RamKumar, M. & Rithvik, M. Reinforcement learning for Flappy Bird: DQN agent evaluation in a constrained game setting.

Reinforcement Learning for Autonomous Agents in Unreal Engine

2024 — International Conference on Innovative Emerging Technologies (ICIET 2025).19th Sep, 2025

Rajini, P. & Rithvik, M. Reinforcement learning for Autonomous Agents in Unreal Engine.

Optimizing Lunar Lander Performance Using Dueling DQN

2023 — Under Publication

Poornima, S. & Rithvik, M. Empirical study of Dueling Deep Q-Networks for landing control.

Book Chapter: “Sustainable Applications of MCDM in the Digital Age”

2023 — IGI Global

Sundari, S. & Rithvik, M. In Multi-Criteria Decision Making Methods and Sustainable Applications in the Digital Age.

TEDx GRIET — Sponsorship Lead

Led sponsorship initiatives and partnerships to support event goals and attendee experience.

Contact

My Address

Salt Lake City, Utah

Social Profiles

Email

rithvikmandya@gmail.com

Contact

+1 385-401-6431