About

Marcus Rivers

Marcus Rivers is currently a broke but dedicated Independant Solo Developer living at the coast in Southern Norway.

In the UK, he worked in Design Engineering, making solid 3D models and technical drawings in software such as SolidWorks and Inventor.

He also spent several years in parallel on the workshop floor, programming various CNC machines and fabricating structures in Aluminium, Stainless & Mild Steel.

Between 2010 and 2014, Marcus undertook a BSc. in Math, Physics and Engineering, and also some studies in Sustainable Design & NanoTechnology, as well as passing all the Solidworks exams. Marcus then moved to Norway.

Since 2020 he has ploughed all his time and money into developing his more artistic and creative hobbies, learning to program C++ to a high enough level to produce the entire game Steampunks Vs Skeletons in Unreal Engine which is now available for FREE on the Epic Game Store.

When he is not performing miracles infront of a screen, Marcus can often be found on his touring bicycle, making another long-distance wild-camping trip. He has cycled all around New Zealand two times, Iceland, Across the Alps in France, parts of UK, and of course tens of thousands of kilometers across Norway, having cycled the length of the country several times on different routes.

He has also lived in the Actic Circle for a year, and regularly climbed mountains at dusk, froze to death all night and climbed down again in the morning – just to take photographs of the Northern Lights.

For fun, he reads books on Quantum Physics and has penned several (currently) unpublished scientific papers that may just solve a few of the long standing issues regarding the current crisis in Cosmology, now that the James Webb telescope has discovered several apparent contradictions to the current cosmological model…but that is another days work that cannot be completed right now.

Otherwise, Marcus is just a pleasant, quiet, peaceful and average kinda guy! – and be warned, he is super sarcastic and at times extremely funny too,…but doesn’t take fools lightly!

Steampunks Vs Skeletons R1

This was born out of a much larger project (Project RX) that was obviously going to take far too much time for a solo developer to complete as a first major project. However, the code exists for several gameplay features in working but untested form for some very sophisticated gameplay ideas.

The code for SvS R1 was developed intensely between 2020 and 2024, as an ever evolving self-learning project in C++, and was rewritten over 14 times from scratch until all the bugs were squashed. The codebase is now a reliable and sophisticated modern Object Orientated application using industry standard Design Patterns and extensive use of Finite State Machines, which really solved some very complex behavior issues of the characters.

Marcus also learned Cinema 4D, Affinity Studio and Cubase (and various tools), to produce all the 3D models, Animations, Renderings, UV Mapping, Photography, Texturing, Music and Sound Effects. He designed and play-tested all the Levels, and self-published the finished game (for FREE) on the Epic Game Store.

Marcus had a strict NO-AI policy for the game production, as he had unshakable conviction that everything in the game could and will be used as a showcase for his original work, so everything was produced from scratch using only his talent and dedication.

His dedication to original work and integrity, even found him down at the beach in winter, throwing blocks of ice into the sea to record splashes for the water elements of the game!

SvS R1 is probably the most tortured, difficult and ruinous development in the history of software design. If he actually listed all the problems, arguments, fights, stresses and tribulations he had to endure to complete this, against a constant backdrop of non-believers, swindlers, lairs, timewasters and cheats, I doubt it would even be believed, yet the final goal was reached at all costs, and new adventures await.

6 months was (highly needed) taken out to explore New Zealand on a cycle and tent and then a motorcycle trip to the UK to say goodbye to friends and family and then a 24000km trip around EU. Marcus returned with fresh energy mid 2025 to spent the remaining time furiously making all the assets for the game, and finished around March 2026, satisfied but broke! He then sat on it for a couple of months pondering destitution, then released for FREE on the Epic Store, to try to generate enough Buzz to raise funds to complete the original Project.