XB2002 - Video Game Assets

We were given a new assignment which was to create a level using modular assets as well as a few unique assets which we were to use in conjunction with XB2001.

As stated in XB2001, I went for a sci-fi horror game that took place within a massive tower-like structure and I looked at a range of different material and produced a couple moodboards.

Initially I began modelling right away without really thinking and just winged it more or less and ended up with something a little bit dull and something that was very star wars-y which wasn't something that I wanted to go for.

So I then began modelling simpler more square like things with right angled corners etc, which produced some interesting results that I eventually went with.

At one point my level had a wall that had been damaged by an explosion so I had to then merge t2 walls together and then cut through them.

Red object is the custom collision for use within UDK

Doorway Tests

I ended up with 3 levels of wall models, bottom, middle and top as I knew my level had varied wall height, and with all these pieces I would be able to create the majority of my level and so quickly did a couple of tests to make sure they were all snapping together properly.

After which I then realised I had stairs within my level which I then created using 2 Doorway models and slowly linked the 2 together with steps.

You can see the ramp which I used as custom collision for exporting to UDK

Stairs are really really hard to make as it turns out however I feel that they turned out quite alright.
I was also able to use these stairs as a template for any other ramps or wide star cases I had to make later on.

Again you cans see the red object which was the custom collision for UDK.

After I had created the my modular assets that would allow me to add my custom models to my level in XB2001 I then textured these assets and created some extra ones which I am quite proud of.

Note that I just textured the underside of the floor so it could be used as a ceiling as well.

The Tower building which can be seen from the outside and how much bigger it is in comparison to the other models, only 6 tris as well.

I was quite happy with the amount of assets I created for this project however I felt that it was a bit too much and that I aimed too high and would have been better off creating a shorter level and including a shorter asset list as I unfortunately wasn't able to bring all of my own assets into the game's level in time for the hand in.

XB2001 - Environment Moodboard

 

I created a sci-fi moodboard before I began creating my modular assets for my level as it is very important to get this nailed down as it must feel at home with all the other assets I've made as well as looking to suit the area.

Above is a an initial quick model of the general shape I was thinking of for the corridor, however this reeeeeks of star wars, not that I'm not a fan. I'm a huge fan, but it isn't at all what I wanted to go for as I was after a more uniform and square approach to match the rest of my assets that I've made.

Although my tutor told me to take a step back and take a look at it and it did look very generic and quite dull and something that has been done over and over and over again. he then linked me to many different sites about architecture and design which I was very thankful for and they were very interesting, however it's hard for me to stop and want to put that much effort into one area when I have soo many other things to do.

Maybe I will though, maybe I will put in that extra little bit of thought into the assets I create, maybe I won't. One can dream though.. one can dream.

If any one is interested in some of the links they can be found here

XB2001 - Further Development

I firstly created a block map of my udk level just so I could gain a better understanding of how the finished level would look but also so that I could get working kismet into the game and actually make it playable.

Additionally I was able to build lighting and start to think about how I should use my lighting to direct players and attract their attention etc.

A video playthrough of the level can be found here

XB2001 - 2nd Game Developement

The last playable level I made was a great introduction into UDK and I learnt a whole lot and hopefully it will help me in my next assignment.

My next assignment was to create a first-person game that had to have modular assets as well as an internal and external environment. This assignment was set recently after Aliens: Colonial Marines which is why I chose to create a horror game. Additionally I am quite a fan of horror titles such as Amnesia and thought it would be an interesting assignment as with a horror game, lighting, pacing and level design are all very important.

I began this assignment by creating  moodboard to help generate some ideas as to the environment that it is going to take place in and what exactly is going on in the level.

I rather liked the thought of creating a barren environment with little or no human contract with the exception of some isolated settlements in the form of spires or towers. The first idea that came to me storyline wise was that the player is a traveler and comes across one of these tower cities that is in ruin and everyone is missing and so the player must navigate throughout the level and investigate what has happened

XB2001 - Solo Game Developed

After looking at some quick reaction based games such as Temple Run and Doodle Jump, I decided I would create a fun casual game that would be aimed at the mobile market.

The game was simply titled jump and featured a character in 3rd person perspective where the player played a ninja of sorts tasked with getting from A to B by jumping between pillars or tree trunk and if the player failed on assigning which tree/pillar to jump to next the player would would to their death.

However creating a constant moving character who would automatically fall die die after there was no player input after a couple of seconds was rather hard to do, although I was still able to create the game and simply hold down the W key and have the player jumping from the tops of the pillars which worked fine.

A video of the game can be seen here

XB2001 - Level Design

The next process was to do the level design work and plan out what was going to happen within my level, what the gameplay features were going to be and what horror elements I would introduce.

Above is the level I aimed to great where the player would start at the bottom and work their way up and explore the area whilst finding clues and hints that would guide them to where they are meant to go next.

At the moment I am thinking of approaching the level design as very open and free and allowing player's to choose where to go with multiple ways of getting to point B or C etc. This means however that I will have to be thoughtful when it comes to placing lights and assets to direct the player where they need to go.

However I may alter this as it could be quite difficult to successfully direct the player and so I might close off some doors just to limit where the player can go a little bit.

XB2001 - Solo Game Development

Since Christmas we have been given the task of creating a game on udk that works, is fun to play and also shows good use of kismet, therefore I do not need to worry about the game looking pretty or anything.

Initially I found it quite challenging as udk was a completely new and alien program to me and even the navigation keys were different and took some getting used to.

My initial idea for a game was that you played a regular person, going about your daily routine in a city environment and there was a zombie outbreak, since to this date I have never played a game where the zombie apocalypse has just started and there's a massive wave of panic over the populace as everyone's racing around, doing different things, some are bunkering down, others are panicking and trying to leave the area and I thought it would be an interesting game concept.

Although that's all it kinda was, the idea had no real gameplay in it, and I had no idea how to develop the idea further, so I abandoned it for a simpler idea. My other idea was something along the lines of Jetpack Joyride or Temple Run, where players were constantly moving and had to move around obstacles and avoid death whilst traveling as far as possible on a procedurally generated level. This was a simple enough idea which would also offer me plenty of opportunity to you kismet for creating moving platforms etc to make the game more difficult, although after a while it became clear I would need to be fairly skilled at coding to do this so I then opted to go for a level possibly with checkpoints.

The idea of the game is that the player must jump from pillar to pillar very quickly or else they'd fall off and die whilst the main objective is to reach the end of the level. Initial ideas for this was to increase the speed at which the player travels at so the player has to make faster reactions to increase difficulty however once again this seemed a bit too complex for me. Therefore I started looking at possibly platforming puzzles I could add to the game in order to increase difficulty such as moving platforms and tumbling pillars.

XB2001 - Game Concept Doc. Environment Mockup

Below are a couple of screenshots I've taken from the UDK scene which would be fairly similar to how I imagine the game would look like with dense vegetation and very few signs of civilisation, portraying a very harsh and animalistic environment.

To say the least I'm very happy with how this turned out, I will most likely photoshop one of these screenshots for a front cover, and I'm very happy with my skills in UDK which is definitely something I want to improve upon.

XB2001 - Game Concept Document

Our next task is to create a Game Concept Document of a game idea I would wish to create. Rather than simply choosing any ole thing I thought I would take this task as an opportunity to explore an idea I've had in my head for some time and see how it fleshed out.

The idea of the game itself is a combination of several ideas and thoughts I have randomly come up with or thought of for some time now. Whilst playing through Amnesia: Dark Descent I was simply compelled to make a horror title (a long long way into the future now) as I simply found the gameplay completely unique. Amnesia to this date (12/12/12 by the way) is the one game that I have been scared and felt fear whilst playing it, something that Dead Space or Resident Evil failed to do and something which I felt was a bit of a niche market, which was evident as Amnesia was ranked 8th Top Rated game on steam at the time.

Over time multiple little ideas filtered into the general game idea, such as a the way the fog-horn like sound of a walker from "Falling Skies" caused the human rebels to flee as the sound of the droning getting louder as it got closer and closer to it's victims. Or the twisted and dark environments within Snow White and the Huntsman (girlfriend made me go to it, not my choice), or even how the sound of something following you, (but never revealing itself, like a schemer) and making little skulking noises and the sound of claws on stone bricks could apply stress and fear into a player, maybe even drive them to paranoia within the game.

Without delay I began working on the document and figuring out what exactly this game was that I thought was a good idea and what exactly would make it good, which turned out to be harder than I thought as I had never stopped to consider the specifics such as where this all took place, what setting was it in? Or even simple things like what was the protagonist called and why were they going out on this quest? I first started answering these questions with, what is the game called?

"Pernicious is a Horror Survival game set within the harsh fantasy world of Sarenus where the player must survive the dark wilderness and its inhabitants whilst completing tasks for the welfare of their people.

Sarenous is a dark and cruel world where mankind are at the bottom of the social ladder, merely cheap labour and entertainment for the Mesne, a rich and noble race of reptile-like humanoids who rule the lands from their fortress-like cities, leaving man to fend for themselves against the horrors of the outside world. The player’s character, Ferad, becomes unusually adept at surviving out in the wilderness and is employed full time to a Mesne Barron who promises to aid mankind in return for Ferad’s help. Ferad must move quickly and cautiously to achieve his objectives, all the while exploiting the environment to survive the wilderness."

 Mechanics, USPs, gameplay ideas will need refining although I feel that it shouldn't be a problem since I've lulled over ideas and things every now and then for some time, but for now below are my moodboards for the Game Concept Document detailing elements such as gameplay, interaction and environments.

Environment

The environments Pernicious would be set in would revolve around large bastion, fortress cities where the Mesne would live each surrounded by some minor human villages and dense deciduous forests.

Gameplay

Gameplay would involve the crossbow being the main weapon, however the game would by no means be as action oriented as say Skyrim but rather the crossbow would be used to slow enemies down or alternatively wound the prey of a predator, allowing you to escape.

Interaction

Whilst there would be lots of interaction between the player and the predators of the forests, there would also be lots of interactions between the different animals within the forests, as well as the interaction between the poor humans and the weather Mesne who look down upon them.

 

That's all for now although I will try to keep this blog more up to date in the future.