travishfmp

[travishfmp]

Questionnaire

Based off of this in my next project I will focus on adding more sprites/effects, I will also change my health system by adding more hearts and possibly a way to gain health back and lastly I will add indicators to my UI to show if an enemy is getting close to you, hopefully the combination of these three things will drastically improve the quality of my game and bring players back.

[travishfmp]

Evaluation

Media and techniques:

For my FMP I decided to do a first person zombie/shooter game which I made in unreal.

The research I did included looking into several media such as TV, books, games and movies to decide not only what type of game I was going to do but also later the enemy type I wanted to do.

I think Unreal was a great choice for an engine to make my game in as it allowed me to use a large variety of particles that were pre-built into the engine, furthermore I think both YouTube and Google were great assets for me to use when doing research for my game, allowing me to get ideas/concepts I could’ve never imagined on my own.

In the end I learnt how to create AI, effects, a good spawning system and got a better grasp on some of the things I already knew.

Purpose / theme / concept:

Throughout the making of my game I ran into several issues, the major one being time restraints due to the long absences I took, however I believe that despite these I still made a game I am proud of and can happily call my own.

Due to the restraints I inadvertently placed upon myself I was forced to practically drop my idea to use zombies, but despite this I did still manage to make a creature similar to a zombie, just without the body.

On top of all that I also ran into issues with the AI along the way, including things like the AI not following after it reached you, so to work around this I made it that upon contact with the player the AI would deal damage then destroy itself.

Another issue I came across was trying to fix lighting and make the place dark. Once I'd deleted the light source and achieved the darkness I wanted, I realised that it was too dark, so to solve the new issue I decided to use a spotlight and make it act as a torch.

However despite all of the restraints and issues I came across I do believe I completed what I set out to do and succeeded.

Outcome:

I think the next time I do a project this big I will try and force myself to work faster and get a demo of sorts done faster to give myself a better chance at getting feedback from my peers allowing me to find where I did best and worst, which in turn could result in me finding out what i'm good and bad at for future projects so I can focus on my strengths and make my weaknesses less apparent.

Overall, whilst I wish I could've done more and came out with a better project I do believe that I did better than I expected to, for a long time I was worried my game wouldn't even be play-able let alone fun, however I managed to go above and beyond my own expectations and create a finished project that I am proud of and happy with.

Conclusion:

Upon reflection I realised I could do more research for my game, this includes things such as looking into more movies, shows, books and games but also other things like my wider world influences, including science and religion.

Furthermore, I would like to spend more time looking in depth at different game engines I can use and the pros and cons of them. This would allow me to not only add more research to my blog but also find the right engine for me.

Continuing on with the topic of research I would like to spend more time researching 3D and 2D huds, finding a style that fits me and that I enjoy making as I personally believe that enjoying what I'm making will allow me to create a better project.

Another thing I would like to improve upon is how quick I work. The main reason I'd like to improve my working speed is it would allow me to do more playtesting and see what is most and least liked about my game allowing me to make the most efficient and appropriate changes.

Lastly I would like to explore the engine I choose to use more and look up more tutorials, both of which would allow me to improve my game quality and get better at designing games and using the software in general.

In conclusion I believe this project, whilst being a major success has given me a lot to think about and improve upon.

[travishfmp]

What I think.

I think I did well despite the time restrictions that occurred due to time because of several different factors.

Despite having less time than the others within my class i think I have managed to make a simple and enjoyable game that is difficult to some degree and replay-able.

I think that the work I’ve done is proof that I am determined and driven to do my best despite any restriction or roadblocks that may occur.

[travishfmp]

Gameplay

I used OBS to record a small amount of footage for my game just so people can get a feel for the how the game will play before even opening it.

[travishfmp]

AI/Points

I started by adding an actor and turned it into an enemy spawner.

I then added code to the actor to make it spawn enemies, however I realised that just making it spawns enemies would result in enemies spawning directly in the players face, so I made a no-spawn zone around the player to avoid that.

After that I added a point counter to the UI, this way people have something to strive for and a way to compete.

Here you can see the current state of the game.

[travishfmp]

Created Enemy

I started by transferring my enemy sprite into unreal and then turning it into a flipbook, turning the sprite set into a flipbook is quite easy and animates the sprite, as well as being a good way to make the sprite look nicer.

I would then add a hit box to the enemy to make it possible to shoot the enemy and destroy them.

I then added code to the AI to allow it to hit, track and damage the player, also making it so when the AI hits the player it destroys itself to avoid it hitting the player several times in a row and feeling unfair

AI pathing^

[travishfmp]

Player DMG and Health

I added code to make it so the AI would track and hit the player, when i first added this we had an issue where the enemy would stop moving because it completed its goal and reached you, so to avoid this I made the AI die after hitting you.

I added hearts as a widget, each time you are hit one heart will disappear so that a player can trach their health.

I turned what was indented to be my start screen into an end screen in photoshop and then turned it into a widget, and coded it so that when you die it will appear for about 2 seconds before then restarting the level

[travishfmp]

Weapon Projectiles/Effects

I decided I wanted my gun to look less basic and so I decided to add some affects to the barrel and projectile.

I added a small explosion to the barrel of the gun to give off a similar look to a grenade launcher.

after this i added a similar effect to the weapons projectile to give it the look of a grenade or rocket whenever it hit an object, this also then hides the fact that the game quickly deletes the projectile after it connects with something.

I also gave the bullet a trail of fire.

Finally i changed the projectile mesh to make it look more like some sort of hellish grenade.

[travishfmp]

Lighting

In my game I wanted the area you wander about to be dark so that the enemies are harder to spot,  I also did this to make the game have a creepier feel and a more unsettling atmosphere.

One problem I encountered when trying to make it darker was that I couldn’t affect the light source in any way, so to get around this I chose the just delete they light source.

After deleting the light source i had accomplished the darkness i wanted, however I then soon noticed that the game was far too dark, after thinking about what I should do I got some help and discovered that I could add a Spotlight to make a ‘torch’

[travishfmp]

Enemy Sprite

For my enemy I decided to take the skull from my loading/title screen and make some edits to turn it into a sprite i could use for my enemies, I also took inspiration from the cacodemon from the game ‘Doom’

[travishfmp]

Template

I opened up the first person template which contained 3 basic functions that i shall use to build my game, these are the ability to move, shoot and jump, all being vital to making my game

[travishfmp]

Wave Based Survival Mind Map

From this mind map I would ideally want to use all of these ideas however i think the bare minimum I need is rounds, points, upgrade systems and maybe a point system, all these would create a sense of competitiveness and make people want to play more to beat their friends/others 

[travishfmp]

Pixel Art Mood Board

I think my favourite of the pixel art HUDs/UI’s is the first in the top left, it looks simple and sleek and doesn't take up to much room, I also quite enjoy the simple look of the pink blob and I may use a similar style to create a zombie

Whilst I like the mountains i think its too high res and would require more skill than I currently have

I really like the button prompts that are there and i may include something similar in my game in a tutorial type mode

[travishfmp]

2.5D Mood Board

I really like the look of the doom games, I think they are probably my favourite of the 2.5D games within this mood board, despite how old the games are they don't look bad, in fact they look like they are instead going for a specific aesthetic than being limited by the hardware limitations, after looking at the 2.5D games I think I may go with this look for my game 

[travishfmp]

Influences In Media

Zombies are by now a mainstay within horror/thriller content, being one of, if not the most popular creatures to come out of horror ever.

One of the earliest movies to depict zombies is the late George A. Romero’s ‘Night of The Living Dead’ the zombies in this depiction seem almost docile compared to modern interpretations and most people probably dismiss them as a non-threat, however, the classics zombies strengths become clear when they are in large hordes, in groups they can easily overwhelm you, on top of this, in most depictions of this type of zombies, when alone they can be surprisingly quiet and get a quick bite on you when least expected

The complete opposite of a classic zombie, we have the more modern, more feral zombies, these usually charge at you at insane speeds and attempt to rip you apart before you even realise what's happened, these zombies act less like the undead and more like a wild dog with rabies, they even clamber and climb over each other to get to their prey

The final movie I want to mention is the more comedy centered ‘Shaun of The Dead’ this movie is probably one of my favourites as it takes something which is always depicted as bleak and sometime even bland and makes it comedic.

[travishfmp]

Wider World Influences

I think Religion is a great place to look when it comes to end of the world/apocalyptic things, the ideas presented in religious texts relating to the end of the world or even things like hell are all great for a darker/more gritty game.

Voodoo (I believe it’s also spelt Vodou, I’m not sure which is ‘more correct’) is one of the only religious type thing to involve zombies, I also think the dark nature of voodoo and the idea of zombie’s being risen from the dead via black magic is creepy and cool.

I also think voodoo in general has some great potential for any sort of horror/survival games, especially when considering it’s a pretty dark seeming religion.

Another one of my wider world influences is Science, I think the correlation between zombies and science is obvious as when i think of zombies I personally think of it being more of a disease than some sort of supernatural occurrence

One real life example of a zombie like disease is CWD or Chronic Waste Disease.

[travishfmp]

Ammo Count/Weapon Display Ideas

For my game I think I’d like to use these types of pixelated designs to show beside the ammo count, the design itself isn’t too important as it isn’t really necessary but I think it would add an extra bit of detail that people would enjoy.

Additionally, if I have enough time I’d like to try something a bit more complicated and add in some sort of indicator for what gun you have, but this is only really possible if I:

1) find either a tutorial

Or

2) find a simple enough design to trace and tweak to my liking

Something like these ^