Evaluation

The development of the game has been a success and has furthered the knowledge behind level design and the Unreal Engine 4. It has met the basic expectations of what the game was to be and it has helped develop experience working in a team environment. Although all of the contents of the Games Design Document weren’t included, such as particles for the jump pad and a wider range of weapons, the game has been able to accomplish the original goal, which was to create a first person shooter game that was based around a multiplayer aspect. There could have been room for improvement, in the sense that if less time was spent on level design the particle systems could have been created for the jump pad, this being able to give the jump pad a noticeable appearance.

My own personal performance could have also been improved throughout the duration of the project. To begin with I approached the project with a lazy attitude, which was quickly turned into a can do attitude, which hampered how quick the level design should have taken. My opinion is that if this attitude wasn’t present at the beginning more aspects of the game could have been included allowing for a greater game experience.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xT-CWJl7E1RjXelm_4dNV9rRi1PEiriK_MC0WFQnn64/edit?usp=sharing

Above is a link to the Games Design Document that has been created for The Fate of all Fools. The sections within the Games Design Document that I have written are the Level Design, Level Gameplay Elements and Particle Systems.

Hand In Day

One final meeting was scheduled before the game, a trailer of the game and the games design documentation was handed in for assessment. This was to compile all of the work onto one dvd disc, as per the assessment criteria. Once this had been done the work was given in.

Final Game Testing

Again the testing took place over the period of two days to allow for a quick turnaround. I was informed by Joe, that the problem with frame rate which occurred in Highrise was corrected and the game was now working at a much higher frame rate.

Again whilst testing the level Sanctuary no problems of any scale were spotted in either the game play or level design. The bots were also tested again to observe their interactions but again no problem occurred. As this was the case I reported back to Joe that Sanctuary was ready for packaging and shipping.

Whilst testing the level Highrise I noticed the change in frame rate meaning that the game play had no problems, but a problem with the level design had occurred during the optimising process. This was notified to Joe and details of where the level design had changed were explained, so that the game could be amended and then packaged and shipped.

Primary Game Testing

For each of the testing periods a timeframe of two days was given, this allowing a day of full testing for each level. By having such as quick turnaround the levels can be quickly amended if any problems occur.

Whilst testing the level Sanctuary no major problems occurred in either the way the game played or throughout the level design. The testing conducted used the bots the game has as a playable opponent and no faults could be seen in the way that the bots interacted with the environment. As this was the case the level was handed back to Joe with a result of no problems.

Whilst testing the level Highrise I noticed one major problem that occurred in the way the game played but none throughout the level design process. Again the testing included the use of bots to monitor how the bots interact with the environment, this being that they interacted with no problems. The one major problem that was located was due to an issue with frame rate. This was reported for Joe to fix before the next testing period.

Gameplay Elements

Over the weekend both of the levels had the following gameplay elements implemented; Health Pick-up, AmmoGun Pick-up, AmmoLauncher Pick-up and spawn points. Each of the pick-ups were sourced from within the game engine and provided the necessary elements in order to create a good gameplay experience.

Within the level Sanctuary the health pick-ups were placed within the base, as well as on the bridges and throughout the floor of the level. These were strategically placed close by to cover points, but not in a section where by a player could constantly heal their character and stay alive. They have also been set up through the use of blueprints to fully replenish the health of a player’s character. The ammo pick-ups for the gun have been located sufficiently throughout the map with the player never being far from AmmoGun pick-up. This allows for a constant flow of gameplay and the player never seeking out ammunition for minutes on end. The AmmoLauncher pick-ups have been sparsely placed in the level with them either being located on the sides of the level or within the centre. This choice poses more danger when trying to obtain the ammunition emphasising the class of the Launcher being a power weapon.

The spawn points for both levels are only located within the base of each team. This decision was taken as problems occurred when attempting to setup a respawn system which would locate spawns around the whole level. As the turnaround for the level was quite short, the decision was made just to keep the spawns in the bases. The spawns in each of the bases are also set up with either a value of 0 or 1, these being the values that represent the different teams. This can be seen below in the details section of the image.

In order to stop players from gaining access to unwanted areas, blocking volumes have been included in certain areas of the levels. These include areas that can be reached by the player using the double jump feature. A blocking volume has also been placed over the top of the level Sanctuary to ensure that players can't jump out of the map.

During the meeting I handed over the completed levels to Joe and a discussion was held on when the testing process would take place. As a deadline extension had just been given, we decided that there would be two periods of testing. The first will be to conduct if there are any major faults with the game. The second will be to look for any small imperfections that may have occurred during the building processes and development processes of the levels.

Sanctuary Textured and Changes to Highrise

The level Sanctuary has now been fully textured using textures sourced from the shooter game template, which the game is based off. The design created with the textures is a very fluid texture design where by the walls and ground can be truly defined from each other. This has been created intentionally so that certain areas around the level can be defined from others, such as that within the spawn as seen below.

The lights from the whitebox have also been kept in place within the bases as they correctly light those areas of the map to the correct intensity. The image below also shows that the design originally created has been transformed into a game level with good precision.

The level Highrise was also received from Lee in the end of week meeting as promised. Some changes have been made to the layout of certain areas within the level, such as areas around the spawn, but these changes have brought new methods of exiting the base to the game, meaning that there is now more diversity around the base areas.

Sanctuary Whitebox

The whitebox for the level Sanctuary has been completed and presented in front of the group on the Monday meeting. Joe and Lee both like how the level takes the key points from both of the previous designs and they like the gameplay flow of the level as well.

The aim for the end of the week is to have the level fully textured and ready for the implementation of the gameplay elements. By achieving this, the weekend can be dedicated to the implementation of the gameplay elements for both levels.

New Level Design

After a discussion in the meeting on Monday, related to the second level for the game, the group has come to the conclusion that the ‘Arena’ level and the level which Joe created for testing purposes will be fused together to create a whole new level. This new level, will draw some of the main features from both of the levels previously created and will then be expanded upon to create a new level, with a good fast gameplay style to it. After receiving Joe’s level I identified the main features and started to create a new design for the most recent level. The level that has been created is shown below and showcases the bridges that were seen inside of the ‘Arena’ level as well as a similar spawn set up. I have also taken inspiration from the outside structure of the base from Joe’s level and implemented that as I saw this as a strong feature for quick gameplay.

I also gave Lee the 3d level design for the Highrise map during the meeting so that he could begin the 3d art process. In the end of week meeting I put forward the new level design for Sanctuary and the response from Lee and Joe was that of a positive one.

The targets for the past two weeks have also been met in that the jump pad blueprint had been created and that the second level for the game had been discussed and created. The next two weeks will consist of Sanctuary being created in a whitebox form, and the gameplay elements for both levels being implemented, this allowing for Joe to complete the next step to each level which is preparing them for being built into the game.

Jump Pad Creation

As part of the level design for the map Highrise, I have decided to implement a jump pad element in order to add towards the gameplay layout which is already present in the design. There will be three jump pads located within the map with two of the jump pads, these being the ones located on the sides of the map, using two separate jump pad blueprints in order to propel the player upwards and in a certain direction.

As I am still new to the Unreal Engine 4 I have had to source a tutorial which will allow me to accomplish my aim. The tutorial used allowed me to create a jump pad using an asset of my choice, which is essential in order to create a distinct jump pad. The tutorial used has been provided below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32HpwHJBZP8

The blueprint that has been created has used a capsule alongside the asset, as shown above, in order to allow for a volume to propel the character. Within the blueprint graph an OnComponentBeginOverlap for the capsule has been used, this allowing for a character propulsion system to occur when the character steps within the boundaries of the capsule. This OnComponentBeginOverlap is then connected to a casting utility assigned to the character which is then further connected to a Launch Character node, this meaning that once the character steps within the boundaries of the capsule a launch character operation will occur creating the propulsion of the character in the desired direction.

In order for the character to be propelled in a certain direction a value has to be set within the vector properties of the Launch Character Node. Alongside this there are Booleans which can be triggered in order to control the velocity of the propulsion, for example if a character with a velocity value of 200 jumps into a jump pad, a Z override can be put in place so that the character can be propelled at the desired velocity instead of propelling the character with the desired velocity added to the current velocity. This can be seen in the image below.

To create the desired effect with the jump pads located on the side of the map the velocity was changed on the Launch Character node from the Z axis to the X axis, this being the desired direction in which the character will be propelled.

The meeting this week allowed me to showcase a finished version of the jump pad blueprint which can use any asset. Both Joe and Lee thought the jump pad was good and it allowed for ideas relating to the design of the jump pad asset to be discussed.

Completion of Highrise Level Design

Once the layout had been established for the level, the next step was to make the level playable. This included placing walls around the level in order to prevent the player from venturing into unwanted spaces and putting barriers within the level to act as cover for the players. The shape of the centre of the bridge has also been altered to allow for a larger space to run around near the exit of the jump pad.

The aims for the past two weeks, which were to complete a 3D scene of Highrise and assess its playability, have been successfully met. The layout of the jump pads have also been discussed in relation to the game’s playability. For the next two weeks the aim is to create a jump pad that can be implemented to the completed level and to discuss the second level that is to be created for the game. A meeting was also conducted and the final design for the level Highrise was shown with another positive response.

Highrise Level Development cont.

After establishing the layout of the ground floor last week, I’ve decided to dedicate this week to creating the layout for the top floor and finalising how the bottom floor will look. The first section I focused on was creating the base section for the level. The design of this incorporates multiple different methods of leaving the base, this allowing for a diverse exit strategy when playing the game. The base section also provides a way of getting onto the top floor of the level.

The top floor consists of a sidewalk of each side of the level as well as a bridge connecting the sidewalks to the jump pad towers and a bridge connecting both of the sidewalks together. The bridge also has a centre piece which features a gap, in which a player can go through using the jump pad which will be located in the centre of the map. By including a jump pad in the middle of the map, the ability to traverse to the top floor has been increased allowing for more diverse gameplay.

The meeting for this week allowed me to showcase the development of the Highrise game level, which received positive feedback. I also explained that the level had been set to scale allowing for an easy transition into the games engine.

Highrise Level Development

In order to stay on top of the work, as a team we have decided to create 2 week sprint sheets, in order to plan the work that is to be finished over the course of a two week period. These are to be recorded within the blog, so that the finished work can be seen visually when assessing the outcome of the game at the end of the project.

The creation of the level Highrise, which is the fusion of the concepts Citadel and Station, within 3ds Max has begun and a floor plan for the ground floor of the level has been created. Currently the floor plan showcases where the players will spawn within the level, the main area of battle and two tunnels which will allow for players to enter the main battle area from different angles. A section has also been included towards the centre of each tunnel where a jump pad could be placed in order for the players to traverse to the top floor of the level. The inclusion of the jump pads, which were featured in the Station concept, will allow for a new aspect of gameplay where by the player can create a surprise attack on another unknowing player, this adding to the fast paced aim of the game level.

Over the next two weeks the aim is to complete the level development within 3ds Max for the level Highrise. This will consist of visually creating the 3D scene and then assessing whether the created scene will provide a good flow of gameplay. Gameplay elements that are to be included with the level will also be discussed.

'Arena' White Box Complete

The white boxing process for the map 'Arena' has now been completed and the blueprint sequences for the sliding doors have been implemented allowing for functioning doors during the testing process of the game.

The map that has been designed is a fast paced map which has multiple different ways of flow around the map so that the player can be attacked or attack from all different angles ensuring that players can't 'camp'. The use of sprint and double jump on the map also allow for the ease of traversing from one side of the map to the other. The map also has interactive scoreboards which are located on either side of the map. These scoreboards have been put into place so that whilst the player is playing the game he/she can look over towards the scoreboard and see their location on the leader board, and who the current team MVP is. By including this feature the game is creating a sense of competition between team mates, so that each individual player works harder so that they can be viewed on the leader board, this in turn creating greater competition.

The blueprints for the sliding doors on the map are shown below. They consist of two sections of the game level blueprint, one section being the event begin play sequence and the other being the sequence for one of the sliding doors.

 

The event begin play sequence shows what is required for each individual sliding component at the beginning of the game, these being "Get Actor Location" and setting the variable of the sliding component. By running these at the beginning of play we allow the sliding components to stay in the correct location when its relevant sequence runs, instead of returning to the origin of the map.

The sequence for the sliding component shows us the nodes that are required to move the doors side to side. This includes calling on the box triggers located at each door, so that a timeline containing a vector track can be played allowing the new location of the actor to be set, this being the process of the sliding doors opening so that the player can run through.

White Boxing of 'Arena'

The white boxing of the second map, which has been given the working title of 'Arena', has begun and a basic layout has been created using the static meshes available. Below is an image which showcases the interior of a building, with the setup for a sliding door ready for the implementation of a blueprint.

The image also shows that the idea of multiple different flows is present with the environment giving the player the ability to either run up the stairs, around the outside of the building, or through the door in the side of the building.

The aim for next week is to have the white box of the 'Arena' map completed with the implementation of a blueprint sequence so that the doors on the side of the buildings can slide open once a player approaches them.

White Boxing and Concept Changes

Over the course of the last week the development team have discussed the concepts for the level design of the game, with the main responses being the joining of the 'Citadel' and 'Station' maps. The idea behind this is to create a larger map that has multiple directions of flow, so that the game play doesn't become predictable once the player has become familiar with the game. This discussion came about during the white boxing process as we noticed that the original concepts needed an extra element to them.

As this has arisen at this stage in the design process, we have decided that the best option would be to fuse the two concepts together during the white boxing process, so that extra time isn't wasted redrawing the concepts and then reviewing them again.

Due to the liking of how the 'Citadel'/'Station' game play flows the development team has decided that a second fast paced map should be created during the white boxing stage, with an emphasis on free flowing game play that complements the game mechanics. With this in mind, my aim for the second map will be to have a map where by the double jump mechanic can be used to allow players to traverse from one side of the map to the other, using most if not all obstacles in the map.

Level Concepts

Over the last week I have put together 3 level designs which have been brought forward in the development team’s weekly meeting. The response to the concepts was of a positive aspect after careful explanation of the level’s flow and the overall design thought processes.

Citadel Concept Drawing

The first concept that was drawn was the concept of a map named Citadel. The idea behind this map is that it was to be based as the centre of a civilization floating through space, a civilization surviving in its own mini-atmosphere. The game play style behind this map would be that of a fast paced style allowing players to exploit the mechanics on the environment at a fast rate and incite players not to ‘camp’ around the map. The map would also feature three different tiers allowing the game to be played by a larger number of players, as the multiple tiers would allow the players to disperse more.

Station Concept Drawing

The second concept created was that of the concept map Station. The inspiration for this map was to be based on the main deck of an interstellar space ship. This would allow for hallways branching off of the main deck where sleeping quarters would be located. These can be seen in the concept on the left and right and side sections of the map. There would also be a section with a viewing window where there would be either an image of a planet or galaxy. By including this it would open the opportunity to create an eye-catching visual effect which could be seen as a focal point in the scene for battle. The map also has two tiers allowing for surprise attack elements and the inclusion of jump pads so that the two tiers can be easily scaled.

Spire Concept Drawing

The final concept drawing created was a concept map called Spire. The map Spire is based on a planet full of oceans where by a superior alien race has planted a beacon in which to set up an invasion from, this being the spire in the centre of the map. This was the outdoor environment map that was created and it features an element where by that every so often a timed tsunami kills all players below a certain height, for example all players not on the spire's top platform or the main hill. This would create an element of panic once the players have been warned which would lead to survivor style game play, this potentially being one of the unique selling points of the game. Due to the large size of the map the game would encourage a slower pace of game play, meaning longer ranged weapons and a more tactical approach to how the how is played.

Opening Post

This Blog has been created to record the progress of the development of the game The Fate of all Fools, with the majority of the posts being related to the specific work conducted by myself.

The Fate of all Fools is a multi-player first person shooter game based around the arena shooter style, with an emphasis on game play interactivity, such as mechanics related to how the player interacts with the environment and how that may affect players may interact with each other. By emphasizing on this type of interactivity we aim to hopefully create a fresh experience that we can bring to the ever competitive first person shooter industry.

One of the key roles that I will be a part of is Level Design for the game. This includes the conceptualization processes as well as the eventual building of the level and assets, and eventually the implementation of assets and then the polishing stages of the visual look of the game. My current aim is to have the level conceptualization completed by next week so that the white boxing process of the level can be started.

The game engine that is being used for the development of The Fate of all Fools is the Unreal Engine 4 by Epic Games. This game engine was chosen for multiple reasons, with one of the key reasons being its capabilities to create outstanding graphics by using advanced dynamic lighting. The game engine also gives us as developers the opportunity to release the game on the newest generation of home games consoles, these being the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Not only does this open up to new target audiences, but it allows us to create the game we envision using the latest hardware possible in the home console market. The Unreal Engine 4 also has a vast amount of support materials available through an official website dedicated to Unreal Engine 4 documentation, https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/,  and a YouTube channel dedicated to Unreal Engine 4 tutorials, with over 190 tutorials available to provide games developers with a good understanding of how the game engine works, https://www.youtube.com/user/UnrealDevelopmentKit.