Destructibles

This is my awesome of video of my destructibles that I made in Unreal Engine 4, I have a wooden crate that you can drive through, a window and a oil barrel that explodes!

Level Storyboard

Game Design - Level Storyboard

I put together a small beat sheet of my racing game level. It gives you a quick glance at what to expect as you play through the level.

1. Starting line  

    Player: "Where do I go?"

2. Player busts through boxes. 

    Player: "I'm destroying these boxes!"

3. Electrical pole falls. 

    Player: "Oh no, it's falling!"

4. Player jumps through train.

    Player: "I'm going to make it?"

5. Player sees train underpass.

    Player: "I just beat that train."

6. Player goes through.

    Player: "Ooh, a warehouse!" 

7. Player drives through warehouse. 

    Player: "Time to explore."

8. Player breaks through the window.

    Player: "Woo! Breaking glass!"

9. Player makes a sharp turn.

    Player: "This should be fun!"

10. Player sees cranes and cargo boxes.

      Player: "How does this work?"

11. Player gets lifted in first box. 

      Player: "This is awesome!"

12. Player jumps through boxes.

      Player: "Am I going to make it?"

13. Player exits boxes.

      Player: "Woo, that was close."

14. Player finishes.

      Player: "Yay, I win!"

More fun with Arrays!

More fun with Arrays!

I learned a new way to make lights turn on and off in UE4 blueprints using arrays, I got a little more creative on this one, check it out!








Here is my code to go along with it, the first image is the event graph of the blueprint and the second one is the construction script!

Level Research

For Game Design II we are starting to think about our racing levels. We have to think of our possible stunts, theme, story and level layout. 

Theme - For the theme of my level I was thinking of having it set in possibly Africa, but I would like to have it in a abandoned village sort of….it's hard to describe, so I'll give lots of pictures to help to explain. For example in this first picture I was thinking a good way to block the player in is by using metal sheets and crates to help contain them and keep them on path. I also would like to have to be during the day but more of a cloudy gloomy day. I also would like the track to be a dirt track not a specific road you have to follow, and the terrain would vary throughout the level, some parts hilly and other flat. 

This is what I'm thinking of doing for my color scheme. 

Stunts - I thought of a few different stunts I want to incorporate in level, I'm not sure I would use them all but I have a variety of options to choose from.

             

  - For one of my stunts I was thinking of putting wooden boxes/crates stacked on top of each other, and the player could bust through them. I would make it so there is no way around the boxes, that way they have to bust through them. 

- For my next stunt I was thinking of having a steep turn, the piece itself would come off of the track, so when the player gets on it they would be angled while on it. Almost like they could fall off at anytime, which I could make happen, I could possibly have it so if the player doesn't maintain a certain speed they could fall off.

  - This isn't really a stunt but it can be because you will have to dodge/ avoid it, but I would like to include electircal poles scattered around the level, and I was thinking of making them pereoidcally fall over throughout the race. The cords could possibly be flying around with sparks and the electrical poles could explode on impact. 

  - One last stunt I was thinking of doing was having a building that the player goes in by going off of a ramp and they then break through the window to get out. This is just a little extra stunt I was thinking of including. 

For a concept statement for my level, I want to have it say something about the theme, since some of the stunts are possibly challenging, I was thinking of making it go along with that.

Concept statement: "Power your way through, use your abilites."

Backstory - Before the player entered this space it was a village, a village of many happy people,but after many years it got abandoned, it got too much for the people of the village to take care of. It slowly got more and more "dirty." Many things are scattered and rusty and broken. In the level you will seem many remnants of objects and props that show people did live here. The player also has different routes to take while navigating the area. Many different events will occur while the player is going through most of them being what I listed above in stunts. 

I drew out a small map of what I am thinking of doing for the layout of the level, this is still very rough. I'm sure my ideas will change once I actually start laying it out and modeling it. I did my best of putting my ideas down, it might not be too clear in some areas, but I tried to keep it simple. So in the beginning the player will have the option to go through this tunnel or trench type thing, or they can go on top of it.  As they go along the track there will be power lines that fall and explode, I will give the player room to navigate around them. Next the player goes off a ramp of possibly crates and roof pieces and fly into this empty building and they break through a window and continue on the track. After that I will have the pile of crates that they must bust through, after that I will have a simple bridge that they cross, and below it will be a small trench with a stream. Lastly they go around the sharp turn that has them angled as they go on it, and then they reach the finish! As they go along I will have little shacks and what not scattered around to fill up space, and some trees and foliage. 

Arrays


I made some awesome arrows with arrays using blueprints in UE4. Arrays are pretty useful, and can help do many things. you can create billboards, directional arrows, and an unlimited number of things. Here is a short video of what I created.

Level Proposal

Level Proposal

-Arctic Run-

For game design II we are now making our own 2D platformer level! Below you will see my rough paper map. 

I also made a more cleaned up vector version in Illustrator, this version shows off more of my theme. 

Arctic Run

Where is it? 

       * Takes place in Antarctica

What time of year?

       * Winter time

What time of day?

       * Mid-day

What is the conflict?

      * Arctic explorer, Jake is trying to make his way back to his sled dogs, and he needs to collect coins on his way there to help pay for food for the dogs, so that they can help Jake get around faster. 

What is the twist?

      * The penguins are out to get you, so watch out!

      * Also the icicles can kill you. 

      

Who else lives here?

      * The penguins live here as well as a few other arctic explorers.

What does their architecture look like? 

      * There are some buildings for supplies that look like log cabins, and the rest of the place is snow  covered ground. 

What happened in the environment prior to the player getting there?

       * It used to be a home for the penguins and they are mad now and fighting back.

How did the player arrive to the environment? What brought them there?

       * Jake and his sled dogs traveled down here, in search of a new home. 

         

Analysis of 2D Platforming Game

Analysis of 2D Platforming Game

The 2D Sidescroller Platforming game that I picked was Ray-man. I did the version that is available on the phone, and it is called Rayman Jungle Run. I believe that this game has a good platformer level design. In my analysis I am focusing on level 1, and the first level has a great layout, because it starts off with the player jumping over the obstacles in the platform, and it also has rewards the player collects right away. That way the player is already shown some of their abilities and they know how to navigate through the level. The pacing of the game is also managed very well, because after the player learns the basics of jumping, it has a cliff for them to climb, which they learn how to by following the coins pathway. The only help that is really given to you is how to jump, and that's at the beginning of the game. The rest you learn on your own. The obstacles that the player has to overcome are jumping over different cliff heights, and climbing those cliffs, and lastly collecting coins without falling off the map. The difficulty gets harder as the player advances, there is more coins to collect and a lot more objects to jump on to get higher, and a few more holes to look out for. At the end the player gets a overall rating on how they did.

Here is a video from youtube of the same level that I played.

Below is a few screenshots I took from the game.

This first screenshot shows the opening selection menu.  

This screenshot shows instructions on how to jump. 

 In this screenshot, it shows the first time the player learns how to jump and that these little yellow Lums are collectable. 

 This screenshot is when the player first approaches the jumpable flower pads. 

In this screenshot the player first learns how to jump off of walls.

In this screenshot the player realizes that there is bigger coins to collect, which amount to more Lums. They also learn that this is a safe place to fall, because they know they can jump out. 

This screenshot shows the end, and gives the player an ending flag to reach. 

Here is a vector image of the first level that I made using Illustrator.