Prototype 2 - Drylands

The Level Design Document for this prototype. 

The Google Drive folder containing all of the relevant files for this prototype. 

1. This is the asset pack that I'm going to use (Dekogon Studios, 2018), as I will be doing this prototype in Unreal Engine 5. I will have to use lighting carefully to get the gritty, apocalyptic vibe I'm going for. I also downloaded a model of a bandage roll from Sketchfab to use as the medical supplies (aurelkillers1, 2020). 

2. A very early iteration of how the map might look. I want the path to utilize the whole area, rather than have the player return along the same one they arrived with. 

3. This is a basic greybox of how I want the level to look. The bandits are atop the cliff overlooking the settlement below, while the whole thing is ringed in by mountains and cliffs. I made this with Blender. 

4. I sketched out a map in Unreal Engine using the Landscape sculpt tools. It's not perfect, and if I have time I'll definitely try to get a custom heightmap instead. 

5. I placed the assets around the scene in an approximation of how I want it to look, and gave the landscape a simple texture using Quixel Bridge. Unfortunately, I've had a really hard time getting hold of vehicle assets that fit the post-apocalyptic prompt and are compatible with UE5, so I've had to leave them out. I attempted to import some Megascans cliffs to illustrate the landscape more accurately, but Unreal kept throwing an "exceeded texture budget" error so I had to remove them. 

6. I downloaded a key model (AxonDesigns, 2022) and placed it near to the water model (ASA21, 2019) which the player must collect. It's quite small and easily missed, which I feel would add to the game's frantic aesthetic after enemies are introduced. 

7. Following Gorka Games' tutorial (2022), I was able to create a working inventory system. This was the very first time I've used Blueprints in UE5, and I found it very overwhelming. The problem with this system is that I can only pick up one type of item. Changing the static mesh on each individual object only works until I try to open the scene again. 

8. I got a functioning Quit button (Buvesa Game Development, 2021) and an NPC with dialogue (Gorka Games, 2022). The NPC is a pre-built character that came with the default third-person scene template. 

9. Having gotten completely stuck and unable to figure out how to make the inventory work the way I want it to, I decided to completely delete it and start over (Laley, 2023). The player can now have multiple items, although I still haven't worked out how to implement an unlocking mechanic to get the water. The icons themselves are from Game-icons.net (2022). 

10. I also got some simple UI prompts that show up when the player is close to the objects (Aspland, 2022), as well as the Medic NPC.