a) I hope to take visual design elements and game programming tools out of this course, in hopes that it will open up future opportunities within the job market for me. Additionally, I hope to either create a mod or my own game using Unreal engine, and I really hope this course will give me the skills to do this.
b) The reason for the value of being a certified user of Unreal engine could be with the changes occurring within the digital industry. The film industry has already began implementing Unreal methods into their movies, and the video game industry giants have already unofficially made Unreal Engine their industry standard for high-quality games meant to stand alone and stand out. Having this certification could be an entry ticket to jobs that could have long careers in tech and design.
c) The importance of a code of conduct is for both the safety of the industry and the safety of the consumers. Having this code in place sets a baseline standard of expectation for the companies making the games for the consumers, preventing the release of large-scale crappy games. This also protects the consumers from any possible inappropriate games being released to unfit audiences, and preventing any lawsuits being brought against the corporations. So, this code of conduct is a necessary implementation within the video game industry.
Playing the basic Into the woods, I felt that this game most closely reminded me of a mystery RPG or the more traditional text-based adventure from the first days of video games. Playing through the story and making certain choices, I felt this the most when you take one action that either leads to advancement or it leads to a repeat or even just restarting the adventure. It was really this aspect that reinforced my perception of this game being a RPG game.
There were some moments when I thought the genres would shift, but I feel that the genre really stayed the same - it was really just the mood of the story that changed. There wasn't any pressure in the game, no external force to make you choose something hastily. You took things at your own pace and made it so that you could even go back and change your answer if it didn't go exactly to plan. There were some moments where it was tense and the mood brightened or darkened, but overall the genre remained as a RPG explorer.
Considering the character traits I made Terry with, I imagine that he will have to change a fair bit or have some more depth added to him to fit the parameters of the project. Due to his supreme ugliness and unluckiness, the likely action that would have to be taken would be to give him one pet friend that is immune to unlucky happenings just to motivate the story past it being a depressing tale of a really unlucky and ugly person. Some minor changes could be how Terry finds the cure to his problems and do the typical 'happily ever after' ending, or there might be an ending where Terry gets chased by a bunch of crusaders. Overall, Terry might change for the better as I begin his story when Unit 4 comes around.
With video games, the licensing rules and copyright laws are important for more than a few reasons. The easiest one is that it prevents theft from becoming a major problem in the game design world. Without these laws in place any creator could take a sprite, asset, or map of another creator and call it their own for sales and profit. What it would result in is bad ethical conduct and, if the game generated enough revenue, possible charges and lawsuits from the original creators of the assets/sprites on the basis of theft. This is a good reason to respect licensing rules of creators and designers, but reading the license can also determine if it is proper or not to use assets for commercial or personal purposes. All in all, designers abide by the licensing rules out of good conduct and avoiding possible charges from other creators.
Concerning the comparison between 3Ds Max and Unreal Engine, the best similarities that could be compared are the basic building of levels. This boils down to movement, rotation, light sources, and scaling of specific objects or props within the editor/designer mode in each 3D program. Other than that, there aren't many similarities that I can really say stand out between these programs. 3Ds Max more focuses on designing specific objects or creating specific scenes, with there usually not being a background to a specific scene from the start. Unreal Engine, however, has a pre-generated sky/background image for the project in question, along with having dynamic lighting included and specific assets for different projects. Simply put, Unreal Engine is focused on implementation and creation while 3Ds Max is focused on design of a model (from my perspective).
Concerning last year in 3D Modeling, I can definitely feel that it has helped prepare me for parts of working with Unreal Engine. I can see this best in shaping and manipulating the assets in Unreal Engine, with the basic mechanics with assets being near identical to the mechanics in 3Ds Max. Lights also help, since I got a base experience last year concerning lighting intensity, color, types of lights, and harsh or soft these lighting factors can be. Some things that I haven't been able to apply from 3Ds Max though are texture and material factors, with the layout of the textures and materials in Unreal Engine completely different from the texture menu in 3Ds Max. There will be a learning curve for me concerning aspects to make the lighting dynamic and the textures wrap around the assets properly, but I feel that the previous year has allowed me to know the basics of making and designing in Unreal Engine at the very least.
With the hut assignment itself, there were several challenges I was able to solve and some that I wasn't able to resolve. One problem concerned the lighting, which I found to not align with the asset of a ceiling light I had in the hut. I moved the light asset above and a little behind the ceiling light to make the whole thing look like it was emitting light, and I found that this did the trick for adding that additional realism to the model. The other big problem, though, and the one I hadn't been able to resolve, was the materials being warped or stretched in ways that looked unrealistic or simply bad. I tried to mess around with some of the properties within the materials tab, but I wasn't able to fix this issue and had to leave it as is, despite the appearance. Other than this issue, I was able to fix the issue of lighting and shapes within Unreal Engine sufficiently to make the whole project look better and realistic.
With more than one inclined plane, the control over the ball's direction is greatly increased. Using only one inclined plane limits the user to only directing the ball in one direction, with no control after the ball leaves the inclined plane and continues rolling. Using multiple inclined planes allows to player to increase their control and influence on the ball, with being able to block it or redirect the ball to the desired location. This addition of another inclined plane or two allows for the ball to be redirected to the target area that the player wants the ball to go to.
Concerning the direction of the inclined plane, snapping was somewhat of an issue concerning the direction and micro adjustments of the inclined plane to get the desired result. With snapping on, moving the inclined plane was somewhat easier to get into a basic position for the project. However, after that the snapping feature started to get in the way with completing the project. It would go to a set point or another, not getting that in-between point that was needed for the ball to be directed to the designated location. Turning off snapping fixed this issue, as I was then able to make those small adjustments that allowed the ball to roll off the inclined planes correctly and land in the target zone.
For my project, I had to deal with several problem-solving issues. The first one I encountered was that the inclined plane wasn't directed in the right place, so I angled the plane correctly and added another inclined plane on it's side in an attempt for the ball to bounce off the plane and into the target area. This didn't go as expected, since the ball still wasn't lined up properly and missed the plane I set up. After turning off snapping to fix the angle problem, I found that the angle of the first inclined plane wasn't enough for the ball to reach a high enough speed to gain enough momentum and retain that with bouncing off the inclined plane. So after increasing the height of the original inclined plane and lessening the angle that the ball was hitting the second plane, I succeeded in getting the ball into the target area with two planes.
Why does the distance from the fulcrum change how much force a weight applies to the lever? The reason for this is because of the torque the weight in question is able to provide on the lever, which is proportional to the distance from the fulcrum of the lever in question. This scales with how close or far the weight is from the midpoint/fulcrum of the lever. If the weight is positioned right near the fulcrum of the lever, the amount of force that the weight can put on the lever is much less than what it can provide when put on the end of the lever. By putting the weight on the end of the lever farthest from the fulcrum point, this provides more weight and force than if the weight was positioned near the fulcrum point.
How does scaling a weight affect the outcome compared to moving it closer or farther from the fulcrum? This changes the outcome through changing the mass of the weight instead of where the force of the weight is being applied on the lever. Changing the mass means that there is more potential force that can be applied to the lever in the first place, which can scale consequently with the positioning of the weight from the fulcrum point of the lever. The best way changing the weight affects the outcome is now with more force available in the first place, there is greater potential energy and thus moving larger objects or performing more actions is possible with the higher mass of the weight. Comparing this to the fulcrum positioning, there is greater possibilities with adding more weight than with just positioning a weight on a lever point.
In what ways can customizing materials be useful for both design and gameplay in a project? Being able to customize and make a specific material is great for both of these uses since they can be changed rapidly to meet the requirements for both of these. Being able to change a material to better suit design needs is good, since design is then made easier and the need for finding a perfect material is lessened since the designer can use the material editor to make the material that they need in unreal engine. From the gameplay perspective, editing materials is also great to either enhance the realism of the game the player is playing or to give the player a certain impression on certain parts of the game. Good examples of these are changing the textures of trees in the game to specify the different species of trees, and possibly give certain areas a creepy or gory look to make the player afraid of what might come next in the horror game.
How does changing the shape or sharpness of the Wedge affect the result compared to just moving it? It affects the result through changing both the possible results and the outcomes. With moving the wedge without changing anything else, the results can be made almost 50/50 with the proper positioning of the wedge underneath the funnel. Moving the wedge definitely changes the chances of where it rolls, but increasing the sharpness of the wedge brings the new result of splitting the watermelon. This is a completely new result as compared to just redirecting it's path by moving the wedge. Overall, changing the aspects of the wedge in question affects the outcome far more than just moving the wedge to a new place in the map.
What did you learn about controlling chaos when working with multiple watermelons and buckets? I learned how to arrange elements in the map to properly contain and retain a little control over the multiple watermelon pieces that resulted from the wedge in the center. The biggest issue in this part was arranging the buckets to make sure all the pieces were caught. I actually found that the watermelon physics were making the pieces phase through the buckets or the collisions go crazy and then randomly teleport outside of the bucket that way. For the most part, though, I managed to arrange the buckets to catch all of the resulting pieces from the positioned sharp wedge.
In what ways can experimenting with physics in UE5 help you think differently about solving problems in real life? It can change my perspective through making me consider both how something might happen and what factors also work with it. For the watermelons, I had to consider what the weight of the watermelon was to change the fall time within the funnel. This also effected the physics of the watermelons when it interacted with the wedge at the bottom of the funnel, changing the size of the pieces that resulted from the sharp wedge interacting with the falling watermelon. For fun, I also made the buckets have physics after and experimented with high and low weight, seeing how the buckets would either catch the pieces or get moved by them instead. This also makes me consider what the aspects of the target area are, and how this interacts with the asset being moved.
Why do wheels reduce friction, and how does this change the movement of objects compared to sliding? Wheels reduce the friction of an object by allowing less resistance between the object and the ground. Since the wheels turn with the motion compared to the friction that comes with sliding, the force is able to be applied without the resistance that friction provides, allowing for the object in question to move more than the few inches that resistance makes. This changes the movement of the object by letting the object move more with the force rather than the resistance and friction stopping the object before it can move farther.
How did adjusting the Lazy Susan's size or rotation rate affect where the ball ended up? What does this teach you about precision in design? Adjusting the rotation rate of the Lazy Susan allows for more control over which direction the ball headed after it fell off the Lazy Susan, allowing me to make adjustments on where I wanted the ball to go to get to the bucket/target area. Changing the size also made it so that the ball either stayed on longer or it fell off sooner, though in all honesty I didn't see a big effect in changing the size of the wedge on the Lazy Susan. This taught me that in order to get the precise results for video games, many smaller adjustments are needed for it to work. I had to halve the rotation value and increase the size slightly for the ball to land in the target bucket in the end.
Why might adding sound effects improve a Rube Goldberg machine or a game level? Think about both the player's experience and the designer's goals. Adding sound effects to a Rube Goldberg or a game level improves the immersion/experience for the players. Keeping a level with no audio makes the whole effect rather boring, and after a while uninteresting for the players. Adding sound effects to pair with the actions gives the actions themselves more substance than just blank silence, keeping the retention of the players instead of letting them get bored. For the designer, adding sound effects provides both a challenge of sorts and the addition of a completion to the project by making the game more immersive for the players. It makes the game more interesting and viable for the market, so that meets their goals of marketing and also sales.
Why is it important to leave a gap between the pulley basket and other objects when setting up a chain reaction? Two reasons, both mechanics and game play. Firstly, the mechanics of the pulley operates on that anything that touches the basket automatically triggers the pulley to activate. This makes the necessity for a gap between the pulley basket and other objects obvious, but the game play perspective is also necessary. Seeing a pulley basket phasing inside an object ruins the immersion of an experience, further adding to the need for a gap between the pulley basket and other objects that it is near.
How does changing the rotation or position of the pulley affect the outcome of the machine? This changes what results from the machine due to the new orientation interacting with the world more. The original position of the pulley machine had the boot rising to no result, as there was nothing for the boot to interact with. Changing this and adjusting the positions, along with rotating the boot and bucket, allows for the pulley machine to interact with the world by knocking over the book in this purpose of the assignment. For this, the changes were rotating the whole machine 90 degrees then adjusting the rotation of the boot and basket while also extending the length of the pulley rope to properly reach the book that needed to be flipped onto the other books.
If you were to redesign today's pulley setup for maximum reliability, what would you change and why? If I was changing the setup, I would make there be only one pulley wheel and adjust the size of the wheel so that the bucket and boot don't collide while also moving the crate with the plane and ball closer to the books to adjust for this. My reasoning is that having the manipulate both sets of pulley wheels can get complicated, especially if you needed to adjust the distance between them while still trying to get the same result as seen below. By only having one pulley wheel, this makes reliability easy and still has the same result with the boot knocking over the book on top of the other books.
Why do you think the screw is considered a simple machine, and how does it change motion compared to the other machines you've used? The screw might be considered a simple machine because it lacks complexity in its operation. Operating a screw simply requires rotating the whole thing, and this is a relatively simple task compared to some of the more complex machines. It does change motion, however, by not pushing or pulling something but instead carrying the object though the rotating grooves until it reaches the goal. Comparing this action to machines like pulleys and wheels & axles, the operation of a screw is much more simple than the operation of either of these simple machines.
When extending a spline ramp, what trade-offs did you notice between making the path smooth versus precise? With the spline ramp, I noticed that the smooth path was simply a straight shot. There wasn't a way to turn or redirect the ball to a new path or target. I was then able to manipulate another part of the spline ramp to make it able to turn and curve, but doing this made the ramp a bit shorter and possibly less precise than the smooth & straight ramp was. The trade-offs are that a straight and smooth ramp is simpler and more accurate while lacking the ability to turn or change. The curved ramp was able to adjust and shift to new targets, but the object rolling down it often didn't stay centered and was less accurate than the object and the smooth ramp.
How could combining splines, screws, and dominoes allow for more creative chain reactions than using them separately? Combining these objects and mechanics allows for a more dynamic and interesting scene than what these tools can provide on their own. Dominoes can provide the principle chain reaction affect, but they would need something to get them going. The screw can then provide some lift and height for whatever object can be the catalyst for this chain reaction, and this object can use a spline to get to that location while also making the travel of the object interesting for the viewer to see. To summarize it, the use of all three mechanics allows for a more interesting and creative display than these tools used by themselves by complementing each other to get an engaging scene for the viewer.
Gameplay: I understand this concept more in the fact that the game is influenced by how the game is set and also by what the players can expect from the game in question. Concerning the Rocket League gameplay, someone with no understanding or prior knowledge of the game can expect the game to be an action-based sports game with cars instead of players. The gameplay is clearly fast-paced and also has elements of destruction and competition from both getting the soccer ball in the opposing goal and having the ability to destroy enemy players when the conditions are met. Along with that, the gameplay seems ideal for casual playing that doesn't involve time investment in a certain game. To summarize, I know now that gameplay is determined by player reaction, setting, features, and intended purpose from the game.
I am paired with Emerson with building and designing the Rube Goldberg machine which we decided to flip a pancake with this Rube Goldberg machine. I was the documenter for this project, and Emerson was the designer. There wasn't a real specific reason for either of us taking the roles, mainly just both of us deciding to take a role for no particular reason. For the design of the machine, we first talked through what we would like to include within the design, then began planning the initial placements for the simple machines within the kitchen map. After sketching the whole of the Rube Goldberg machine with around thirteen steps, we both ran through the whole project one last time and agreed on it, then began building it in Unreal Engine.
How can simple mechanics lead to complex gameplay? The way this can lead to complex moments and interactions in games is through these simple imputs and actions having a more complex impact than what the player first experiences. Using Rocket League as an example, it is extremely easy to use the mechanics of the game. Drive, Jump, and Boost. But then the developers added more simple mechanics like goals, a ball to get in the opposing goals, a point system, and destruction potential. Through the use of all these mechanics layered together, these simple mechanics allows for the creation of a complex game with high competitiveness, challenging and engaging game play, and moments like trick shots that further engages the players in the game. To summarize it, many simple mechanics coming together into one game interact with each other to form something intricate and complex.
Why is it useful to understand game mechanics when analyzing or reviewing a game? To both understand what the game is attempting to portray, and whether the mechanics within the game are great or can be improved for a better experience. Firstly, game mechanics are indictive of the game genre they're used in. If the game is going to be focused on stealth and sneaking around hostile entities, the game will likely have a proximity notice mechanic for the NPCs to add challenge for the player, and a mechanic that allows the player to move and make less noise than their usual form of movement. By knowing which game mechanics line up with what genre, the tester of a certain game can properly document their experience in testing and notice if any of the game mechanics are out of place or not the best for the genre of the game they're testing. Adding to this, game mechanics that don't measure up to the game genre or quality can be noticed and adjusted by the developer, which the tester can pass along if they know what to look for by understanding game mechanics.
Why is mood and atmosphere important in games? The reason that mood and atmosphere is so important within video games is so the game makes the player feel the way the game designer wants the game to feel. This can vary, with feelings of tenseness from games centered around horror and feelings of excitement from fast paced FPS games. If the mood/atmosphere of a game isn't set right or doesn't fit the theme of the game, the immersion and quality of the game could be ruined and the game lose popularity among players who play the game in question. A way this can be seen is with the game A Quiet Place; The Road Ahead. It is based off the movie A Quiet Place that focuses on the world after the Death Angels arrived on earth. The game uses the atmosphere of tamed chaotic coexistence, pushing this with the use of assets that give an overgrown theme, tense and nerve-wracking musing in dangerous moments, and a storyline based on difficult circumstances focused on escaping to a safe haven.
How is it different from game mechanics? The mechanics of a game are different since they affect how the game is played by the player. These change little as the game progresses, being how the character interacts, moves, or performs actions important to the goal or storyline of a game. Mood and atmosphere affects how the game is making the player feel while playing it, and this can vary from scene to scene. For some scenes, they need to be dangerous and action-filled, so the music, noises, and lighting can shift for flashing lights, intense colors, and fast-paced movement that keeps the players alert and ready. Other times, the scenes are peaceful, so the scenes need to be bright and cheery while also playing peaceful sound effects and music tracks to give this impression. In short, game mechanics are static while atmosphere and mood are dynamic.
Symmetry & balance: What I now can understand about this term is that it can vary according to what the game situation and factors are, concerning player level, ranking, and even technical factors in the game. Some games put high importance on this detail and adjust gameplay and mechanics to suit this focus. An obvious example of this is Rocket League, which has it's matchmaker based on player statistics and skill. The game essentially pairs teams and players depending on how they have done in previous matches, to ensure that players play against players of their skill level. This is a good example of how a game can properly balance a game for the player experience to be more enjoyable for all parties. However, other games focus on the content rather than thinking about the matchmaking & fairness of the game all that much. The best example I can think of is a game I play called War Thunder. It's fun and realistic, but there isn't a semblance of balance. New players have the possibility of playing against players with hundreds of hours in experience, all based off of what tier vehicle they're playing instead of what their skill level is in the game. While War Thunder is a great game, the state of it just shows the importance of game balance and proper symmetry for the players to have the best experience and to not find the game tedious or painful.
How can you navigate and explore the first level using the mouse & keyboard, and what does this allow you to observe about the available assets? I can navigate the world through both controlling the editing view and also controlling the character itself with the keyboard controls. This allows me to observe the assets that the character can interact with within the level, and how this can influence what assets I use in the future to best suit the gameplay and abilities of the character.
What is the difference between a static mesh and a blueprint in the content drawer? Static meshes are objects in the world that the character cannot interact with meaningfully and don't follow game logic. Blueprints are also objects but they do follow game logic, meaning the player can interact with the object that is being used for this situation. The examples for a static mesh are platforms that the player can stand on, but past that serve no other purpose for the game. An example of blueprints is items in the content folder like coins and keys, items that the player can pick up and either collect or use later in the game.
Describe at least three interactive elements demonstrated in the level when you playtested Level 1. How do these elements contribute to gameplay? Some interactive elements are buttons, levers, and pickup-able objects like coins and keys. Buttons and levers provide a sort of interaction that could allow for the character to progress and also have a short-term goal in that section of the game. Pickup objects provide a level of progression to the game and also a requirement for completing a level in terms of the keys. Makes the gameplay have clear goals, instead of the openness that comes with sandbox games.
How do you navigate to and open the correct map for building your game, and what is the name of the level you will be editing? The way to navigate to the correct version of the map is to open the content drawer, go to maps, and then all the maps are shown for the player. The one that is being used for this project is the one called "HOC" which stands for Hour Of Code. This is the level that will be edited for the game.
What problem does the player encounter when pressing play in the default level, and what will students need to add in the next lesson to solve it? The problem comes with progressing to the next section of the map. The starting area is isolated by a gap that has a static mesh platform without a collision object enabled on it, so the character simply passes through this static mesh. The solution to this problem is in the next lesson, which is adding/enabling collisions on the platform so the player can stand on the platform without falling through like other static mesh objects.
Why do we need collision objects? Why can't the computer just use the static meshes to handle collisions? The need for collision objects comes from if we want the character to interact with parts of the world or not. By leaving some objects with collision and leaving others without collision, we can push the player towards the designated path that we want them to go instead of a completely different direction. The reason computers can't just use static meshes for this is down to computing power and resources, as it would be both inefficient and taxing for a computer to run with all meshes having collisions.
What was the hardest part to understand about collision detection? The hardest thing to understand for me about collision detection was how the collision object was supposed to wrap around the mesh in question. The overall principle of the collision object is understandable, but something about how the different angles and sides of the collision was hard for me to understand. Either way, this was a minor issue at worse and I was able to follow along and complete the project with the necessary measures & collisions.
What do you think is important to create player immersion when designing a part of a level using static islands? Important due to keeping a level of engagement within the game. If the player doesn't really find a part of the level particularly difficult or challenging, then their engagement and subsequent enjoyment will wane. So it is best to add that bit of immersion to keep the players interested in the game on a simple part that includes these static islands.
What was most challenging with creating the animations for the moving islands? Most challenging was getting the keyframes and island movements to match up properly and to keep the whole amination for the islands looping. For some reason, the method of moving the islands and establishing the keyframes was somehow difficult for me to manage, but I managed to put the islands in the proper places. I did manage to solve this issue through some practice, but the overall project was easier than I thought and I did this activity to the best of my abilities.
If you had more time to work on the animations, what would you do to improve and make them more interesting? Something I would do would be to streamline some of the animations to at least make them somewhat smoother than I had them. Currently, I had some of the islands almost there but there is the slight snapping effect when the animation loops. If there was more time I would like to have figured out how to loop the animation properly and position the islands in ways that loops the animations correctly.
What surprised you most when comparing two professional reviews of the same game? I would say I was most surprised on how they were extremely similar in layout and presentation while differing vastly on arguments like feel, technicalities, and performance. I saw this with the Legend of Zelda reviews by the different review sites, where they had the same writing structure but different focuses. One site focused on how Breath of the Wild was one of the best accumulations of a franchise into one game that the player could have, while the other site focused more on how the game can be supported by older consoles and the frame rate remaining consistent for the most part despite only a few drops here and there.
How can reviewing two different opinions help you become a better game reviewer or designer yourself? Reviewing both sides of opinions allows for someone to see where both critiques are coming from and address them properly. This way, I can understand the sources of what players are either happy with or discontent about. If the sources are conflicting, some compromise might be required but if it's one player complaining about something hundreds of other players are perfectly fine with, then knowing it is only one player compared to hundreds saves the hassle of fixing something that really didn't need fixing in the first place.
Can you think of any other powerups that you would like to add to your game? Besides the jump boosts, I would like to add some other powerups that don't break the game but make progress easier. An easy one for me would be a speed boost. It's simple but effective, and would allow players to get through the obstacles and challenges faster than before. This wouldn't be as game-breaking as a power up like flight, but it would provide the game with some more variety and would definitely make the whole experience more interesting than if there was no other powerups that jump boosts.
Why do you think players can find it satisfying to collect things like coins? Something that might make this satisfying is that it gives the player an additional side goal, and one that isn't required. It might act as a personal fulfillment for the players as they progress within the game. The simple satisfaction that comes with collecting coins is also linked to the gratifying sound that plays when the player does collect a coin, and the extra personal challenge to the players to collect these coins.
How could we improve the level to make it even more satisfying to collect coins? Something that could be done is to make a whole extra platform terrain that is there solely to have the players collect coins. It's an option for the players that is completely optional for the players to take, and an addition that would encourage the players to collect the coins might be a coin counter. This small addition makes the players want to get all the coins to fill the counter all the way to the limit, and has worked in many of the popular games on the market.
Why do we store the information about having the key in the Game Mode instead of the door or the player? The reason is the Game Mode is a consistent part of the entirety of the level. Compared to the player, the player can die and have to reset/respawn. This is less reliable. Compared to the door, the door in question can also change from the player interacting with it to reach the end goal of the level. To summarize why Game Mode is the best for information storage, it is unchanging and unaffected by any external actions the player might do in game. This means it is more reliable, making it perfect for storing this information.
What was the hardest part to understand when building the key and connecting it to the door? This part would definitely be having all the steps involved with just the key and then linking the actions from the key to the door. For some odd reason, the many steps were difficult for me to process and make it to the actual door working. I had to resort to following along step-by-step with the tutorial, and even then I made mistakes and had to go back to correct them in the key Blueprint. Despite my brain just randomly doing this, though, it was smooth sailing.
Why is it better practice to keep the logic for updating the timer inside the HUD instead of directly in the Game Mode? The reason for this is it allows for the game to run smoother and operate better than having this logic cluttering up the Game Mode. By letting the HUD figure it out instead of the Game Mode, this makes it so the HUD isn't constantly changing/updating. This in turn saves processing power for the game, and this leads to a smoother and better experience for the players playing the game.
What challenges did you face when creating a new event from scratch in the HUD, and how did you solve them? The biggest challenges were once again stringing all the steps together. I did search for the specific nodes and all that, but I kept grabbing the wrong ones and having to once again go back and replace them with the correct ones to make sure the HUD for the timer worked correctly. After following the tutorial step-by-step and finding all the mistakes, I managed to actually make it work after some effort.
What did you learn about how data is passed between blueprints and widgets? I learned that when the widget is created, this sends a signal to the Game Mode node to send data to the appropriate nodes/variables that allow for the widget in question to display the right values or text. It is run through a sequencer that appropriates the data into displays such as the time, number of gems, and number of coins. Then the widget is displayed to the players for completing the game. To put it simply, widgets draw information from the Game Mode that is organized and displayed by the widget using a sequencer for the players to see.
Why is it helpful to organize blueprint code using nodes like "Sequence" and reroute pins? It's helpful over making the organization of nodes far easier than stringing all the code together in one long chain. It might not have a meaningful effect on how the game plays or works, but using this organization method streamlines the creation process and also makes finding any problems the game creator encounters easier to locate and fix than if it was all just one giant block chain.
How does your hero's story connect to the new world you will build in unit 5? The story will likely be challenges that show his low self-esteem and his extreme unluckiness from the get-go. Just from seeing what I made for his backstory, likely the end goal for the new world being created will either be a cure for his unluckiness or a new life in which he can leave his old self behind. It can connect being that he went back to the valley to get something that he had left behind, which then can turn into something else.
Do you need to change your hero in any way based on what you now know about the valley? Or should you keep your hero as they are and instead adapt the design of the world to fit them? I'll likely do the first option, since leaving my character as is would be extremely limiting for how the story would go. I would have to make it so that there would possibly be a real reason for him going to a castle other than it was his home. For those reasons, I want to change my character so that he still retains the main points on who I wanted him to be but also add those details to make sure the story is still engaging and enjoyable for the players.
Thinking about your unit 3 activities on game mechanics, mood, and fairness, which of those ideas will influence your world design the most in unit 5? Why? Likely mood will have the most influence. The reason for this is that fairness isn't going to come into play often due to the parkour being easy and the game itself only being one player. Game mechanics are also extremely simple, as it is a character overcoming obstacles in a timely manner without any of the interactions like opening doors or solving puzzles that one can find in other games. Therefore, it really is going to be mood that has the most effect since it will be the thing that the players find is most consistent and noticeable throughout the game.
What are 5 keywords that describe the mood of your level two world? The keywords are likely gloomy, depressing, overcast, determined, and persistent. These keywords I think are what will describe the level two world since I want to keep my character as extremely unlucky. This means stormy/overcast days constantly, faint sunlight, and just a bad day overall. Yet despite this, the character continues forward since they came back to get something and they are gonna get it and never return to the valley again.
How did experimenting with lighting help you understand the importance of atmosphere in a game world? Experimenting with the lighting really made me understand how atmosphere can change the tune of a game instantly. If the lighting is a dim glow, it could be daybreak or dusk for a stealth game. If the sun is bright and sunny, then the game will likely have a happy or fun vibe. If it is grey and overcast, that likely means that the game is getting serious for the player. And if the lighting changes colors suddenly, then there is something very significant happening that the player needs to catch on to.
Why is real-time global illumination (Lumen) such a game-changer compared to baked lighting? Because baked lighting can be both tedious and rigid when it comes to fluidity within a scene. If the computer has to bake lighting every second/frame the player moves a character in-game, this takes tremendous processing power and sometimes is too much for the computer to handle. This leads to odd shadows and misaligned lighting/shadows. Along with that, baked lighting is only one version of lighting from one perspective, unable to change. This makes Lumen so impactful, since now it does away with this inefficient system and replaces it with a system that allows for the players to move freely without the computer having to bake lighting every step.
What kind of problems could happen if your level didn't have the correct Game Mode? These problems might include the player/creator not being able to actually play the game how it was supposed to be played but rather be stuck in the editor mode. This is one of the more minor problems, though, as larger problems can include player respawns, UI problems, and problems around inventories and timers within the game.
Which sculpting tool did you find the most useful for shaping your world and why? I found this to be the smoothing tool and the flattening tool in equal measures. The smoothing tool is an easy one for me, since it allows me to smooth down harsher edges on a model and better make a scene for a project. Concerning the flattening tool, this allows me to recreate a certain level of a height and extend it out. This is helpful for creating specific levels, and can also be used to reset certain parts of the levels by clicking the floor of the scene and bringing every part of the scene to that level.
What challenges did you face when trying to make your landscape look realistic? Some challenges were with the technicalities of the sculpting tool. It probably shouldn't have been all that difficult, but in practice it was more challenging than I expected to get that fine-tuning for making a landscape that can be seen as normal or realistic. I did eventually overcome this through figuring out the specifics of the settings and being able to find the best settings for each situation, but in that moment it was one of the more difficult aspects to figure out.
How could you use reference images to improve the realism of your world? Reference images can be used if the designer wants the image to be set in a specific scene or region of the world, or even not on the world in the first place. If the designer wanted to make a desert scene, a reference image of a desert can be pulled up to see how the designer would sculpt the dunes to make the scene look real. Or if the designer wanted to make a moon base, the designer can make the base map by pulling up a moon reference image and then mimicking the color and variations of the moon within the map they design.
Which parts of the reference image were easiest to recreate in your landscape? The easiest parts were the "mountains" surrounding the perimeter of the map. There weren't many variations needed here like the other parts of the map, since it was a continuous chain of mountains around almost the whole outside of the map. The only part that could really be described as somewhat challenging is maintaining the consistent height of the mountains. Even then there wasn't much detail needed here, as the specifications only require for the sides of the map not to be scaled by the player.
Which areas were the most challenging, and how did you approach them? The areas that were most challenging was the inner ring of mountains and the lake that is in the starting area. The inner ring of mountains/ridges were more challenging than the perimeter mountains since now they couldn't be a certain size or width as to make sure there isn't too little space for the players to not complete the level. Along with this, I felt that they had to be a certain height and shape to not decrease the realism within the map. The lake was challenging at the beginning with hollowing out the base shape, but after following the tutorial and referencing the shape it was completed to the best of my abilities.
If you could improve one part of your terrain, what would you change and why? I would like to change the shapes of the inner mountains and also the shape/width of the lake. The inner mountains didn't match up with the reference image, and this irks me more than I would like to admit. I did adjust some parts to be more like the reference image, but I still find the shape somewhat rough compared to the reference image. The lake is also a sticking point for me, since it didn't seem right and also didn't really look like it matches the rest of the map to the extent I want it to.
How did painting with layers change the look of your world? By painting with layers, I made the map look more realistic than with just one uniform color/texture. The main thing after adding the grass was to give details that could show the terrain and also possibly weathering to make the overall map seem less standard copy-paste. By layering the grass with these other materials, I was able to make the map look more realistic than before.
What choices did you make when adding grass and gravel, and why? I made the choices to put gravel on the tops of mountains for that weathered appearance like in the tutorial. I differed on where to place the grass mixed with other gravel choices and I also went ahead on putting in walkways ahead of time. Though I did make the decision to make the lake bottom out of a different type of gravel than the original type, giving that separating feature that allows for some variation within the gravel at the tops of the mountains and the gravel at the lake bottom.
How did adding water affect the atmosphere of your landscape? It changed the landscape by introducing a completely new element into an otherwise plain scene. Adding this lake gives the impression it's also leading off to another section of the map the player simply cannot access, and the introduction of the lake allows for a new style of gameplay that is needed for the player to get past this section of the game. Overall, water adds that extra little interesting detail for the players to enjoy.
How did you use natural barriers and paths to guide the player through your world? I mainly followed the tutorial for the sculpting the terrain, but for the paths I made them more straightforward than the tutorial did. I made them out of the same brick texture as the tutorial person, but I made the paths wider and the paths also were more straight and less curved/looped like the tutorial paths were. This might be less interesting than just making a curved path, but I can use trees & foliage later to make the players go off the path and actually take a risk.
What choices did you make to make your checkpoints unique? I made the checkpoints to be sorts of houses/monuments for the players to reach, a way to have a very clear temporary goal. I used a base mesh, combined with a tall house, several staircases, and a flagpole. These are all things that make it very clear it is a checkpoint for the players to reach, since the path in question continues beyond this building of a checkpoint. Additionally, I put specialized items outside each checkpoint to distinguish each checkpoint as different from the other checkpoints to add some variation and show a way that the player is progressing through the level.
How do checkpoints change the way players experience your level? Checkpoints give the players a sense of security and drives them to take potential risks using that security. It also gives the players a clear defined way forward and a temporary goal for them to achieve before completing the level. Checkpoints are important to make sure progress by the player is kept, but the bigger one I feel is to give the player something to guide them and to also have a tangible way of progressing through the level.
Which foliage settings made the biggest difference in realism for your world? Biggest difference was definitely the density and the spacing in each pixel/unit. With this, I was able to make either a thick grassland, spotty vegetation, or sections of the map where there were sparse trees. I used this especially concerning bends, trees and grass lining the path leading to the main area, and also the general atmosphere of the Valley.
How did adding vegetation change the atmosphere of your level? This changed the atmosphere through providing depth to the map as a whole. I went for a more older and possibly abandoned feel, so I made thick vegetation on the verges of the path and also occasional spots of vegetation growing around the infrastructure I had built on the path/map itself.
How can you use forests and fields not just as decoration, but to shape gameplay and exploration? I could use them to define a path or force the player to take a different route as opposed to a straight-ahead one. This could involve putting a key for a door within a path surrounded by forest, or adding lore/a story by having the player traverse a forest typically rumored to be evil.
What choices did you make to design your castle’s exterior? I made the choice to have the castle be larger and taller than the one in the video and I made it have two entrances. The reason I did this was to make the whole feel of the player reaching the castle more grand and vindicating than just reaching a modest castle after traversing a whole map to reach an end goal. So I went with a larger scale castle than the tutorial person in Game plan did.
How did you organize your assets to keep the build manageable? I did manage to organize the roof, towers, and several of the walls into simple folders within the details sidetab of the engine. However, for the most part I just let there be little to no organization as I was more focused on getting the castle built. This might cause some trouble down the line concerning finding specific assets, but I can use the search bar of I need to.
What atmosphere do you want players to feel when they reach the castle interior? I want the players to feel as though the castle is older but abandoned, without a real reason for it to be abandoned in the first place. I would say that I made it imposing, and for those details I made it look rich by having two doors to emphasize how the person living there thought one door was like being a poor person.
Part 1:
How did adding lighting change the feeling of your castle? It changed it from being a dark and closed-off space of several staircases to an ominous castle space with a mysterious cluster of gems spinning by unknown forces. I made big braziers for the main staircases and I made torches for the rest of the space to light up parts I found were harder to reach with the braziers.
What choices did you make to balance mood and visibility? I made the choices to have the lights concentrated in the center of the castle. This draws the attention away from the darker corners, making them subtly more ominous while keeping the player's attention on the main goal of the whole level, which is up several flights of stairs.
How can light be used as both decoration and a gameplay tool? It can be used as a decoration like in this project through showing up as different props to suit the needs of creating a map. Using this as a gameplay tool is different. Lights can be used to direct a player in a certain direction, while the lack of lights also serves as a motivation for the players to either run away from that area (where there is likely a monster) or be forced to find an actor like a flashlight and explore that dark area.
Part 2:
How did flickering light change the feeling of your castle compared to static light? It changed it through adding a feel of variation and realism. Since it is fire, the flickering of the light quality made it so the players could be fooled into thinking there really was fire there instead of just a light source that is disguised to look like a torch. Overall, it makes it more ominous and possibly more realistic to the cartoon extent it can.
Why do you think it’s important to add variation between different light sources? To keep the scene changing for the players. If the whole level just had lights that were standard and unchanging, then there would be little stimulation for the players to experience and want to continue playing. Changing up lights makes the players interested in the variation surrounding the level, and also keeps the players guessing on what might come next along with these new lights.
If you wanted to push the atmosphere further, where else could you use dynamic shadows? These dynamic shadows could be used outside the castle and around the player as they progress. One could be the trees, which could have different types of shadows on the ground that are constantly moving with the movement of the trees. Another is with the lampposts and the lights there, allowing the players to see the differences as they progress.
What details did you add to make your village feel lived-in? In this case, my goal was to make the village feel abandoned instead. So I added the details of the palisade at the village entrance being dilapidated, one door off the hinges and the other door leaning coupled with the rickety watchtower. Along with that, I made the whole village rather empty with some piled trash in the open area and some odds and ends scattered around as well with the water wells and odd collection of props in the center in front of the castle.
How did coins and gems affect the way players might explore your level? It affects it through making the players choose between finishing the level and getting all the coins and gems, or ignoring them and finishing the level. I put the coins and gems around the houses and within some of the wooded areas, making the players explore for them and also making them seem like secrets for the players to discover.
How does your change connect to one of today’s essential questions? Creativity and variety can make a world unique through providing interesting materials or content for the players in question to explore within the world they are playing. By mixing up how the world looks or behaves, it keeps the player engaged within the game and makes the player interested in playing the game instead of the game getting stale for the player to experience. To address another point, things that make a player pause could often be situations like ruins or potentially significant moments within the game whether they affect the gameplay or not. Examples of both are a scene with ominous lighting and a dilapidated look on a distant horizon that the player can't reach, compared to a puzzle that directly effects the game itself.
(How can creativity and variety make your world unique?)
(What makes a player want to stop and look closely at a game environment?)
(How can props and buildings help tell a story without words?)
How can you balance decoration with gameplay flow, so the player doesn’t get lost? Something that might help with this could be making the decoration be directional, pointing the character forward through the level. Adding decoration or content that makes the players go in a certain direction makes sure the players can't go off on the wrong track as the player progresses through the level. These decorative measures can lead to checkpoints, further reaffirming the directional nature of the decorations and progression within the level.
How well does your current world design support the kinds of challenges shown in the video? Currently, it both does doesn't really support it. The aspects that don't support what will be introduced within the level is really the basic Pi puzzle that is where the rolling boulder will have to be placed. However, some things that do support certain aspects of the challenges shown are the obstacles at the beginning and the moving arm & pendulum challenges, since it is already extremely similar to the course made in the video.
What changes or adjustments might you need to make to your landscape, layout, or design to prepare for these challenges? Some changes that might need to be made is moving the Pi puzzle to another place in the level instead of on the slope section of the level where the rolling boulders will be. Landscape-wise, some smaller tweaks might need to be made concerning the set confines and outlines of the level in general to better suit what will be added to the level. There isn't much needed in changing the design, but there will likely be some changes that are needed in order to properly allow for these challenges to be added.
How should the challenges you add in this unit match the mood of your Level 2 world? These challenges should keep the mood down and/or prevent from being uplifting to keep with the darker mood needed. Overall, the challenges should keep with this theme to prevent from changing the overarching tone of the level.
How did adding ragdoll physics change the feeling of failure in your game? Makes the failure more real than just resetting the character. By making the character lose function and falling over, this makes the players see how their wrong/poor actions can have real tangible consequences on the character that they are using, and this makes the whole experience of the game more real and immersive than a dull and boring immediate reset of the character.
What adjustments would you make to the Sweeper Arm to balance difficulty? Some adjustments would be on position, rotation speed, and arm length. Position is an obvious one, as the positioning of the rotating arms challenges players to avoid certain arms in specific places. Rotation speed breaks up the usual experience of avoiding the arms, as the player has to change how they approach it each time. And arm length also changes what the player needs to account for, as the arm can reach more or less than what the player can possibly expect from this challenge.
How does this first obstacle set the tone for the rest of the challenges? This sets the tone of lighthearted challenges that make the players have to take the game more seriously than before. The addition of these arms provides a new depth to the level that wasn't there before, as now there is an actual inclusion to challenges made to either slow down or eliminate the player's progress within this level and makes the whole experience more entertaining.
How did adding pendulums change the feel of the Sweeper Arm challenge? Changes it through adding a much more intimidating obstacle to this part of the level. Compared to the smaller sweeper arms that I added previously, the pendulum is much larger, more intimidating, and definitely worse to experience and dodge than the sweeper arms. Overall, adds that medieval ominous feeling like guillotines or gallows that is designed to prevent the players from advancing to the next stage.
What adjustments did you make to balance challenge and frustration? I made the adjustment to make the pendulum that much more challenging to the level, as it adds a way to make the players really struggle past the simple challenge that is jumping along the path and avoiding an arm that is trying to push them into the water. By adding the larger and more inconvenient pendulum structure, it makes the players challenged and engaged with trying to get past this series of obstacles.
How does polishing the environment change how players experience the challenge? It makes the engagement with the game increased, and makes the gameplay flow smoother and better for the player experience. To put it simply, and because there really isn't a way to extend this for several more sentences, polishing the game improves how the players experience and play the game and thus allow for better player reception and attitude.
How does the size and speed of the boulder affect how dangerous it feels? Makes the scene feel much more dangerous when I have the boulders be larger than the player and also move faster going down the slope than the player expects. Doing this adds more to the game itself, as this additional intimidation to the already difficult challenge makes the player both more determined to get past this part in the level and having to move carefully in order to navigate this.
How did you balance safe zones and danger in your Boulder Hill design? I made the choice to have the safe zones structured and positioned so the player would be forced to go in the path of oncoming boulders in order to progress through the challenge. I did have to space the boulders out to make it possible, but still had the potential of eliminating the player if they aren't careful.
What changes did you make to your Boulder Hill to improve fairness after playtesting? Spaced out the boulders some more to give the players a better chance of completing the level, and changed some of the hiding spots to streamline how the gameplay felt for the players to make it less choppy and uneven than before.
How does the Boulder Hill hazard feel different from the Sweeper Arm challenge? It really felt different in that the challenge forces the player to move forward within the challenge as compared to the sweeper arm. Comparing it to the sweeper arm, the player just had to wait for the arm to be in a certain point in the swing to move forward. With this challenge, the player has to move forward as the boulders are coming at them at the same time, making them have to take more risk than they did with the sweeper arms.
How did adding destruction effects change the feel of the Boulder Hill challenge? It makes it possibly more real than just letting boulders stack up endlessly, since destroying them also gives the effect that they are moving fast enough to have the stones shatter at the invisible barrier that exists at the start of the boulder tower ramp entrance. Along with this, it allows for the player to have a chance at getting though the obstacle rather than being blocked by boulders rolling past the ramp and possibly blocking the way through the obstacle.
What choices did you make in your particle system, and why? I made the choice to keep the particle effects themselves the same, but I scaled up the size to match the boulder size. The reason I kept the particles relatively the same was to minimize any errors on my part and to prevent an excess of lag or frame stutters that I saw with other levels we playtested. So to keep the gameplay mostly free of lag or frame drop, I chose to keep the particle effects how they were while making the sizes match.
How can visual effects help communicate gameplay information to the player? It might help with showing what can happen and also what is available for the player to explore and use to progress within the game. This can be shown with the boulders in this example, as the visual effects help the players see where there is a point that is safe and a point upon entering the ramp where the boulders won't be destroyed before it reaches the player. Other examples could be red lights after incorrectly doing a puzzle, arrows that light up when a player approaches, and other effects that can both guide and help the player in a game.
How does the timed element make this challenge feel different from Sweeper Arm and Boulder Hill? Changes the challenge through making the player have to move faster and with haste rather than making sure to avoid the obstacles and getting through at their own time. Compared to the boulders and sweeper arms, the need to move faster than the player might be confident in makes the whole experience different than what the player has experienced earlier in the level, keeping them interested and present within the game.
What adjustments would you make to the open duration to balance difficulty? Likely find the balance between how long it should reasonably be and what the minimum amount of time should be allotted. Obviously, too little gives the player no chance at making it and too much doesn't change the feel of the challenge. I would likely make the length of time right around twelve or fifteen seconds. The reason for this is that it gives the players time to get across the obstacles at a quick pace, but keeps the time restriction feeling on them and the potential of failure.
How can timing-based obstacles increase tension without feeling unfair? Mainly through giving the players a challenge that they need to complete on a required time set outside of their control instead of being able to complete it at their own pace. This makes the whole challenge more interesting and new to the players while also keeping the fun part of the game with it in trying to beat this obstacle despite the new level of difficulty that is present in this new type of obstacle.
How did you decide which props and obstacles to use in your village course? I decided to use assets that were in the fantastic village pack, mainly altering between the props folder and the buildings folder to build the village. I used the buildings to line the sides of the road and to prevent any possibility that the players could escape from the place through developer error. I used props from the meshes file like gates, a stone bridge, and some fences and stick barriers to add depth and to generally provide the player with more to look at within the abandoned village.
What changes did you make to balance the gate duration with the path length? I made the decision to change the duration from twelve seconds I had initially to around fifteen seconds. This mainly came from the challenge I got when most of my initial attempts ended with the gate shutting too fast to escape the abandoned village. I then did some balancing of the obstacles and changed the time that was allotted to the timed gate, and this balanced out the obstacle in question for the play experience.
How does the “escape before the gate shuts” mechanic create a different kind of tension than previous challenges? Mainly that this directly implies that if they don't escape the village, they won't progress through the level. With the other obstacles, there was always a method or way to possibly get around them or to even be able to avoid them. Concerning this one, though, the only option to progress is to get through the abandoned village in time and if they don't figure it out they won't be able to get through. This makes the whole situation around this obstacle different, just from the connotations if the player isn't able to get past this.
How did ranged attacks change how you tested your level compared to previous challenges? It definitely made testing the level more engaging than what I did in past testing run-through plays of the game. On this I actually had to keep moving and couldn't really stay still for much, since after setting up the enemy tower properly that meant there was the new risk of being set back again and again for simply testing the level. Overall, it definitely made me have to test the game differently than I used to.
What adjustments might you make to the tower’s sensing distance or fire rate? I might make the tower have a longer range than what was in the tutorial and also have a different fire rate. This fire right will be a bit lower than the one from the tutorial, but this could change if this takes away from the gameplay. On the other hand, I'm hesitant to increase the fire rate since this might make the gameplay worse in keeping the player from progressing and might soft-lock them in the earlier parts of the level instead of finishing it.
Why does adding a visible enemy in the tower make the mechanic more immersive? Makes it more immersive than the other obstacles since it shows that it isn't just the player within the level lore-wise. Before, it was obstacles that didn't have a living presence and seemed to be more robotic than anything. Considering this obstacle, though, it makes the whole level more human and shows that there are other 'beings' than just the player. It might not seem like much on the surface level, but the overall impact makes the level more interesting and engaging than just a level with standard obstacles.
How does changing ProjectileSpeed affect the predicted aim point and the player’s dodge options? Changing the speed of the projectile from the tower makes the predicted aim point less than what the original speed was with the predict aim point. This means that the dodge potential for the player is also lessened, due to the speed reaching the predicted player aim point faster than the player might expect, leading to more deaths and potentially a more challenging obstacle than what existed before with the enemy tower.
What values would you tweak first (AimOffset, Sensing Interval, Z offset) to make towers feel fair but challenging - and why? I would likely change the sensing intervals first, mainly due to better gameplay and less chance of the tower bugging out. Addressing this variable first sets the groundwork for the tower attacking the player, so from my perspective this would easily be the logical first variable that I manipulate for the predicting where the player will be even with a different speed or projectile.
If you turned gravity on for projectiles, what parts of today’s prediction approach would need to change? This would be the projectile vector, adjusting the path of it to arch it into the player as they continue on past the tower. Right now, there isn't gravity or mass applied to them so they just go straight in the air. If gravity was turned on, this means that the vector of the projectile would change from a line to a curve due to mass of the object being affected by the gravity variable.
Which per-tower variable (SightRadius, VisionAngle, TimeBetweenThrows) had the biggest impact on fairness - and why? I would say TimeBetweenThrows, just due to the nature of how it changes the gameplay. If the towers fire projectiles faster, then the player has to work more to not get hit and to go between cover and cover to complete the level and survive. Therefore, changing this for fairness will have the biggest effect on the player and fairness within the level concerning the section with the towers.
What advantages did OnComponentHit provide over overlap events for fast projectiles? This provides the advantage that whatever it hits causes the particles to activate and the gameplay to be better. Event overlaps are more complex and less fluid than OnComponentHit, since it checks if it hit/overlapped the player to see if the particles should activate. By using the OnComponentHit, this makes it so that the particles trigger whenever the potion hits something the particles activate and gives the appearance of an explosion.
How do the explosion VFX change player readability (did I get hit? where did it land?) and how would you iterate on timing/color/scale to improve it further? This changes the VFX through showing where exactly the potion landed for the player to see and also decreases the uncertainty on whether the player got hit or whether the potion missed. I would make the potion hit effects more vivid and violent for when the potion hits the player to emphasize a hit, and I would add a variable that changes the scale between a minimum and maximum value to change the sizes of the potions and add some variety within this section.
Where did overlapping sight cones create the right kind of tension and where did it become unfair? It created the right kind of tension when the player had something that they could properly hide behind. There is still progress from the player able to be achieved, and they can still progress. This becomes unfair when there is no cover for the player to take advantage of and there are two attackers going for the player. Then there is little progress able to be made, and the gameplay gets frustrating.
Which props or blockers most effectively guided players along your intended route, and why? Likely the blockers that had a staggered path positioning to them. This allows the player to follow them and take advantage of cover from the attackers when they attacked the player. This both allows gameplay to continue and be fun while also making the experience fun and balanced without any risk of the player getting overly frustrated or getting killed constantly.
After playtesting, what single adjustment (angle, radius, tower position, or cover placement) most improved fairness without killing challenge? The positioning of the towers might change the fairness for the better. Currently, they are positioned so the player has to walk into sightlines to progress and take advantage of cover along the way. What I didn't anticipate was that some of these towers have accidental crossfire against the player and can pin them down with alternating fire which the player can't really get out of without dying. So I will have to change the positions of the towers to continue having fun gameplay but still have a challenge for the players to experience.
What changes did you decide to make based on peer feedback, and why? I had to of course continue with the level as it wasn't at the same level as others, and I had to also change a few minor things within the level. Some things that I did change according to the feedback besides continuing with the level building process was in the starting obstacles, changing the spacing of several objects in the water to lessen the skill needed to make it through somewhat. Other than this, there weren't many other changes that I needed to make immediately to improve gameplay.
How did the feedback confirm or challenge your own ideas about your course? It confirmed I still needed to get some more stuff down within the course, which I have been doing. Some things that it also confirmed was some simple balancing changes, like shifting the position of some objects and altering a few of the rotation speeds of the swivel arms. There weren't many things that the feedback challenged, but I made some changes after another playtest to make it a more enjoyable experience to play.
Looking back, what part of your challenge zone feels most improved after these updates? Definitely the starting zone. I'll admit that after going back and playing it with the changes, it definitely felt more balanced and fairer compared to my playtest before the peer review. It mainly boils down to things like the positioning of the obstacles and the difficulty of the obstacles like the pendulum and the swivel arms.
What area did you choose to expand or decorate, and why? I chose to expand the castle area of the map, since it has the most space to do so. Additionally, I wanted to expand this part since I had left it initially rather bare aside from some of the decoration and buildings that I had put up on building the village around the castle.
How do your changes affect the way players experience or understand the challenges? These changes don't really affect how the players experience the level until the end, since this is more of a way to make the end goal look better. It is more aesthetically focused, as this makes the end goal more noticeable and obvious than just the castle being the main attraction for the goal.
How do you balance decoration with gameplay so the player doesn’t get lost or distracted? I would say it actually balances the gameplay and balance really well, as it focuses the player on the goal rather than anything in between. To see the better version of the end goal, this makes the player have to go through the whole level in order to make it to the end and see the finalized version of the castle village.
Unit Introduction
Which of the three systems - UI, cutscenes, or sound - do you think has the biggest impact on how players feel while playing your game, and why? I would say that sound has the biggest impact on the feel of a game. The reason for this is because it directly affects the mood of a game, changing the playing experience of the game fundamentally. Best examples are in both cinema and other games, as both of these industries use certain audio cues or songs to push a feeling for the audience to experience - like high-pitched long tones for tense and scary scenes or an upbeat song to emphasize a casual or fun scene in a movie or game.
How do you plan to use these tools to make The Valley more immersive and emotionally powerful in the next lessons? I already have basic music tied to the starting zone from the Starter Pack in the content folder, but I can also change this to have certain parts of the map play other audio cues or songs to change the mood for that section. A possible use could be with putting a chime on each correct door in the Pi challenge or adding a certain music with the abandoned village that gives the vibes or old or weathered.
Main Menu
What was the most important connection you learned between widgets, levels, and controllers when building your main menu? I learned the most important connection (to me) was the game controller level. This really controlled all of the ways the level buttons and the level selection actually worked, and it seemed to me like a necessary part for the whole thing.
How does adding a background image or visual style change the way players experience your game’s first screen? Changes it through making it more interesting than just a blank screen. By adding an image, it makes the whole thing feel a bit more polished (to me) and it also makes the final product more interesting to look at than before.
Pause Menu
What part of the pause system was most important for making the menu feel responsive and reliable during gameplay? The most important part is definitely the pause and unpause button. Quitting to the main menu or restarting the level are pretty normal things, but being able to pause and play the game by using the menu gives the thing a better flow than if it didn't have this.
How do you think players experience a pause menu that fits naturally into the game’s world and flow? The experience is better and helps to streamline the game, making the whole experience more enjoyable and engaging for the player. Having a pause menu that fits the theme of the world is definitely something that is needed in a game, for if there was just a random pause menu in a specific game then the immersion & gameplay loop would be ruined.
Select Levels
How does storing and switching between multiple widgets in the Player Controller make your UI system more efficient and flexible? Allows for the logic to run smoother than if it wasn't in the player controller. The reason might be that the whole thing is centralized, making the whole thing more efficient and less choppy.
What feeling do you want players to have as they move seamlessly from one level to the next in your game? Likely that the game is good and the roadbumps have been smoothed out, since not bein able to do this definitely gives the impression that the game is less finished than one where the players can select the level that they want to play.
Boulder Sound Effects
How does using attenuation and distance-based audio make your game world feel more realistic compared to fixed-volume sounds? It increases the realism through incorporating sound into the depth of the object/build in question. By making the sounds grow louder and fade corresponding with distance, this matches up more with what we experience in real life and thus gives the game a better feeling of depth and thoroughness that increases the immersion.
How did today’s work with sound design change the way you think about how audio influences the player’s experience? It influences the experience through providing a feeling of realism to the game for better immersion and engagement with the game. Comparing the new system to what was in the game before, the older game feels flat and less appealing than the game that now has the dynamic sound method linked to the specific obstacles and objects.
Ambient Sounds
How does random timing and sound variation make ambience feel more natural? Keeping the ambient noises on a randomized variable prevents the player from hearing a pattern in the sounds. This makes the sounds themselves to feel more natural, as in real life sounds aren't on a specific pattern or track. Making it random gives the player that little bit of immersion in the game that makes the experience better.
When you think about your favorite games, what kinds of background or ambient sounds made the world feel alive, and how could you recreate that feeling in your own project? Considering some of my games, the ambient sounds are winds, animal sounds, and also noises associated with a forest or an urban area. I could attempt to recreate these sounds through downloading the proper sounds from the content browser and implementing it into the level to properly see how it can work to improve the game.
Pendulum Sound Effects
How does connecting MetaSounds to Blueprint events make a game feel more reactive and alive? Better syncs the sounds with the movements of the pendulum to line up the immersion instead of a blanket sound playing. Giving this detail portrays a greater sense of realism that isn't diminished by a sound playing out of sync with an actor moving or an obstacle (like the pendulum) moving when sound isn't lining up with those movements.
What kinds of small audio details make you feel the most impact or tension when you play a game? Small audio details might impact the game like sounds that show the detail provided and used within the game. Ambient sounds are good, but make them with a large randomizing variable so that the player can't detect a set pattern for the noises playing. Along with that, adding intimidating or deadly-sounding audio cues to obstacles that could eliminate the player also adds to this tension, heightening their stakes.
Background Music
How does using Blueprint Interfaces make it easier to connect different systems in a game? It makes it easier through being able to either make something a variable or have a Cast To node that can interact with the other blueprint nodes. This allows for many different values to play a role in a specific system, and lets the variables interact and produce a better game experience for the players.
When have you noticed background music change in a game, and how did it affect how you felt while playing? The background music changes definitely made the mood switch. For instance, when a game switches from a neutral positive background music to a high-intensity stress-inducing chase music, then player usually knows that the game is about to switch to something big. Its in these ways that background music can affect an experience.
Level 1 Cutscene
How does controlling music transitions through Blueprints improve the player’s experience during a cutscene?
When have you noticed a game use music to guide your emotions or signal a shift in gameplay, and what effect did it have on you?
Level 2 (Part 1) Cutscene
What did you find most difficult about creating smooth camera movement across multiple rails and shots?
How did planning separate sequences for each area change the way you think about pacing in a cutscene?
Level 2 (Part 2) Cutscene
What technical adjustments made the biggest difference when you combined your sequences and added music or animation?
How does your final cutscene reflect the mood or story you want the player to experience at the start of Level 2?
Final Polish
Describe the changes you made, what you learned, and what you’re most proud of in your project’s presentation.
Reflect on how these finishing touches elevate your game from a student project to something that feels professional.