The Clearing
The Clearing
Unreal Engine 5 • Solo Project • itch.io • PC
A third-person survival combat prototype in which players defeat wave-based enemies with increasingly difficult spawn patterns. Designed to test AI, spawn logic, and player feedback systems.
Design Goals & Objectives
Explore wave-based spawning mechanics with escalating difficulty.
Design basic AI for melee pursuit and attack behaviour.
Create a visually readable play space with ambient forest theming.
Integrate reactive player feedback through sound and hit effects.
The Clearing gameplay
Development Breakdown
Enemy AI Design
The enemy AI is designed to walk directly and menacingly toward the player. Upon reaching melee range, they strike using a simple timed attack. Their navigation is based on built-in pathfinding via Unreal’s NavMesh system.
Wave System & Spawning Logic
Enemies spawn at one of eight predefined points selected at random. With each wave, the number of spawned enemies increases, providing a clear difficulty curve.
Player Feedback
Ambient forest audio and wind effects support immersion.
Each valid hit plays a sound with randomly pitched variants to enhance perceived variety.
Basic hit-flash feedback helps reinforce successful attacks.
What I Learned
Gained experience working with Unreal’s Blueprint visual scripting to manage spawning, AI states, and player input
Built understanding of feedback loops and “game feel” through small audio and animation touches
Identified future improvements in pacing and enemy diversity for similar prototypes