New Concept Art

Its been a while since produced any concept art. This is mainly because I thought it would be better if we finalised the game-play mechanics before producing any new images. Although my early concept art looked quite good, With all the different colours and lighting effects it did not take into account how that would relate to the game play. The new concept art gives a much more realistic impression of how the game might look. I have kept with the visual style of primary colours on a white background. I have also tried to show the environments from a players perspective and the effects of a players interaction.

Stealth Prototypes

The original Idea that I had for the stealth mechanic was that the player would extrude multiple cubes along the length of the wall to create a shaded area for the player to walk across. (as seen in the Stealth_demo Video) When I tested creating a shadow with multiple cubes in Unreal, each Cube casts a different shadow at a different angle so there were gaps between each shadow. The way round this problem would design the level so the player only has to extrude one cube across the level. If we design it this way, there is only one cube blocking the light so it would create a solid shadow.

Enemy Path in Matinee

Importing enemies into Unreal and programming the enemy AI is something that nobody in our group knows about. So we have decided that the enemies will be imported into unreal as a static mesh and then animated in engine using the Matinee. My idea for the enemy behaviour was that they would move forward until they hit a wall then turn 90 degrees right. That way the player would be able to block the enemies path and change their direction (as shown in the EnemyDemo video). This would be difficult to program in unreal because although you can set a path for the enemy to follow, it is only a rough guide and the player would not be able to change that path in game. To get the enemies working using the Matinee would mean animating every possible scenario and the programming the correct time to play each animation using the Kismet. This means nobody has to learn about AI programming instead we have to learn about how to use the Kismet and Matinee editor (witch is also how we are getting the moving cubes working) and also the enemies behaviour will be much easier to control. In this video I have managed to get a basic enemy path animated and working in engine the next step is to work out how the player would be able to change the enemies path in game.

UDK Prototypes

I have managed to get a cube to move up and down in UDK . You can control this using the Primary and alternate fire modes. When the cube takes damage form primary fire it moves up and when it takes damage from secondary fire it moves down.
It is also possible to get the cube to move up and down using two different weapons. I think we should go use the primary and alternate fire modes because it is controlled using the left and right mouse button witch is quite an easy system to use. In the game the full game each mode of fire could be represented as one of the players arms. so the left button controls his left arm and the right button controls his right arm.

I have also managed to get a cube to move up in two stages . The cube moves up one stage when the cube takes damage , if it takes damage again it moves up another stage. This is achieved using two Matinees ,but I have not yet managed to reverse this. Richard said that you could do it using a remote event. I think I have been spending a bit too much time in UDK and I should concentrate on other production work , mainly creating some final level designs. So I'm going to assume that everything is possible and come back to it later.

Change in level Structure

Original plan for the level structure

1.Navigation level - The player has to use the environment to get to the end of the level.

2.Stealth - The player is able to block the light and create a shaded area that is safe to walk across.

3.Enemy – Player is able to change the enemies path so that they can lure them in to a trap where they either contain or squash the enemy

4.Image construction – Player pulls out multiple pieces of the environment in order to create an image that will only look right from a fixed perspective.

After trying to create the final level designs, we have made the decided to combine levels 2 and 3. This is because the stealth idea is quite limited and it would be better if the stealth mechanic was included as part of the Enemy Puzzle.

New Level Structure.
1.Introduction Level
2.Navigation Level
3.Enemy Level
4.Image Construction

Double Jump Pad

This prototype is similar to the other Jump Pad prototype. It works by having a UT Jump Pad hidden behind the cube. The player cannot reach the Jump Pad until they lower the cube. When the player steps on it they are launched across the level and the cube returns to its original position. In the video I operate the second cube in mid air. In this example the player does not have to operate the second jump pad in mid air , but it would be good if in the actual game it would be good if the player good only operate the second cube in mid air to give the game some difficulty. I'm not yet sure how this could be done. It could be achieved through programming or through level design.

Image Construction Puzzle

This is my idea for an image construction puzzle. The player pulls out various pieces of the environment in order to create an image. The player will be able to pull out many different pieces from the floor walls and ceiling and the image will only look right form a certain perspective. There are two important factors to consider when designing the final version of this puzzle. First of all how many pieces will the player need to move to create the image and also how many pieces will the player be able to move that are not needed to complete the puzzle.

This is a prototype for how the player would use a cube to launch themselves to higher ground. When the player shoots the cube it move inwards, the player then steps on the cube and is launched into the air. This current prototype works by having a UT Jump pad hidden behind the cube. At first the player can not use the Jump Pad because the cube is in the way. Once the cube has been lowered the player is able to step on and trigger the Jump Pad. The Problem with this current design is that after the player uses the Jump Pad, the Cube does not return to its original position. If the cube returned to its original position it would feel a lot more like the actual cube is launching the player.

Enemy Puzle Ideas

This video is designed to show a few of the ways the player will be able to use the enviroment against enemies. It would be good if the final puzle designs combined all the elemnts shown in the video.

Navigation Puzle

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This video is designed to demonstrate how the player would be able to interact with each cube and how they would use this ability to navigate a level. The game could start like this as way of introducing the player to each type of cube. By starting of simple like this the player may easily understand how they can interact with each cube.
Thsi is a basic example of how the player could use each cube and , although it is not shown in this video there will be moveable cubes on the walls and ceiling. The surfaces would also be at a variety of diferent angles. This would open up many diferent posibilities. For example if there is a wall with a blue cube at a 45 degree angle the player could use this to launch themselves across the level

Stealth Prototype in Unreal

This is my second prototype for the stealth idea. When the player shoots the cover it moves out from the wall and this creates a shadow. In the first stealth prototype I created in unreal, the shaded area wasn't dark enough. I tried to make it darker by including two moving covers. Although it did make the shadow darker, this method would not work well in the actual game considering how many cubes the player will be able to move.

Moving Cube Prototype

This is a prototype for how the player would interact with a cube. When the player shoots the cube it raises from the ground. I have not yet work out how this could be reversed. I have managed to get the cube to go back down after a period of time but the player is not in control of this.

Stealth Mechanic

Demonstration video for the stealth mechanic

Our main influence for our game idea is a 3 minute animation created by the Vancouver film school. The animation starts of with an anonymous character waking up in a large desolate white room. As he gets up he realises that he can move pieces of the room around. A robot then emerges from the floor. Initially the character is shot by the robot, but then he pushes the floor up from under the robot and sends it into the air . Whilst the robot is in the air he sends the wall towards the robot and the robot collides with the wall on the other side of the room and is smashed into pieces. After the robot has been defeated the character then uses the floor as a lift to escape through a gap in the ceiling only to find himself in another desolate white room.

I feel a game where the player is able to manipulate a 3D environment is a good starting point. It is an original idea that has not been done before and there are many different directions that we could take it. I know that it will not be as simple as making a game out of this animation . There are a many aspects that need to be changed for it to work as a game that we can realistically design and produce in 24 weeks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lMpdX-emxk