First Week Back In Newport

The past week we have all been working from our new house. Since moving in we have made much better progress compared to when we were all working from home. The communication is much better and I feel much more motivated to work if the people around me are working as well.

The past week has mainly been spent prototyping new ideas. Many of these ideas are physics based and they could open up many different possibilities, but I feel we shouldn't move too far away from what we already have because the game may lose it's identity.

We have also made the decision to move away from the futuristic theme and try to create something that feel s like a toy world. This is mainly because the futuristic idea has been done many times and it is very difficult to get right. the toy world idea is something that is not seen in first person games and it fits with what we already have, in terms of the look of the environments and the way objects behave. The toy world idea could work well , but I feel we should be carefull. The game may feel like a Toy world in the way objects behave and players may draw comparisons with a toy world but if it is too explicit it may feel a bit cheap.

Rotating Physics Prototype

New idea for a rotating physics puzzle. The idea is to get the blue cube form where it starts to the small platform in the centre of the room. To make the goal of the puzzle clearer there is a semi transparent to show where the cube has to go. The player is not able to move the cube directly. Instead they have to use the red cubes to move it into place.
This is an early prototype so there is a lot that would need to be changed. At the moment the physics for the block are not right and will need to tweaked in order for it to work better. It should also be possible to reset the puzzle if the player makes a wrong move.

Watch Video

New Level Structure

This Video shows the new Level structure. In the previous version the level structure was completely linear which was very repetitive and if a player could not work out a particular puzzle, then they would be stuck in that level. The new level structure will allow the player to select which level they want to play and if they get stuck then they can return to the main room and try a different one. This means the game is a lot more open ended the player has more choice and is less likely to stuck. It will also be less repetitive, as long as the level selection rooms are not all the same.

In this example the player has to complete all three puzzles in order to go to the next stage, but in later levels they will all be open from the start and they will only have to complete a certain number to progress (e.g 2/3 puzzles).

This level structure will also greatly improve work flow because it will be possible to work on individual levels then move them into the right place on the map without disrupting the rest of the build.

Loading Level

New Environments

New Ideas

UDK August Build Front End Error

Image Construction Working in UDK

Kismet Layout

Second Enemy Puzzle

This is the second enemy puzzle fully working. It is quite similar to the other one , but it is more complex with more possible outcomes. We tested each enemy puzzle on a few people from our class and they completed it within a few minutes , but we need to test it on people who have no prior knowledge of the game. The enemy design also needs to be changed to look like something more threatening. Out of everything that we outlined in the design document the image construction puzzle is the only thing that we don't have a working version of. We should be able to get a working version by the end of next week. Our plan is to have a working build to show at Games Grad on the 29^th of April

First Enemy Puzzle

Its been a while since my last post, this is mainly because I have been focusing on the dissertation and then we had two weeks off for Easter. Now that the dissertation has been handed in and we are back from the Easter break , we can fully concentrate on producing the game. This is the first enemy level we have working. The most time consuming part of creating this puzzle was figuring out and creating the correct kismet layout. Now that I know how to create the right layout we should be able to use a similar layout on the other enemy puzzle.

Yellow Cube - Bridge Puzzle

In this example the player has to create a flat platform to walk across. As things stand this would not work as a puzzle because it is possible to reach the other side without creating a flat platform. If we design a full puzzle around the idea of using yellow cubes to create a flat platform, there needs to be a reason that the player has to move the cubes into a specific position. It could be the player has to get an enemy or an object to the other side. Or there could be a door that opens when the cubes are in the correct position.

Rotated Level

I have made a test in UDK to see if it is possible to rotate a level. There are a few different ideas that we could use this for, it could be used in a situation where the player has to reach a part of the level would usually be too high, or the player has to get through a door that is on the ceiling. At the time of writing we are not sure how this will be used and the main purpose of this prototype is to check if it is possible.

First Build

Staring Point For Puzzle Using Yellow Cubes

When I was testing the yellow cubes I realised at the end of one animation you can trigger a new animation. This could make the yellow cubes more useful. Instead of there only being one position that the yellow cubes move into, the player would be be able to trigger one animation after the other and get the yellow cubes into a wide variety of positions. Being able to interact with the yellow cubes like this is not intentional in this level. However I feel that it would be possible to design a good puzzle where the player has to move the yellow cubes in multiple stages in order to get them into the correct position.

Multiple Cubes Level New Design

In the new Version I have:

1.Removed the two Red Cubes at the top of the level and made it one flat platform so the player has to use every launch pad . Also being able to see and shot the red cubes through the gaps is no longer an issue.

2.Added another row of cubes next to the first launch pad so that the player is lees likely to fall off the platform.

3.Made it so each yellow cube triggers a different animation. In this example the cube that takes damage is the one that goes out the furthest.

Multiple Cubes Level Original Design

The original design had a few problems. These problems where:

1.The red Cubes at the top of the level were visible through the gaps between the white cubes and it was possible to shoot the red cubes through the gaps.

2.Because the first launch Pad was on the edge of the platform, when I lowered it and tried to use it I would often miss the launch pad and end up at the bottom of the level.

3.The Yellow cubes only had one position and I feel the it would be better if each cube triggered a different animation so the player has to work out witch cube to use.

4.It was possible to get to the final platform by just using the first two launch pads.

Single Jump Pad Level

Single Jump pad level complete . This is a very simple level that will be used in the early stage of the game to demonstrate how blue cubes function.

Cube Movement In Three Stages

I managed to get a cube to move up in three stage then back to its original position. This took me longer than it should have, because I was initially trying to animate each stage as a different matinee. I Tried to create a Kismet layout that would select the correct time to play each matinee. I could get it to go up two stages then back down in two stages, but after then it would only move up one stage.


After looking at the Mastering Unreal book I realised how simple it is . It can be achieved using one matinee and a separate event track to stop and start each stage of the animation.

Paper Production Deadline and Critique

The paper production deadline was on Monday and the Critique was on Tuesday. The Critique was a lot less formal than I expected. We had prepared a full presentation that explained the concept of the game to anyone who had no prior knowledge as I had been told that there were going to be four guests from the games industry. In the end we skipped most of the presentation because everyone in the room already knew about our game.
Now that all the pre production work for our game has been completed we can start making it. Our game does not involve creating many assets and we already know how to get a few of the mechanics working, so we should have a playable demo within the next one or two weeks. We need get all of the assets in engine make and sure that everyone is working to the same size before we do anything else. We can then get the cube mechanics working for the introduction levels first. I think that it is important that we test the game on people who have no knowledge of it to see how easy it is for the average player to understand how the game works.

Altered Enemy Path

Using the Unreal 3 engine it is now possible to change an enemies path in game. This is achieved using the matinee and kismet editor. In this example there is a cube on one side of the room that the player can use to block the enemies path. If the cube is raised, it blocks the enemies path and they turn right. If the cube remains on the floor, the enemy continues moving in the same direction until they reach the other side of the room. It has taken a while to get the correct Kismet layout for this to work . Now that we know how it can be done we should be able to use the same kismet sequence on most of the animations. I have already made a list of every possible movement for one of the Enemy Puzzles , but it would be helpful if I also created a branching diagram that demonstrates the order in witch each movement would happen.

Door Prototypes

A few ideas for how the doors could operate. There are two sizes because a feel it would look better if the doors where always in the centre of the room and the rooms will be a variety of sizes. I personally feel that the for both the 2x2 and the 3x3 doors the last clips are the best. That does not mean that they will definitely be used , we could have a few different doors in the game and these are just examples.

Game Audio

I spoke to my mate on news years eve and he said he would be able to produce the audio for our game. You can Listen to his music at

http://rawtactics.bandcamp.com/