Research needs
- Research how to spawn enemies in triggered waves
- Research how to program animations into UE4
- Find reference images for: altars, crystals, magical staffs, cave wall textures
- Include previous research on enemy designs
Developed Research
My game will be based around a central altar, so these reference images will be useful when developing design ideas for that altar. There are several different types of design to choose from. Some are surrounded by bridges over a pit; some use a crystal as a centrepiece; some have pillars around them.
I like the idea of bridges over a pit, and this can easily be done using the landscaping tools in UE4. I also like the idea of using pillars to make the altar look more impressive. However, this would likely take a lot of modelling and texturing time that I simply won’t have. I could include a crystal as a centrepiece of the altar, since I will be making crystals anyway. However, since the cave will be dotted with crystals, having a crystal as part of the altar may make it blend into the surroundings too much, making it easy to lose track of.
The game will be set in a cave filled with glowing crystals, which will add contrast to the environment, as well as providing light sources to illuminate the cave. Therefore, I have included a variety of crystals in this moodboard, which will be useful when developing my own designs.
I like crystals that are semi-transparent, where you can see interior cracks and imperfections. However, this seems like an extra unnecessary detail, and my time would be better spent on the mechanics. I also prefer crystals that glow, as they draw your attention, and add contrast and variety to the surrounding environment.
The material that the player will see most is the cave wall material, since it will be in every direction. This means it cannot be of low quality. From this collection of reference images, I have discerned that I have two options:
I could go with a very realistic style, which would mean a lot of time sunk into texturing.
Or, I could go with a low-poly stylised look, with simplistic materials, cutting down on texturing time. This would leave me with more time to focus on the mechanics and complexity of the game. Therefore, I conclude that I will choose a more stylised approach.
The player’s weapon will be a magical staff, so these images will be very useful as reference images, when making my own designs. I do like staffs with very intricate designs, but I think I will go with a low-poly stylised look, to save on modelling time. I also like staffs that include a crystal at the end. Since this would also match the environment, I will include this in my initial designs. I could also make the staff look old and battered to fit with the theme of ‘forgotten’.
In the game, I intend enemies to spawn periodically, in waves. Previously, I had no idea how to do this. However, I then found this video, which explains how to use timelines in order to spawn things in a sequence, with timed gaps between each spawn. This will be incredibly useful, as this knowledge will prevent me from getting stuck for a long time, during development.
Earlier in the project, when I was deciding on a final idea, I made this moodboard to reflect the kind of enemies I want to create for the game. I still want a bug-like enemy, but now that I have decided on a stylised, low-poly design motif, I will be making a more simplified version of this enemy.
I have also narrowed down more details for the design of this enemy. It will crawl, likely with four legs, because less legs means a less complex walk animation. I won’t be making a flying enemy because I feel like that would make the combat more simplistic, since they would just line up and fly towards the player, rather than having to manoeuver around obstacles.
Using Maya to set up collision meshes
https://docs.unrealengine.com/en-us/Engine/Content/FBX/StaticMeshes
From the above link, I learned how to use Maya to set up object collision before importing it to UE4. You have to model the collision boundary around the model, and export both the render and collision mesh into the same .fbx file. This research will be useful when using meshes that have holes or concave parts, as I will be able to make the collision mesh perfectly match the render mesh.
UI in UE4
https://docs.unrealengine.com/en-us/Engine/UMG/HowTo/CreatingWidgets
From the above link, I learned how to create and control UI elements in UE4. When I come to implementing UI during development, I will return to this link and follow the step-by-step tutorial. Below, I also found a video that goes over making basic UI. Using this video and the link above, I am sure to encounter no major problems when making the UI during development.
Connor Jarvis Level 3 Year 2 FMP 