mousenkeyboardisnarrative

[mousenkeyboardisnarrative]

Evaluation - Near-Final Gameplay

This is the current gameplay of the game. This game is not finished, however it shows a basic understanding of what the game will look like if/when it is finished. The game currently includes a short cinematic camera and a large range of blueprint based actors and code. This game should have included a lot more features, but with the issues with time management and my other partners motivation towards the game we were cut short. The game still includes zombies that follow the layer, drones for the other person to help keep the player alive and a cine animation. For this project we under estimated the amount of time that it would have taken to do each feature. If we used our trello board to its full potential, I feel like we would have make a more interesting and more finished game by the end.

[mousenkeyboardisnarrative]

Evaluation - What I have learned this project + what I should improve on for the FMP

This project has been interesting to say the least and has allowed me to expand on my knowledge of blueprint as well as learn how to work in a team efficiently. I do have some regrets with issues that I encountered during this team working exercise, but overall I feel like we have both achieved a good amount.

During this project, I have learned a few features of unreal that will help with the construction of my games in the future. To start with, I created a system that uses the players microphone to trigger the zombies based on the distance the player is from them. This causes the game to be more immersive.

Next, I created a drone/map system, allowing the player to view the camera via the laptop screen or control the drone by interacting with the screen. The map uses a orthographic camera to point down and look for squares with a one sided material that does not cast shadows. This is then displayed to a TV behind the laptop via a scene capture component.

These are two of the major things that I have learned in this project. Even thought the project was short and difficult, I still learned a lot more than I believed I would before I started this.

[mousenkeyboardisnarrative]

Final Evaluation / Summary

During this project, I learned a large range of vital skills that should help with projects in the future. One of the main points that I have learned was how to set up multiplayer over the same network, which allowed me to make the game more immersive and universal for the player playing it. I also used some code to get a volume value from the microphone, allowing me to use that value to control enemies nearby (for example, making them go after the player). This microphone feature was only possible due to a video I found online. My group's project proposal theme was horror, so using these 2 features helps to create that feel that you expect from a horror game. Working as a group did come with its benefits and downsides, however I feel like I would have achieved a lot more in this project with a different partner. The reason I think this is because the work that was discussed and set on my partner was not done, and therefore impacted the final outcome significantly. Another downside to this is the fact that working on the same project is difficult, and in the end we ended up having to move the updated project between computers continuously. This caused time to be wasted whilst waiting for the file to be moved over.

As this project was not made inside of C++, this made it much easier to troubleshoot problems that I encountered. One of the main problems that I came across was crashing when making the scrolling text. Normally inside of a blueprint, you cannot make the engine crash; however I had the wrong number inside of a variable which caused it to cause an infinite loop and crash. This was not the only issue I had however, I had an issue where the level sequence kept looping which I found out later was because it was being fired off twice or 3 times. This project came with its problems, but allowed me to become better prepared for my future in game design. When creating my group's project, I had to keep it inline with the project guidelines by making each player have an equal role for each other. We first made an idea and got some feedback from that idea, leading to the current idea we have at the moment. The game used to be about one person in the forest trying to escape and one person on the front lines trying to kill all the zombies. We changed this idea however due to the feedback that we got to one person in the forest finding clues to codes, and the person in the tower watching their location and keeping them safe. This new idea in my opinion makes it fit the project guidelines much better than before, making it much more interesting to play.

Overall, this project was lacking a few features that we planned to add, however it is still a big step up in my opinion from last year's 3rd project. I do think that this project has opened my eyes a bit more however, allowing me to see both the benefit of C++ and blueprint. It nearly fits my brief, however still doesn't include all the features that were discussed in that brief.

For this project, I feel like I could have done better at talking to my other team members and motivating them towards the work that has been given to them. I think having a clear structure for what each person should do (using the trello board) would have helped out drastically in the production of the game. I do not think we used the given software and websites to their full potential, causing us to fall behind and not manage to make a full game. For my next project, I will be using Trello to create a self-progression sheet that will include everything I would like to include in my game as well as the time that I have to do it. This should give me much better time management and therefore allowing me to create a full game.

[mousenkeyboardisnarrative]

Evaluation - Key processes "our group" used

When making our game, we had to implement a large range of features to take it to a playable state. Some of these features range from the microphone input, to the drone that the player can fly around the map. Some of the key features that we introduced into the game were the zombies and the AI that controls them. They react to sound and twigs that are found around the map. They also have a viewing circle so if the player is in their line of sight then they will chase them. I could have introduced random speed for each zombie, however with the time constraints for this project I was unable to do that.

Another key features that we added to the game was the drone and map. The map allows the player in the tower to see where they are on their island and to help navigate them through the forest to where they need to go. The drone is also helpful as it allows the player to fly around and navigate the player stuck in the forest that way.

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Problem / Resolution - Level sequence out of sync

When my other group member was creating the animations, we kept having a issue where it would loop and cross back on itself. This would causing jumping in the animation as well as visual effects being out of time. I later found that this was caused by the code being fired off twice, causing the jumping.

I also found that the graphics would start glitching for the level sequence, which was a bit odd. This however was fixed by the same solution as the other issue.

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Problem - Drone movement gets messed up when respawning

When the drone is respawned after being destroyed, the drone's impulse gets messed up, causing it to fall instead of fly. The velocity is also messed up, causing it to sometimes explode when it slightly touches the floor. I am not sure why this is happening, but I am suspecting that the collision is moving which is moving the mass of the drone.

I will be trying out different things to try and fix this problem for the rest of today.

[mousenkeyboardisnarrative]

Group discussion/meeting - 29/1/2024

A couple major features and points were discussed in this meeting, one of which was that the game still doesn't have a win or lose state. This means that the game, isn't really a game as the player can't achieve anything. This hopefully will be developed on today and therefore later today the game should include some sort of win/lose state.

Another point discussed was the current look and lack of assets in the game. My other group member should be making assets and importing them, however he seems to be struggling and just watching starwars on his phone... Must be struggling, why else (can't be lazy can he?). This is making a massive impact on the final outcome of the game as the entire game is made by myself. This was discussed in the meeting, but unlikely for this to change within the week.

The Last thing discussed in our meeting is how our current game meets the project guidelines. We currently have 2 players that both need to rely on each other to win the game, which does fit within our project guidelines, however we wanted to discuss other features that could be added to the project. This may be unrealistic due to the limited time we have left, however its a good idea to brainstorm ideas still to see if our current features could be changed for better gameplay.

[mousenkeyboardisnarrative]

Progression - Adding a explosion effect when the drone crashes

To make the game more interactive for the player and more difficult for the players, I wanted to make it so that if the player using the drone flies into a tree or building at speed then it will explode and will take some time to spawn back in. Using the blueprint above, this code will test to see if their overall velocity is greater than 500 then create a Niagara effect. I can across a problem as the drone will still be visible during the explosion, so I had to disable the transparency of it.

PROBLEM

When the player moves from the computer to the drone maker, it causes a issue that leaves the widget active and causes nothing to work afterwards. Instead of this method, I will just make it so that the player has to click on the machine and it will start to make the drone. This should solve the current issue.

[mousenkeyboardisnarrative]

Progression - Group Meeting / Part 3

In this group meeting, we discussed the current gameplay of our game and what we should add to make the game more enjoyable for the user. We decided to add a drone creator, so if the player destroys their drone then they have a cooldown of 15 seconds till they can create a new one. We also discussed to add a button panel and keypad to unlock each section. By using mechanics like in "Keep talking and nobody explodes" with one person reading the book and the other doing the tasks, we could have one person going around the map finding information for the puzzle and one person opening the gates to let them through.

[mousenkeyboardisnarrative]

Progress - Features to Aid people in the game

To open the game up for as many people as possible, I have added some slight modifications to the game to bring out the game and make it slightly easier to play. For starters, the text that is shown when approaching a object has a background, making it much more readable on any surface. I have also made the ground emissive, making it easier to see where you are going. Both of these features should help people out a bit whilst playing our game. More features should be added later in the development of this game however this is the progress at the moment.

[mousenkeyboardisnarrative]

Progress - Current project and how its fitting with our project guidelines (equilibrium)

This project has changed slightly from its first idea. It still includes multiplayer support and still includes zombies with a base story that it was due to covid. The game objective has slightly changed however for the character outside of the forest, requiring them to help the other player to escape rather than to just fight on the front lines. This game fits with the project guidelines (equilibrium) as each player has a equal role in helping the other player to escape.

I plan on creating a keypad and a puzzle in the tower with clues scattered around the map for the player to find. Doing this, it should make the game more interesting and enjoyable.

I will also be adding walkie talkies to the game to allow each player to communicate to each other.

[mousenkeyboardisnarrative]

Initial Research - C++ and Blueprint (the benefits of each)

Blueprint and C++ both give different strengths and weaknesses. One of the main benefits of Blueprint would be the fact that it can easily be adjusted and can be debugged easier. Its also much quicker to implement and produce a final outcome by using it. On the other hand, C++ is much more difficult to learn and produce games at a decent pace due to its complexity. C++ does however allow the developer more control over the engine and features that blueprint users do not have. Lets say your making your own lighting system for unreal, C++ would let you do this but blueprint would not. C++ also has a lot more performance than blueprint, making it good for resource intensive tasks.

For such a short project, Blueprint was a clear choice as it allows me to debug and produce code faster than in C++, therefore allow me to hopefully finish the project in time.

C++ and Blueprint shouldn't be used separately however, due to each of their benefits they should be used in conjunct with each other based on what they are being used for. If the code is complex and requires more processing power then it should be made in C++, however if the code is lightweight and wont effect the performance then it could be made in blueprint.

[mousenkeyboardisnarrative]

Initial Research - C++, materials and widgets (How they cant mix)

C++ is a great tool to take your project to the next level, however there are still a couple things that you nearly must do inside of unreal engine. Widgets could be made inside of slate in C++, however its a difficult job and most programmers don't suggest you to do it. Materials on the other hand MUST be made inside of unreal engine using the built in material editor. Both of these to game programmers are some of the things that must be made inside of the engine, rather in code in your IDE.

For my current project, I currently using blueprint to allow my other group members to edit and adjust my code and implement their own code into our game. For that reason, C++ related issues like this do not effect me at this current moment but will in my future projects. Also, my other team member does not know C++, so using C++ in this project would be a handicap on them as well as a large amount of work put on myself.

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Issue/Progression - Landscape Layer Blend

For my groups game, we need some sort of material for the landscape. For that reason, I have created a landscape using a free pack found on the unreal engine store (from one of the free for this month). Using a "Landscape Layer Blend", you can have multiple materials in one landscape. This allows you to use the paint tab in the landscaping tools to create your landscape.

I came across a issue that caused some weird artificing between sections of terrain, however decided to keep it included in the game as I think it fits with the games art style.

This effect is caused by the normal map being combined with the base texture, which causes this effect. As a group decision we decided to keep this included in the game.

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Progression - Adding animations to my widget

For my groups game, I wanted to make the GUI a bit more interesting. For that reason, I have added a animation to bring the text off the screen when all players have joined the game. The below image shows the animation graph that I made to accomplish this.

To play the animation, you first need to gather the animation from the bar on the left hand side of the screen and drag and drop it onto the screen. Going off that, create a node called "Play Animation". Then drag off "Target" on the node you have just created and type "self" and press enter. That simple 3 node code will now play your animations.

[mousenkeyboardisnarrative]

Initial Research - PEGI 12 and other age restrictions for our game

For our project, we need to keep inline with the guidelines of PEGI 12 due to the showcase at Ipswich. To do this, we must follow the rules and get feedback from people to know if they think we fit the PEGI 12 Guidelines. Here is a list of rules for PEGI :

Violence - Violence is PEGI 7 if it is non-realistic or non-detailed violence, PEGI 12 for violence in fantasy setting or non-realistic violence towards human-like characters and PEGI 16 and 18 for unrestricted violence.

Bad Language - Mild swearing is PEGI 12, Heavy swearing PEGI 18

Fear - Fear is PEGI 7 if it features sounds or images that could be frightening to young children. It is PEGI 12 if it includes sustained and/or intense fear. Finally, it is PEGI 16 for horror sequences or disturbing images.

Gambling - Every game that includes gambling (unless made before 2020) is a PEGI 18

SEX - you can have sexual poses for a PEGI 12 game. For PEGI 16, you can have censored sex and in PEGI 18 you can have uncensored sex.

Drugs - Always PEGI 16/18

Discrimination - PEGI 18 only. (racial stereotypes, jokes about race e.t.c.)

Game Purchases - Any age (Roblox would die out if not)

Getting feedback from play testers to see if we fit within the guidelines.

To get the best idea of what our game seems like to the standard player and to make sure that it is appropriate for PEGI 12, I gathered a few people around the class to complete a survey about the game based on the points of PEGI. Here are the results :

Using these results, it shows that our game is PEGI 12 due to the fear and violence featured in the game. Our game at this present moment has no win or loose state, so these results are not helpful. With the features that are soon to be added, I doubt that we will exceed PEGI 12 however. Later in this project we can do another form to get peoples opinions again on the status of this project in terms of PEGI.

[mousenkeyboardisnarrative]

Progress/Problem - Multiplayer over LAN

To make the game more enjoyable, my group decided to add multiplayer LAN to the game which allows 2 separate computers on the same network to play together on the same game. Using the code below, you can find and join sessions on any computer within your network (or should be able to). Unreal makes doing this easy by making nodes that specifically do this, for example the "find session" and "join session" node.

To actually press the buttons on the screen, I added this code inside of the level blueprint that shows the mouse cursor as well as creates the widget.

Here is the very simple look of the GUI that hopefully will be improved by my other team member...

You get send to this room below after pressing host. Once 2 players have joined the game then it will send them both into the world. Both players are shown in cubes below with the 2 instances of the games shown in both windows.

PROBLEM

When using this method, you get one player who is server and the other who is client. Animations and cutscenes wont effect the client, even with RepNotify which I found on a Unreal Engine documentation. I have tried multiple methods to test to see if I can trigger the animation on both characters at the same time but none seem to work. One of the methods I came up with was to use get all actors of class and do a for each loop and call a custom event. This would then trigger the animation from inside the player blueprint. When doing this with a print string, only the server was being triggered. Because of this problem, my other group member is having a large amount of issues with his chosen path ("Cine"). With the limited time we have left on this project, I am unsure if we will have enough time to fix and implement the "Cine" mechanics.