Full Level Walkthrough

After adding the triggered text which drives the narrative through the level, the AI bots, the sound effects for the triggers, and the short cinematic at the end of the level, it was pretty much complete. Below is a complete walkthrough of the level.

Highest resolution is recommended in order to read text

Addition of AI Bots

I added some very basic AI bots to the level in an attempt to direct the player in a certain direction. Basically the player wont have a weapon so they will have no choice but to avoid oncoming fire, since they cant fight back. So to funnel the player in a certain direction I placed 2 bots in corridors that the player shouldnt be in. I think it gives the level the illusion of being bigger than it actually is ^_^ plus it show I can do AI stuff in Kismet, even if it is pretty lame AI.

Loads of bot Kismet, most of which doesn't work

I intended on having the bots on patrol and the player needed to avoid them by timing their movements, but I ran into problems and I couldnt find a solution, the patrols just wouldnt work, the Kismet stuff for it is still there, as it didnt stop them from firing at the player when they came into view.

Low Cost Reflection Attempt

I tried using a reflection trick I read up on somewhere on the interwebs, basically it gives the (sort of) illusion of a reflection on whatever surface you apply it to, but it doesnt have the same resource costs that realtime reflections would have, but it also doesnt look anywhere near as good as the more costly version, basically you multiply the texture that you want to reflect onto the texture that you want to be reflecting, then just change the value of the multiplication to increase/lower the "reflectyness"

I can see the potential for this sort of technique if its used in certain circumstances, I think it would be more useful in outdoor themed environments where you could apply a sky texture to be the reflection, but it doesnt seem to look right with my indoor environment, if applied multiple different textures and they all look a bit odd, but a sky texture applied looks great, it is just incredibly out of place in my level........since its in space ^_^

(You might need to watch the video in full HD to get best impression of the "reflections" in the video)

More Kismet Skills

I've finally moved onto Kismet! I added the meshes for the first two doors that will be used in the level as "interpactors" (I forgot you had to do this, and nearly went postal because I couldn't figure out what was wrong)

Anywhoo, I set the first door to open/close as many times as the player wants, since there is nowhere to go that way. For the second door I set it to only open and close once, as I want it to lock behind the player in order to get them to progress through the portal in that corridor and continue the level. I'm trying to get the level to flow nicely, and to stop backtracking, locking the doors seemed like a simple enough way to do it ^_^


I moved onto trying to get the teleporter to work, I thought it was going to be a lot more complicated than it actually was, maybe I'm just incredibly pessimistic...

Anywhoo, it seems you only need to name the two teleporters and then supply each with a "URL" to where you want it to take you, pretty much exactly how a normal URL works, so I set both teleporter 1 & 2 to take me to teleporter 2, which made it a one way system, it even automatically hit the second teleporter, so you cant run into it and be returned to the same location, or be trapped in an infinite loop of teleportation madness (you know you've done it when playing Portal ^-^)


I knocked up an elevator that the player must use after using the portal, it is activated on touch, similar to how the doors operate, I was going to add a button at the top and bottom, but I thought that if humans can build a giant spaceship with elevators and stuff, then they can surely create an elevator that doesn't require a button to operate ^^

I also added a (sort of) warning sign under the elevator that is revealed after the player exits the lift and it returns to its original position. By sending the lift back to the top, the player is once again presented with a point of no return, similar to the locking door and the (yet to be) one way portal.

Kismet Skills

Since I cant program to save my life, I decided now would be a good time to start learning the next best thing, since I was going to need some understanding of Kismet for my UDK project anyway. Turns out I quite like this Kismet jazz once I got my head around it.

I loaded up a pre-made level to mess about creating different interactive pieces within the level.

• Star Trek Door - when you fire up the level you can walk through a gate that opens and closes by itself when you go near it (just like in Star Trek :) )
• Super Awesome Light Switch - then I made a light switch beside the door, made a trigger to turn the light above the door on and off, also changed the light material to make the light look more florescent when its turned on (but that part stopped working as I worked on :P ) 
• Angry Button of Doom - I made another button that gave the player multiple notifications each time it was pressed, each notification had a progressively more angry tone, if the player persists after being warned I set a few things to happen
• Alarm Sound - a dramatic alarm starts playing to make the player think they are in trouble (they are in big trouble at this stage)
• Locked Door - the door automatically locks after the final warning, so the player cant escape the horrible things about to happen.
• Countdown - a set a countdown from 10 - 1, a voice calls out each number as the notifications count down to impending doom.
• Horrible Things - When the countdown reaches zero the player explodes ^_^

UDK Top Down Game Prototype

I also developed a simple top down camera and built a simple level to test how it functioned, to make sure the camera functioned properly, I created ramps, narrow corridors, wide open spaces, and high jumps and drops, simply to see how the camera moved under these conditions, as you can see below everything seems to be fine, and this camera angle will most likely be used for my top down project.

sorry, its a little dark

UDK Side Scrolling Prototype

I have been experimenting with various camera angles and features with Kismet lately, I have attached a video demonstrating the first small prototype I created from what I had quickly learnt. The prototype demonstrates a control system and camera angle suited towards a side scrolling platformer.

2014 Commonwealth Game Design Competition

I was given a chance to demonstrate my game design capabilities by entering a game design competition which involved designing a game concept for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. It involved following a brief list of specifications that the Commonwealth wish to be featured in the game. My entry can be viewed here.

It demonstrates my skills of being able to follow a brief and required specification, while still maintaining some form of originality within the concept, plus the winner and runner up of the competition each get £2014 prize money.

Update!

It has recently been brought to my attention that...... I WON THE COMPETITION!, so I am the proud winner of £2014 and also by the end of the summer I should have my first published game as a Designer \o/

UDK Top Down Game Project

I have begun work for one of my assignments, the above image is a quick render of a concept of a ship that will be in the prototype at some point I've decided to attempt and make an incredibly simple top down shooter. I've already completed a research document which you can download and take a mosey here.

Resume and Social Networking

I have linked an updated version of my Resume to the blog, it can be viewed by clicking on the Resume tab at the top of the page, or if your feeling lazy you can simply click here. There is also a link at the top of the page which will take you to my LinkedIn profile if you wish to add me to your network, and my Twitter account is now also accessible through the side gadget on the homepage, of by selecting the hyper-links in this post

A Little About Myself and The Project

I am currently in my third year of Games Design and Production Management at the University of Abertay, Dundee, this blog shall represent a showreel of all work I have created during this educational year that I believe is worth showing as possible show pieces for a potential employer.

 Over the course of the year I have spent my time developing my skills in a range of various applications, the majority of my time has been spent learning what UDK has to offer and attempting to develop various prototypes within the application. Brushing up on my Maya and Photoshop skills came hand in hand with UDK, when I needed assets I simply modelled and textured them when required. I have also briefly looked at Game Maker with the intent of creating a simple top down shooter prototype.

My ultimate goal is to one day obtain the role of a designer or producer within the gaming industry, this showreel should demonstrate the various skills I am developing in order to be efficient and successful at said roles. This blog shall show any progress made within any projects I am working on and believe is of a high enough standard to be worth showing.