Ruined Castle

Avenge a ruined village, as you must destroy all the minions and seek out the Mage that destroyed everything in this exciting Third-Person Fantasy game. Play as a warrior who must avenge the village that he was born from and it was taken over by a Mage and his minions. With its accessible controls, it is easy to pick up for new players.

Type of project:
Solo Project
Duration:
1 Month
Software used:
Unreal Engine 4
Genre:
Third Person Fantasy
Software Used:
Unreal Engine 4, Maya, Blueprints, Photoshop, Perforce

Objectives

The goal of this level is to create a wide-combat action sequence that takes place in a destroyed medieval village city. I wanted to have multiple types of enemy encounters that challenge the player and forces them to eliminate their opponents before they can proceed to the final boss area with the combat tools given to them.

The Solution

I was responsible for coming up with a Third-Person game. I chose to create and design within the fantasy genre since I love playing games like Skyrim, Dark Souls, and World of Warcraft. 

I was responsible for all stages from concept to completion and lighting.

  • I designed and documented the mechanics of the game and to make the game fun and intuitive.
  • I created diagrams to better illustrate the plan for the level to achieve better communication where the player would go.
  • I have worked on the lighting and the mood.
  • I have Optimized, playtested and debugged Blueprints.

Gameplay:

Process:

Pre-production - Research:

During Pre-production some of my main responsibilities was to choose a genre, mechanics, pathing and lighting. From a design perspective, I wanted to make sure that the controls were intuitive, and the level fun to play.

References: References were gathered and put into a file to help convey the idea, mood, and direction that I wanted to go with my level based off of my favorite fantasy games like Skyrim, Dark Souls, and World of Warcraft. 

The idea to Photoshop: Clear documentation of the level idea was recorded. It helped block out the level without much trouble redoing the whole design. This led to less reiteration later down the road of white boxing. I wanted to keep with the medieval look of Skyrim and Assassins Creed.

Production: From Concept to Whitebox

As soon I was done with my outline I started on my Whitebox and Pathing area. I wanted to hold off on my mechanics for this project round since it was going to be more battle intense than Blueprints.

Whitebox Phase & Testing Video:

This is the general path and size that I originally wanted. After testing, it slightly changed when I added enemies and Blueprints during the dress setting stage with the assets that fit more with the game idea.

Blueprints:

To make this game work as interactive as it became, I really wanted the player to feel like they were up against enemies and constantly on the run. So here are some of the mechanics that went into this level that I have completed and tested.

Destructable Bridge:

I created a destructible bridge that when stepped on, would come apart and drop the player to their death.

Click on the images to view a larger version.

Block End Area Sequencer:

I created a blockaded area towards the Boss area so the player is forced to go forward and not back. I used a sequencer to block the player.

Click on the images to view a larger version.

Production: Set dressing and Lighting

This was the beginning of set dressing and lighting the space. After receiving feedback to add more enemies and covers I then decided to add and subtract in specific areas to better challenge the player.  I switched between different time settings and determined that by making the area look cloudy and moody it added clarity for the player. I added a color gradient at the end of the post-processing system. The majority of the lights are static while some of the lights are dynamic like the sun and torch lights. This was really fun to decorate the level and playing through it.

Final Gameplay:

If I had more time on this project I would have worked further on different lighting sequences and  given it more of a doom-looking cloudy day atmosphere. I would also have incorporated different times of the day and showcased different covers and enemies. I would also have included more traps and more challenges, trophies, etc. along the way to the boss area. 

This video is also at the top of the page as well.