Evidence of Programming by Alister Martin
Test Plan
Wednesday, 30 May 2018
LO4: Producing the First Level of a New Computer/Console Game
Final Product
Evidence of Programming by Alister Martin
Test Plan
Evidence of Programming by Alister Martin
Test Plan
LO3: Creating Elements for use in Our Level
Character Models
As this game is played from a first person perspective, we decided that we only need to create the arms for the protagonist. Below is the arm created for the Duelist class.
Backgrounds
In our tutorial level there we only needed two textures for the environment. The following are the textures that we used for both the floor and walls, as well as multiple assets that were made from similar materials. The texture on the left was used for the wooden walls in the basement as well as any wooden parts on the assets. This texture was created by myself using layer effects in Adobe Photoshop. The texture on the right was used for the walls and ceilings in the basement.
The door asset shown above was placed on the walls of the basement at different points to allow the player access to the other room and also as a trigger to continue the quest.
Props & Assets
Weapons:
Paladin's Mace & Shield
Props:
Bed & Pillow
Candle & Holder
Chest
Table
Torch
LO2: Ideas and Planning
Game Synopsis & Mechanics
Synopsis:
The game is set in the fictional world of Medolth, inspired by the fantasy games such as; The Elder Scrolls Series and World of Warcraft. The world is in peril, being ruled over by an evil overlord. The game revolves around a single protagonist that starts from nothing and works his way to becoming a hero, eventually saving the world from its evil ruler.
The tutorial level that we are creating will take place in the protagonist's home. This will be set in the basement of a tavern, where he lives. The player will start next to their bed, as if they had just woken up, and be prompted to go check upstairs to see what if anything is happening in the town that day. Upon trying to leave the basement the player will then be prompted to grab one of their weapons to take with them. The player will then be directed to a table from which they can pick up and test multiple different weapons. Once the player has chosen their weapon they will then be prompted to leave the basement and continue their day. This will be where the tutorial level will end.
Game Mechanics:
This will be a first person adventure game. The overall idea for the game is that it is an open-world for the player to explore and progress different quest-lines while taking on multiple side-quests and challenges along the way. The open world will make it so that the player will feel like they have total freedom over where their character is going and will hopefully make them bond with their protagonist throughout their journey together.
Combat will be entirely dictated by the weapon choice of the player. This could range from melee sword fighting to long ranged archery and spell-casting. Loot in the game will be semi-randomised with weapons, armour and trinkets that will drop having parts and prefixes that will be different every time. This will add a level of replay-ability to the game as the player will not feel like it is the same game each time they play as parts of the world around them will be randomised and also affected by the choices they have made in their previous adventures.
Areas in the world will have different themes based on the race or types of creatures that live there. Some of these areas may also be randomised to add even more replay-ability to the game.
Synopsis:
The game is set in the fictional world of Medolth, inspired by the fantasy games such as; The Elder Scrolls Series and World of Warcraft. The world is in peril, being ruled over by an evil overlord. The game revolves around a single protagonist that starts from nothing and works his way to becoming a hero, eventually saving the world from its evil ruler.
The tutorial level that we are creating will take place in the protagonist's home. This will be set in the basement of a tavern, where he lives. The player will start next to their bed, as if they had just woken up, and be prompted to go check upstairs to see what if anything is happening in the town that day. Upon trying to leave the basement the player will then be prompted to grab one of their weapons to take with them. The player will then be directed to a table from which they can pick up and test multiple different weapons. Once the player has chosen their weapon they will then be prompted to leave the basement and continue their day. This will be where the tutorial level will end.
Game Mechanics:
This will be a first person adventure game. The overall idea for the game is that it is an open-world for the player to explore and progress different quest-lines while taking on multiple side-quests and challenges along the way. The open world will make it so that the player will feel like they have total freedom over where their character is going and will hopefully make them bond with their protagonist throughout their journey together.
Combat will be entirely dictated by the weapon choice of the player. This could range from melee sword fighting to long ranged archery and spell-casting. Loot in the game will be semi-randomised with weapons, armour and trinkets that will drop having parts and prefixes that will be different every time. This will add a level of replay-ability to the game as the player will not feel like it is the same game each time they play as parts of the world around them will be randomised and also affected by the choices they have made in their previous adventures.
Areas in the world will have different themes based on the race or types of creatures that live there. Some of these areas may also be randomised to add even more replay-ability to the game.
Target Audience
Our game is targeted at 16+ year olds with a 70:30 ratio of male to female. Our game will be easily accessible to anyone with access to the internet. This means that our main audience will be primarily in towns and citys, with some possible customers in rural countryside locations. The game would be cheap, around £15, as our target audience will be in the NRS social grades C2 to E. Customers that fall under the E grade will most likely be teenagers in full-time education and will therefore have to rely on their parents income to purchase the game.
Samuel Finch is an 18 year old male who spends most his day at college studying media studies, his goal is to be a programmer by the end of university. In his spare time he mostly plays on his PC with friends, he plays game like World of Warcraft and the Elder Scrolls Series. He enjoys fantasy as a genre and will play most games within this genre. He prefers games that are played from the point of view of the protagonist. The fantasy genre also influences the films he watches, as he enjoys The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. He's employed so has a decent income that he can use on games as well as save up for his own future.
Character Profiles and Designs
There are 3 main character class ideas that we have for our game; Paladin, Warlock and Duelist. The following are the sketches created by Taighlor McNally to show our concepts for the characters.
Paladin:
The paladin will wear heavy, plate metal armour and wield the larger weapons in the world. Anything from a shield and mace (as shown in the sketch) to a large two-handed axe. There is also the possibility of the Paladin being able to use Holy magic as part of their arsenal.
Warlock:
The warlock will be our spell caster class in the game. They will not use any physical weapons, but will be able to harness the arcane elements through spell-casting focuses (e.g. a ring/amulet) to create devastating spells as their primary method of attack. They will wear much lighter cloth armour and will not have the physical strength to be able to use some of the heavier weapons in the world.
Duelist:
The duelist will be a quick and nimble class, taking advantage of light leather armour and smaller weapons such as a Rapier or a Dagger. The Duelist, like the Warlock, will not have the physical strength to use the heavier armour class or weapons in the world and will therefore have to rely on their agility to avoid damage in combat.
Our game is targeted at 16+ year olds with a 70:30 ratio of male to female. Our game will be easily accessible to anyone with access to the internet. This means that our main audience will be primarily in towns and citys, with some possible customers in rural countryside locations. The game would be cheap, around £15, as our target audience will be in the NRS social grades C2 to E. Customers that fall under the E grade will most likely be teenagers in full-time education and will therefore have to rely on their parents income to purchase the game.
Samuel Finch is an 18 year old male who spends most his day at college studying media studies, his goal is to be a programmer by the end of university. In his spare time he mostly plays on his PC with friends, he plays game like World of Warcraft and the Elder Scrolls Series. He enjoys fantasy as a genre and will play most games within this genre. He prefers games that are played from the point of view of the protagonist. The fantasy genre also influences the films he watches, as he enjoys The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. He's employed so has a decent income that he can use on games as well as save up for his own future.
Character Profiles and Designs
There are 3 main character class ideas that we have for our game; Paladin, Warlock and Duelist. The following are the sketches created by Taighlor McNally to show our concepts for the characters.
Paladin:
The paladin will wear heavy, plate metal armour and wield the larger weapons in the world. Anything from a shield and mace (as shown in the sketch) to a large two-handed axe. There is also the possibility of the Paladin being able to use Holy magic as part of their arsenal.
Warlock:
The warlock will be our spell caster class in the game. They will not use any physical weapons, but will be able to harness the arcane elements through spell-casting focuses (e.g. a ring/amulet) to create devastating spells as their primary method of attack. They will wear much lighter cloth armour and will not have the physical strength to be able to use some of the heavier weapons in the world.
Duelist:
The duelist will be a quick and nimble class, taking advantage of light leather armour and smaller weapons such as a Rapier or a Dagger. The Duelist, like the Warlock, will not have the physical strength to use the heavier armour class or weapons in the world and will therefore have to rely on their agility to avoid damage in combat.
Background & Environment Visuals
The tutorial level for our game will be set in the basement of a tavern. This is where the protagonist of the game lives so there will be a small area dedicated to their personal belongings and another section that may be used for storage for the tavern above. Below is a general plan of the level we are going to create.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for the tutorial level will be created by Alister Martin using Garage Band. The music will take inspiration from the soundtracks of other fantasy games and films.
Props & Assets
The following are the sketches created by Taighlor McNally for all of the props that we will be creating for our tutorial level.
Cutscenes
As this will be a tutorial level for a game we will not be creating any animated cutscenes for it. However, in the full release of the game there would be fully scripted cutscenes for important parts of the story.
Programming
The level will be designed and programmed using Unreal Engine 4's UDK (Unreal Development Kit). This is because UDK has good integration with Blender, the program we will be using to make our assets, allowing us to easily import, test and tweak our assets as we further develop the level.
Functionality
The tutorial level for our game will be set in the basement of a tavern. This is where the protagonist of the game lives so there will be a small area dedicated to their personal belongings and another section that may be used for storage for the tavern above. Below is a general plan of the level we are going to create.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for the tutorial level will be created by Alister Martin using Garage Band. The music will take inspiration from the soundtracks of other fantasy games and films.
Props & Assets
The following are the sketches created by Taighlor McNally for all of the props that we will be creating for our tutorial level.
Cutscenes
As this will be a tutorial level for a game we will not be creating any animated cutscenes for it. However, in the full release of the game there would be fully scripted cutscenes for important parts of the story.
Programming
The level will be designed and programmed using Unreal Engine 4's UDK (Unreal Development Kit). This is because UDK has good integration with Blender, the program we will be using to make our assets, allowing us to easily import, test and tweak our assets as we further develop the level.
Functionality
Saturday, 24 September 2016
LO1: Level Synopsis
I have decided to create the tutorial mission for my game. This tutorial will go over the basic controls and mechanics of the game and give the player a decent introduction to the game. The level will start with the player in a small, blank room where they will be introduced to the basic movement and camera controls. They will be allowed to move around freely for a brief period of time before being told to proceed to the next area. When they are ready they can walk up to a door and open it to get to the next room. In this room there will be a broken bridge that they will have to jump across to get to the final room. This is to introduce the player to the final movement mechanic in the game. In the final room there will be a weapon that the player can pickup, most likely a sword, and a training dummy for them to attack. The tutorial will then take the player through the basic attacking mechanics of the game and allow them to practice om the training dummy. There will be a door in the final room that the player can use to end the tutorial. This, in the full game, would take the player to the main menu, but for what I am going to make it will simply end the program.
Friday, 23 September 2016
LO1: Flow Charts of In-Game Actions
Events & Check for the Tutorial Level
Left: Jumping Flowchart. Right: Basic Movement Flowchart
Full Movement Flowchart
Thursday, 22 September 2016
LO1: Explanation of Game Mechanics
There are a few main gameplay mechanics that a roguelike dungeon crawler revolve around. The most important gameplay mechanic for a roguelike is the perma-death style to the levels. This means that when a player's character dies in a dungeon, they are permanently dead. This somewhat forces the player to take their time with the game until they have a decent understanding of how the gameplay works. However, the perma-death mechanic also makes a game more competitive. Whether you're trying to beat a friend's high score or focusing on improving on your own personal best, a game with a perma-death mechanic is usually highly challenging and somewhat addicting making it a game that people will play for a long time.
Another game mechanic that is defined by the roguelike genre of games is the procedurally generated aspects of the game. This can range from the basic placement of a few items in a room to the entire layout of a level. This keeps the player on their feet and makes it so that starting a new character is always a different experience. It adds replayablilty to the game and keeps the audience engaged for long periods of time. A great example of a roguelike game that keeps the players on their toes is "Spelunky". The levels in Spelunky are randomly generated and grouped into four increasingly difficult areas each with their own aesthetic themes. The later areas of the game contain high value items that add to the player's final score.
A lot of roguelike games also focus on a loot system that allows the player to improve their character as they progress. The loot can range from new weapons to treasure that increases the player's score and even cosmetic items that don't effect the gameplay but change the appearance of the player character. My game will also have a loot system, with different weapons appearing throughout the dungeon floors. Though some roguelike games have a completely random system, I will be focusing less on the random aspects and more on making the dungeons skill-based rather than luck-based. There will be treasure rooms at the ends of each of the dungeon floors that will offer the player multiple items but only allow them to take one. Each of the items will have statistics that will determine the strength of the items. These statistics will be randomised but will always offer the player an upgrade from their current items. It will then be up to them to choose which item they want and what playstyle they want to use.
Another game mechanic that is defined by the roguelike genre of games is the procedurally generated aspects of the game. This can range from the basic placement of a few items in a room to the entire layout of a level. This keeps the player on their feet and makes it so that starting a new character is always a different experience. It adds replayablilty to the game and keeps the audience engaged for long periods of time. A great example of a roguelike game that keeps the players on their toes is "Spelunky". The levels in Spelunky are randomly generated and grouped into four increasingly difficult areas each with their own aesthetic themes. The later areas of the game contain high value items that add to the player's final score.
A lot of roguelike games also focus on a loot system that allows the player to improve their character as they progress. The loot can range from new weapons to treasure that increases the player's score and even cosmetic items that don't effect the gameplay but change the appearance of the player character. My game will also have a loot system, with different weapons appearing throughout the dungeon floors. Though some roguelike games have a completely random system, I will be focusing less on the random aspects and more on making the dungeons skill-based rather than luck-based. There will be treasure rooms at the ends of each of the dungeon floors that will offer the player multiple items but only allow them to take one. Each of the items will have statistics that will determine the strength of the items. These statistics will be randomised but will always offer the player an upgrade from their current items. It will then be up to them to choose which item they want and what playstyle they want to use.
Wednesday, 21 September 2016
LO1: My Final Game Idea
For my game I have chosen to produce a Medieval Fantasy, roguelike dungeon crawler. It will focus on hand-to-hand combat but will have some ranged combat and stealth scenarios. The game will start with a tutorial going over some of the basic controls of the game, with simple scenarios to introduce the player to the game. After the tutorial the game will go to a screen where the player can select a difficulty and then continue to play. The game will be similar to other roguelikes such as "The Binding of Isaac" and "Spelunky" as each of the main levels will be randomly generated. Killing enemies, and completing dungeons will grant experience points which count towards the level of the character. Levelling up will allow for the player to access new abilities and make their current abilities better using some sort of skill upgrade system. The enemies in the levels will scale with the level of the player but there will also be different difficulties to the game to make it easier or harder for the player. There will be items to pick up in the dungeons that will increase certain statistics of the player such as their attack damage or defense to allow them to progress and fight harder enemies. If their character dies they will return to the main menu and have to start again. The main goal of the game is to make it as far as you can with one character before they die. The player will only be allowed to have one character at a time and starting a new character will delete their previous one. This is one of the main gameplay mechanics of a roguelike game.
My game will have moderately realistic looking graphics similar to games like "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" but will focus on bringing out the medieval fantasy aspects of the game. It will focus on making the dungeons look realistic while keeping a focus on the main themes of the game. Similar to Skyrim there will be multiple different schemes for the dungeon aesthetics that will appear at different depths of the dungeons. For example; at the start of the dungeons there will be a more generic, crypt-like look to the dungeons but as the player progresses it may fade in to a more Dwarven themed area, similar to that of the Dwemer ruins in Skyrim.
These screenshots are taken from Skyrim. They highlight the two major themes of the game's dungeons. Even though my game will have more than two dungeon themes, the dungeons of Skyrim will be a large source of inspiration for my theming.
My game will have moderately realistic looking graphics similar to games like "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" but will focus on bringing out the medieval fantasy aspects of the game. It will focus on making the dungeons look realistic while keeping a focus on the main themes of the game. Similar to Skyrim there will be multiple different schemes for the dungeon aesthetics that will appear at different depths of the dungeons. For example; at the start of the dungeons there will be a more generic, crypt-like look to the dungeons but as the player progresses it may fade in to a more Dwarven themed area, similar to that of the Dwemer ruins in Skyrim.
These screenshots are taken from Skyrim. They highlight the two major themes of the game's dungeons. Even though my game will have more than two dungeon themes, the dungeons of Skyrim will be a large source of inspiration for my theming.
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