Iterating from Prototype Feedback

One main problem during playtesting and given from written feedback was the difficulty of the platforms. As the purpose of the prototype was to test out different platforms, the moving platforms and disappearing / reappearing platforms will be moved to later areas (stages) of the game. In building the main game using assets, I created a tutorial-like first stage allowing the player to get used to the jumping mechanic. The first stage comprises of three rooms. The three rooms does scale in difficulty; however, it incorporates skills learned from the previous level while introducing different obstacles. I also converted concepts of what moving platforms were in each room into the the room layouts. In order, the room layouts are: horizontal, vertical, and horizontal & vertical.  

In addition, instead of having gaps between platforms being the only obstacle, I include two swinging axes in platform room 3 that will knock the player down or stop their jump mid-air if collided from the front. There will be no player deaths for the narrative reason of: dying in the dream will wake the player (ending the story of the game). There will also be no dialogue as I want to express the game through visuals using cinematics and level design.

Work in Progress Next Stage

The first stage with the three rooms is mainly done (missing details that may or may not be added due to time constraint). Here is the next stage that incorporates the experimental appearing platforms from the prototype. 

To give a variety of rooms, the player will no longer restart from the beginning if they fall down. The next stage will introduce non-visible checkpoints using teleporters (black blocks at the bottom) that will teleport the player to different locations depending on their progress. The player will not have to keep retrying from the beginning as I plan to make difficult sections within this stage. The objective of this stage is to activate 3 different plates to access the next stage. These platforms will be blocked by obstacles varying in difficulties and will include moving obstacles as showcased by the swinging axes in the previous stage. The gray platforms are safe areas while the white platforms are appearing platforms (meaning the next platform will only appear once the previous platform has been stepped upon). The cylinders above the gray platforms are invisible barriers to block the player from flying away when they are teleported back.

The Experience of Visual Assets

The first stage assets is meant to paint a ruin kingdom, in ruins due to the "void" as showcased by the black coloring surrounding the main door (doors to proceed to the next stage). The idea of a narrative within the topic of "in a dream" incorporates both logical and illogical elements. From the concept document made a few weeks earlier, I decided to stick with this narrative as the ruin kingdom suggests a logical element (something that could exist in real life). The void is the primary illogical element of the narrative. To create the ruin kingdom aesthetic with both logical and illogical elements, I included ruined floors and ceilings in contrast to clean walls and pillars. These assets are from Simple Dungeons created by Synty Studios. The void spreads from the door, creating an ominous atmosphere. To not make the game "hard to see" I include a second level of lighting aside from the torches and chandelier scattered across the stage; however, it is still in the works. 

To achieve the void visual, I created a black colored material that is unlit and disabled cast shadows for the applicable mesh. I also used a rectangle light to highlight the final door of stage 1 in both to show the player where they need to go and to create an ominous atmosphere.

As for the doors, once the player has activated the according plates, the door to the next room or stage (depending on the plate) will open through cinematics (level sequencers in engine). These scenes are subject to change in future works.

Issues & Future Updates

Concurrent issues have been tested and tried through playtesting and iterating. Game mechanic issues such as movement speed, sensitivity, and jump height will be iterated through each playtesting sessions. For now, I have changed the variables from the movement update post and through the Art Build. As for environmental issues like scaling and layout, those have been solved. One of the issues was the layout of the rooms which had overlapped before, but has been resolved within the working of the art build. It has been resolved by making a room focused on horizontal layout and the other on vertical layout. The file size also exceeded the 1 GB limit for the website, but I resolved it by removing unnecessary maps and assets from the engine folder.

Future updates will see the completion of the next two stages: the void stage and the cloud stage (concept in work). Sound will also began to be implemented. After these two components has been completed or near its completion, the creation of the cinematic beginning and ending will start. I find these two cinematics to be important for the narrative aspect of the game. With future update comes with future issues, and to resolve them I will iterate through gameplay and gain insight from various feedback through playtesting sessions.

Tools

Unreal Engine Marketplace: I used free assets from the Unreal Engine Marketplace to fit my narrative idea and to provide clean meshes that will reduce any frame drops that comes with other complex meshes.

Unreal Engine: I used Unreal Engine itself to create additional meshes and materials. These meshes include simple cube pressure plates in addition with combining several meshes from the Simple Dungeons package into one blueprint. Various of coloring materials are also done in Unreal Engine such as the cyan, purple, and red glowing light torches.