Artifact Two - Kitty Farmer
Description:
This artifact is one of four projects that combine to make up my capstone project. It is a short, stylized game where the player has to collect cats that are roaming throughout the level. There is a hidden buried treasure that the player can optionally collect.
Tools Used:
Unreal Engine 4.24, Adobe Illustrator
Highlighted Skills:
Game Engine Mastery, 3D Graphics, Graphic User Interface, Level Design, Game AI, Proficiency with Blueprints
Reflection
This artifact was created to show my ability to create a quick prototype of a game using the Unreal Engine. In this specific project, I utilized only Blueprints for the creation of the game. In my initial creation, I focused on developing the gameplay elements and the level was therefore quite empty. In my polishing of the artifact, I chose to refine the elements that were already within the game to create a much better version, such as the transition from floating toy bears as the collectible objects to cats that actually move throughout the level. In addition, I wanted to completely redo the level and put strong emphasis on the level design aspect by creating environments that matched the overall theme of the game. Throughout this process, I learned new ways to approach my previously created elements to improve them.
The main challenge I faced was creating a cohesive theme that was present throughout the three created "levels" - the main menu level, the actual game level, and the end screen level. I tried to make the three levels seem as though they relate, by the distant image of the windmill in the two non-gameplay levels to show that these areas existed outside of the game area but still within reach. I received feedback to continue polishing my artifact and in my polishing, I recreated the cats for the level and refined the transition between levels.
The original version of this project consisted of a level created using only basic shapes within Unreal, materials from the starter content, and a bear toy that I had modeled in Blender. The toy bears hovered and rotated in the field until the player collected them. In addition, the menu and user interface consisted of a black screen with buttons and the default font. I also had a "dig" component with a collectible coin item and a destructible mesh that was broken when a certain key was pressed to trigger the mesh to break and reveal the treasure.
To initially refine this artifact, I swapped the bears out for cats, created a new main menu with an animated scene that matches the recreated level, and created an animated end-game screen that matches both the main menu and game level. I also added music, adjusted the sound effects within the game, created a logo with Adobe Illustrator, and swapped the basic font to a font that fits the style of the game. Later, to further polish the artifact, I created a base cat AI character that roams within the nav mesh with proper animations so the cats will move naturally around the level, while the colors of the cats could be modified as needed within the level itself. I added a black screen to fade in and out when moving from the main menu to the game and from the end-game to the main menu. I also added text that appears when the "hidden treasure" has been uncovered. These refinements were made to take the elements that I had originally created and improve upon them to showcase specific skills.
