Hey everybody, I’m a solo developer working on a project in the spare time I have away from my day-job as a software developer. I’ll start with my first screenshots from the game, add some background on the project, myself, and my goals. I will also try to update this thread as much as possible to get as much feedback as possible from the community here, and leave a trail of breadcrumbs for developers looking to do something similar who are running into the same pitfalls I no doubt will.
Title - Grey Block
Platform - PC / Windows
Blueprints or C++ - C++
Concept - A short, narrative-driven, 3rd-person, stealth game
Development Strategy - Create a shortened version of a game in an artistic genre with commonly available assets to bridge the gap between the art skills I don’t possess and the programming skills I do. Keep costs within reason as this project will be personally funded, and try to learn as much of the artistic process as possible without diminishing the artistic quality of the project. Use lessons learned, credibility, and “potential” revenue (<-- a guy can dream) to launch the next project with a team.
Tools Used -
Animation Assets: Mixamo (irrelevant now)
Animation Editing: iClone
Character Modeling: Adobe Fuse
3D Modeling: Blender
Source Control: Git/BitBucket (assets on Google drive, no source control)
Project Planning: Trello, Teamweek for Gantt charts
Here are my first screenshots of one of the levels I’ve put together with a pre-alpha lighting pass. (Any feedback is welcome!)
My Personal Background - I’m a software developer in the Boston area, and have always had a passion for video games, but just recently developed a passion to create them. I have a preference for large scale, immersive worlds with story-lines and characters that grab the player and pulls them into the game universe. I draw inspiration from games like: Mass Effect, Skyrim, The Last of Us, Half-Life, and The Witcher. I believe that UE4 provides indie developers and hobbyists like myself with the best opportunity they have ever had to create a game company that can develop near AAA gaming experiences (hard-work and grey hair not withstanding).