Hello, my name is Tony and i am a student at south tyneside college and i am currently doing a HNC Gaming course which is level 4. i have an assignment which requires me to make a game using UE4 yay :3 for this assignment i am required to create a thread for my project and update it almost everyday showing the progress to the finished result. for the project i intend on creating some assets my self as well as getting some for the store which will be referenced of course if used in my work
So what is my game idea? The idea for my game is a gauntlet type game where the player needs to get to one side of a warehouse to the other without being hit. The enemies within the game are sentry turrets that fire tennis balls at you and if you get hit then you need to go back to the start. Being in a ware house there’s loads of room to run around, dodge and hide. You hide behind obstacles you would find on a paint ball course. The player has a baseball bat which they can use to hit the tennis balls back to save themselves. The name for my game will be Dodge ball.
in the game i need to have a second camera view and this will be done from a security camera which will allow the player to see the warehouse and where the turrets are before they start the game. i also need an additional input button and will achieve this by having a table where the player is told to pick up the baseball bat.
so i bet everyone is wondering how this is coming along? well i feel as if its coming along well this forum thread by me will be updated every Thursday or Friday depending on how much i have to do and if i have time. the update for this week will be the game its self but next weeks update will be on the design document as we just got the assessment sheet for this assignment and we need to create a design document so the game will be put on halt till that is done. After spending a week and a bit inside unreal i have found my new favorite engine and i feel as if this is where i work best and i hope to continue working and get better but yeah enough talking and more to what i have done!.
so as everyone knows from reading the first post by me that is the game idea and this is the progress i have made ( all references can be found bellow at the end.
i have been able to create the warehouse and some things to go inside there such as a office for the warehouse manager and a observation room and that is what i have done in terms of structure and this can be seen bellow in the following image ( the lighting is just temp and will be sorted out at a later stage.
( not sure how the image is going to turn out so if its bad i am sorry
i have been able to create an opening door system thanks to a tutorial which i had found. i can not show any footage of it as i dont know how to record it but the reference to the video can be shown at the end of all this as mentioned before.
i also created some assets from 3ds max my self (unmapped) and i plan on mapping and texturing them later but for now i am just using the default and free textures found from the store to do the work and for the most part its working. i have create things such as a security monitor desk, filing cabinet, desk, computer (unfinished) and doors for the warehouse and theres going to be more to come over the time.
i have been able to create a main menu by having it in a different level and i have a start game function which takes you from the main menu room/level to the warehouse level and a quit function as well.
finally i have been able to add a second camera know was a scene capture 2d and the purpose of this is to render what the camera sees to a object and it updates in real time with what goes. its still unfinished as i need to create a model for the camera as that camera i have is not in the game when i play but is in the editor and i need to have it so it rotates left and right and the player can also take control of it to look at the level and to know where turrets are before heading in. this is why i have an observation room and more about all of this will be explained come the design document.
that is all i have been able to do and within time i feel happy and confident about everything, i have messed around and tried to create a turret to follow the player and fire but i am having trouble with the rotation and following part but firing seems to work fine so if any feedback can be given on that it would be nice in terms of a method to go about doing it all. all references can be shown bellow.
here is your weekly update as i said this week will be on the design document and next weeks update will be about the game and theres gonna be a few suprises that im sure every one will like here is the design document for my game based of the assignment sheet of how much we needed. if it updates i will update it on here
Section 1: Game Overview
Game Concept
Dodge ball has the player moving around course set up within a warehouse and must attempt to get to the finish whilst dodging tennis ball launchers that fire tennis balls at them whilst being able to deflect them back with a baseball bat.
Feature set
• Warehouse
• Course in the warehouse
• Tennis ball turret
• Camera
• Security system
• Doors
• Player
• Baseball bat
• Safety mat
These are the main feature sets of the game which define the overall core concept of the game as well as other relevant parts which makes up the game as a whole. The warehouse is where the player is and the course set up within the warehouse is essentially the level but the player can explore the warehouse which will be explained later in Section 2. The tennis ball turret is the enemy of the game and the only enemy of the game which will try to stop the player reaching the goal. The camera in the game is used in conjunction with the security system, the player will be able to look at the security system and thanks to unreal the camera will update what it’s seeing in real time to an image that will be placed on the security system which the player can look at. This is so the player can get a preview of the level, doors will be used in the game to reach from one point to another. The player is vital part as without the player there’s no game. The baseball bat is used to stop tennis balls hitting which means the baseball bat is a key part of survival for the game unless the player can do it without needing the baseball bat. Finally the safety mat is where the player must go to in order to finish the level, once they reach there they have finished the level and will move on to the next.
Genre
The genre for Dodge ball is a first person survival game. The game is in first person because it’s much easier to be able to hit the balls back with the baseball bat compared to what it would be in third person. The survival element comes from having to run through the course without being hit and reaching the end.
Target Audience
The overall target audience for my game will be for 15 to 40 year olds. I feel as this should be the target audience because the idea came from paintball and using obstacles/equipment they use within my game in order to create this game idea. As paintball is a famous sport and people from different age groups take part I feel as if this game will appeal to them for the challenge of it and will make them feel like there in a paintball environment whilst adding in the core concept of my game idea.
Game Flow Summary
The player moves through the game by using the w,a,s,d keys and the player interacts with everything in the world with E except for the baseball bat attack which uses the left Click. The player moves at the normal pace of a person and cannot run but can jump a small amount of height.
Look and feel
The look for Warehouse is a new refurbished look whilst the overall course for the game that the player will navigate will be damaged and rundown because it’s using equipment from other paintball courses that are not needed meaning that there will be paintball splatters on the wall and the course area will be wooden.
Artistic/visual style
The visual style will be a realistic high detailed style in terms of how assets look with detail and there overall design like the walls which I will be making which is wooden and will have paint ball splatters on them to show they have been used.
Project Scope
For the demo of the game there’s only one location which is the inside of the warehouse where the player will be in the demo but in a full release the player will be able be indoors and outdoors.
The only weapon within the game will be the baseball bat the player can use to deflect the tennis balls back to avoid being hit.
There will be a security system which updates what it is seeing to an object in real time so the player can look at the layout of each floor.
Cut scenes will be involved within the game. One will be at the start as it zooms in from the outside yard (unaccsessible in the game) inside the warehouse and over the main area building inside the warehouse to the office where the player then spawns. A second one will be triggered by the player once they reach a certain point in the game which is after the observatory room which shows a preview of the main stage area.
Checkpoint system for when the player gets hit they go back to it.
Section 2: Gameplay and Mechanics
Gameplay progression
The player gets around by using the w, a, s, d buttons to move as well as the mouse to control themselves. Each stage has a start and end point in which they must get to the end point from the start by avoiding the tennis balls from the turret. If they get hit they go back to the checkpoint that they unlocked. For the demo level the player will need to go from the office down the stairs to the observatory room which leads to another door that triggers a cut scene once entered through by the player which shows a preview of the setup for the main area of the game. The player gets given back control after that then they must head from the bottom floor to the top where they then need to jump on a red mattress where they will have done the demo.
Mission/challenge structure
The challenge structure in Dodge ball is getting from point a to point b without being hit by the tennis balls and getting sent back to the start or a checkpoint. The player can overcome this slightly with the baseball bat they will have.
Puzzle structure
The puzzle structure of this game is trying to find the correct path within the levels to avoid being hit and getting to the end of the level.
Objectives
The only objective to this game is to navigate around the obstacles set up and avoid the tennis balls launched by the launcher in order to get to the end of the level for each stage
Mechanics
The player interacts with everything in the game by pressing E which is used to open doors for example. The player interacts with their character by using the w a s and d keys for the character movement and the mouse for character movement. The player jumps within the game by using space and the player can use the bat by left clicking on the mouse and that is how the player interacts within the world.
The movement of the player is like that of an average person’s walk speed and the jump height is of a normal persons jump height. This offers a steady pace to the game and doesn’t make it go to fast or take too long to get through the game.
The combat in the game is done by having a baseball bat in which the player can use in the game. The player uses this by left clicking and the character will swing the bat. This is used to deflect tennis balls back in the game.
For the demo of the game the first screen is used as the main menu for the game which allows the player to get to screen 2 which is the level for the demo of the game. Screen 2 is where everything takes place
There’s a checkpoint system within the game that marks the progress and acts as a return point if the player gets hit by a tennis ball.
There is reading elements to the game as the game will involve text on a door to tell the player how to open it and once they have done it then it will be gone forever as they then know how to get through a door. This will also be used to indicate areas and pop up with objectives telling the player what to do.
Images will have to be uploaded later of references and this will most likely be next week along with the project update.
Hi Zerofyne. Sounds like FUN! Dodgeball was a popular game for me as Kid. I always wanted to do a Multi-player Dodge Ball Unreal Mod in which Players use large zany weapons that shoot Balls. Use Power ups to give the Ball super powers. Players would be able pull-off a variety of Somersault and Acrobatic Maneuvers. Timing would be a key element to Dodging the ball. The game would go into SlowMo when a Dodge is executed with a near miss. The closer the near miss, the higher the score. If you’re interested in implementing SloMo, you can easily do so with Blueprints:
Glad to here you enjoyed Dodge ball as a kid! as did i and that sounds like a pretty awesome idea. i am thinking of continuing this project after i have finished this term of college so i will look in to trying to implement some stuff like that because i think that could make a huge difference to my game. of course at the moment my skills within unreal are not great and im still learning about everything and i have had no practice with animating characters and all of that as well so it would take a long time to learn but if i manage to get it in one day i will defiantly post it and give you credit for the idea
New update inbound! as everyone knows i updated the the forum thread last week and the only thing i posted was the design document which is what i was working on that week. this week though is back to the project so i bet everyone is interested to know whats going in with the project well theres a lot to mention and show of. sadly once again i cant show of some of the stuff but i can link and reference tutorials that i have followed of course and that i have implemented within my level/game.
Cut scene at the start of the game using matinee which is the cut scene editor/maker in ue4. i followed a tutorial online in order to help me create it and thanks to one of my piers as well (Lewis Ahmed) i was able to create a cut scene that goes from outside and goes into the warehouse and whilst it does that the warehouse door is closing so when the player goes to that point in the game it will be closed. after its inside it goes to where the player spawns and faces the direction the player is in then the game starts and you can play. both features use matinee within the game and i feel confident now in using matinee in future projects and in hope to create more detailed cut scenes.
more detail in the level, i have been able to fully finish the inside of the warehouse. this is now what it looks like now. image 1 2 and 3 show the inside of the warehouse and image 4 the outside which still needs work on
tutorial and names on important parts of the game. i created a text font to go on to the door blueprint and shows up in the game until the player interacts with the door once as its a tutorial door and it tells the player how to open doors. this is done by pressing e and once e is pressed it deletes the text font but if e is release then it stays meaning that the player needs to interact once with it. the image bellow shows it within the game
this is what i have been able to do within my game and the progress i have made over the time i have had on the project. next weeks update will be heavily update with new assets in that i will have got from turbosquid because the colleges computers Photoshop is not working so i can only create assets i cant texture them the way i would like to. bellow is the references for this weeks update.
References:
Lewis Ahmed - college pier helped with the matinee cut scene at the start of the game
Jason foster - another college pier, forget to reference at the start as he came up with the idea for my game and i took it on to make.
Tesla Dev - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrCEtE5RnHw cut scene tutorial using matinee
i would like to apologize for not updating this thread in the last three weeks. the first week of the last three was the last one before the holidays and i did not get much done and i couldn’t update at all over the holidays as i cant get unreal to work on my computer. now im back at college and i have somethings to post for this update which includes the turret for the game and detail to the environment. As im not sure if i mentioned it before i cant use Photoshop anymore on the college computers due to it running out for some reason only for me so i can only make models but i cant texture them so i have been using turbo squid where i can get assets for free and use them within the parameters of the user who made them and of course all of the assets used within this update will be noted at the end.
first lets talk about the environment, not much has been done but i have been able to pull together some assets from turbo squid and have used them within the game with include trucks for outside, a road, a dumpster given to me by one of my college piers Jamie from his previous assignment, fences, computer and a clipboard. the images of these can been seen bellow and on the first image which shows the trucks, fences and the road i plan on having buildings going along the road because the player can still see out of one of the warehouse doors. also i would like to apologize for showing the image with another image along side it. as i dont have photoshop i cant delete the side thats uneeded and i cant get it to work in word document as when i save the image when its cropped it still shows both sides.
Update image 1 - trucks, fences and road
Update image 2 - clipboard and computer (i plan on changing the computer to another one on turbo squid due to it not having any textures)
for the other part of the update which is the turret moving i cant show it in action but i can provide a link to the code and model used bellow which is the same one used in the video which ill show what it would look like in my game. the only problem im having at the moment is getting it to kill the player which im not sure how to get it to work but once thats done then the game is done and everything else is polish.
credit goes to all of the pepole who made these and for allowing the public to use them.
as well as those things from turbo squid i also forgot to add a reference to my previous update along with forgetting to mention within the opening matinee cut scene i was able to get music playing as well from a free sound website known as freesound.org
well this update is late but as the project is coming to a end this will be the last update on this thread unless i decided to continue with this project but i have other ideas so this could be the end of it. the game now features a full working turret and 3 floors for the player to go through in order to get to the end along with a checkpoint system. i have not had much time to polish it due to me finishing it late on into the assignment and i need to focus on written work now. the images bellow show the progress of the game and what it looks like now.
this forum thread by me will be updated every Thursday or Friday depending on how much i have to do and if i have time. the update for this week will be the game its self but next weeks update will be on the design document as we just got the assessment sheet for this assignment and we need to create a design document so the game will be put on halt till that is done. After spending a week and a bit inside unreal i have found my new favorite engine and i feel as if this is where i work best and i hope to continue working and get better 
