My previous project Islandia was purely an environment showcase.
It was Features by Epic here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkWvrSrsfnU
The original video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhtrKwcYo5Q
I also did an experimentation modifying a Metahuman into a Troll/Orc when I was exploring a different/darker path for my first game. (excuse the bad audio quality) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKkrn3bZ278&t=3s
But as my experience with characters is very limited I thought better to start with a simpler game that focuses on the areas I’m most familiar with, environments!
Here’s a few quick videos exploring process so far.
This was the initial inspiration for the game! I followed an excellent tutorial by Underscore00 to add a plane into my Islandia level. It was the first time I had made a controllable character and I was hooked!
I played around with that as i was making islandia and i thought It would be great to have a game that explores environments from high in the sky. (The ground has since come a lot closer with Where The Duck Are They? but i have plans to fly higher in later levels!
As i started this project the key idea was as a physics based puzzle bombing puzzle game! Or as I liked to think of it, Angry birds but from above and your a duck, Angry Duck!!
At this point I really had no idea about blueprints and how to get gameplay mechanics to work. The object dropping was supper buggy and my duck character was just the airplane blueprint with a marketplace duck asset on top. So I went back to basics and followed the excellent Build a Third Person Character from Scratch tutorial and learnt so much about animation blueprints and blueprints in general!
After that I felt much more confident to edit the Character blueprint the Duck came with and start making it my own.
I was about this time that I got sidetracked trying to make things pretty (as often happens) and installing PrismaticaDev’s Prismatiscape plugin for foliage and water interactions!
(the video is too large so i’ll just link it):
After that I vowed not to do any more work on making the game pretty until I have a play able demo of the first area sorted!
I added a hat system!
Puzzles and blueprint interactions!
After sorting out a bit of the flight system and only being able to land in water, its time to get back to key gameplay, Bombing!
I tried adding in a mini map and a marker system, but I think they are just distracting I want the player to be exploring the environment and finding things, not just going from one marker point to another. (I’ll have to find ways for players not to get lost but I think it’ll be worth it)
That’s about where I’m up to now, progress is slow as I have a 6 week old daughter!! and a full time job as an environment artist so I only get an hour or so each morning while/if my wife and baby are still asleep.
Next is adding in the 3rd pond and enemy NPC’s! Lots to learn!!
Thanks for reading. All comments, thoughts ideas, criticisms are most welcome! I learn best from harsh feedback (I’m strong willed (Old) enough not to be offended or easily swayed in a direction i dont want to go)
