Single Player Adventure Game
This Work Sample is a personal project that takes 3 days to complete. It is an Adventure Game Demo inspired by the Dishonored series. I completed all functions in this project, and the background music in the video is Sankarin Tango in Control Original Soundtrack for non-commercial use.
This demo is my latest project, focusing on the player's movement flow, pacing control, and scene creation of a boutique 18th-century town.
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Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Background Research
I chose this theme and style because it represents a period of significant transformation in human history. There is a wealth of imagery and historical resources available for reference, making it relatively easy to recreate accurately.
The main challenge I faced was designing a sequence within a small scope that offers a unique visual experience at every step, allowing players to traverse multiple areas within each quest. To achieve these goals, I focus on using spatial topology in design and tapping into the human brain's ability to imagine emergent narratives.
As a real-world experience, I decided to set the location in urban mountainous areas and multi-slope routes area with the architectural style of the late Industrial and a touch of Victorian styles, like Chongqing or San Francisco. [Image references]
Design goals & Quest Flow
After the field study, I discovered an important observation that the floors of the higher building's windows do not correspond to those of the lower building due to different baseline levels. This site-specific approach can solve the problem of blending two interior styles within the same space. For example, the fifth floor on the mountainside is the same height as the first floor on the mountaintop. However, the interior layout and functionality are also different due to their different geography and coordinates. In addition, the alternating between indoor and outdoor displays enables players to remember that the height is different each time, using this illusion of variation to mentally enhance their experience.
Floors' connection
Tech & Method
Every mission needs a clear objective, and our main storyline features a compelling primary quest. In order to make the train move normally to deliver the supplies needed for the lives of people in the next area, players need to sneak into the hostile area to unlock four electric machines.
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In each area, a generator is placed for activation during the later stages of the side quest. I used a global variable attached to the player to track the generator's activated numbers. It starts with "i=0" and increments it by one "i++" each time a generator is activated. The "General/Universal Access Card" is also designed as a global variable. In contrast, the key, specifically for one certain area, is written as local variables that are destroyed after use.
Since the demo mainly demonstrates the level blockmesh and pacing practice, the AI ​​pathfinding and attack systems are disabled. The behavior tree mainly includes the task of tracking the player and the task of determining whether nearby friendly players are attacked. I want players to feel the seriousness and industrial style of the 18th century so that enemies share their visual perception functions in the same area. In future development, I will add an auditory system and perception of the world. For example, the AI ​​will become more alert as power is restored. Through this demo, I verified that my idea is highly playable and successful.
