bg4dproject

[bg4dproject]

Banner Artwork

This was my first design and I felt as if it wasn't going to catch the players eye so I changed the font and the background of the name and it looks a lot better

I added my character and level designs to my banner so that the player can see what is in the game and that's what they will expect to see.

This banner is a lot better than my previous design and it will attract the player and the player will be more interested in this one

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Game Play Video

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Controller Controls

I added Controls for a controller into my game so that it could work on an arcade machine

First I went to my project settings and went to input

I added all 4 buttons for the controller so they would work on the Arcade Machines

I also added left and right movement so the player can move those directions

however I didn't add the up and down movement as the player will not have to move up and down.

Next i moved onto the controller input on the UI.

I did this by making it so the player can use the joystick to move between them.

End Screen Widget:

Menu Pawn:

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Regenerating Coins

I want to create a coins which respawns after a 5 seconds of being collected.

This would stop the player being stuck and unable to progress throughout the game

This allows the player to want to continue playing and not get annoyed of bored of the game

To do this i added a variable called collected and after the player collected the coin the coin went invisible.

then after the coin went invisible i set the coins score to 0 so then player cannot constantly collect it to get a high score.

I then set a delay of 2 seconds for the coin to come back and then set the visibility to true so that the player could collect it

This stops the player from being able to collect 1 coin for the whole game and getting a high score but makes it so the player doesn't get stuck and can progress throughout the game

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Sound In Unreal

Coin Sound - Ray Robinson

Jump SFX - Ray Robinson

Failure Music - Polly Robertson

In Game Music - Polly Robertson

Menu Sound 2 - Tristan Butler

First i looked at the sound tracks on google classroom

then I downloaded the ones which fit my game and imported them into unreal

Next i added play sound 2D blocks into all my code to be able to play the sounds

I added one to the coin so the player can hear that they picked up a coin

I also added code for my end screen to play sounds when i click the buttons i added on my end screen widget.

Then i added a background sound to my my main level blueprint and my end level blueprint, these play sound tracks for as long as the player in on the level

I added a event on landed and do once to my jump so that it would spam the sound effect and only play it once each time the player jumped

I then went to my Sound blueprint and ticked a box which allowed it to loop.

I added a credits map for the people who made the sounds for me to use

i set this as the first map that loads up and the player can read who made the sounds and then continue onto the title screen and then proceed to the level.

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Photoshop Into Unreal

First i Exported my platform materials and my objects as PNGs to allow me to add a 2D Texture to them in unreal.

I then imported them all into Unreal engine and gave them all a 2D texture

After i gave them all 2D texture i created materials for my Platform and Underground I then applied these to my platforms.

For my objects i created i created them as sprites so i could add them to my level and i turned their collision off so the player could walk past or behind them without getting stuck.

I then added a cube below the base platform i had so the player could only see that platform After i added that cube i put the underground material i made on it

I then went into my tile child level designs i made and added trees and bushes to it to make it not as plain.

Player and Enemy Designs:

First i exported my character and enemy designs as PNGs so that i could add them to my player character and enemy code.

I also created animation for my character so that it looks as if the player is jumping.

I imported my designs into Unreal Engine and then set them to Paper2D texture

I set my enemy and player character designs to be sprites and switched them out on the player and enemy.

I added my ghost to my enemy and removed the cube which was previously there

I imported my animation into unreal and gave it a Paper2D Texture

I then extracted the sprites and created animation sprites

I then selected all of the sprites and created paper flipbook

i then added this animation to the player character and made the default character invisible

Next i exported my Background from photoshop and imported it into unreal

When i imported my background into unreal it was green instead of its default colour so i had to open the details panel and change the compression setting back to default

then i created my background as a sprite and added it to my camera

This is so the background follows the camera and the player doesn't make the background move with it

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Endless Level

I followed an endless runner tutorial to help me with the code that i needed

First i disconnected the forwards and backwards movement and moved it to add code for the endless jumper movement

I then created a master tile which would allow my map to be endless

This collision box spawns in a new section out of range in which the player can see

I created code which randomly selected child actors i created of the master tile

These child actors each have a different level section on them and the code choses a random one to spawn next.

With these maps i have to make it possible for the player to be able to complete each one and every possible combination.

to do this on some maps i made it so there is multiple different ways for the player to progress.

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Camera + Death Box

First i tried to get the player to be followed by the camera when going in a +z and then the camera would stop at the bottom of the screen but this code didn't work and followed the player when they went in a -z axis too.

This code also caused my camera to jolt to the player when they went to z 0,0. I didn't want this as the camera jolting back didn't look nice and i wanted the player to fall of the screen to die

Working Code:

After having some help with the code I managed to create working code for my game

This code allows the player to climb up the platforms and fall down a little bit without the camera moving, if the player falls off the screen the player will die due to a death box that is following the camera

The camera follows the player to its highest z coordinate and then locks in place this is what allows the player to fall of the screen and die.

I had to add a DO ONCE code to allow the highest place to store and lock the camera there.

This code kills the player when they hit the death box

The hitbox follows the camera as the camera moves up onto the level to allow the player to fall and die.

Next I added two collision boxes on either side of the camera which blocks all

These keep the player in the confined space and doesn't allow them to get out

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Adding a Death Box

I tried to create a death collision which would follow the player and when the player fell the player would be reset to the start of the game

I tried to calculate the velocity and if the player had fell below the velocity they would die

i tried to get the velocity of the character and set number that if the players velocity was greater than it would kill them.

This code didn't work as the death box i created wouldn't follow them and i couldn't store the velocity

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Unreal Code

Coins:

I created an actor and called it coins then i added code to the coin to all the coins to give the player more score, after the player collects the coin the coin will destroy itself this is so the player cant get score from the same coin repeatedly.

Next i added velocity to my coins so that when the player collects the coins they get a vertical boost to get to the next platform.

Moving Enemy:

I used my 2D Projects Blog to help me with the code for my moving enemy

I created a patrol point and an enemy

The patrol point allows the enemy to walk between two patrol points and attack the player.

I set the enemies collision box to deal to deal enough damage to kill the player and reset them to the start

Players Health:

I set the players health to 1 so that when the enemy attacked the player the player would be 1 shot by the enemy

Moving Platform:

I First created a blueprint and added a cube and a sphere into the viewport, i made them separate objects and made them movable, this allows me to be able to change the scale and move them separately in game.

I then used my old blog to assist me to create the code for my movable platform, i created a timeline which i used to move the platform.

Next i made it so the player can jump through the bottom of the platform but when they jump on the top of the platform the platform has collision. I did this by testing if the players Z value if greater than the platforms.

Custom Collisions:

Player:

Enemy:

I created custom collision for both my player and enemy so that on the platforms both the player and the enemy could walk on the top of them.

I did this so that the player can jump up a platform and have to deal with an enemy which could kill them.

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Characters and Level Design Research:

Character:

My character mood board

I used this to give myself inspiration for my final character design

I created a ninja character as ninjas are know for their incredible movement, i plan to make a jump animation for the character where the head band would flow in the wind

Level:

I used this moodboard to help me create the theme for my tile map

I went with a simple theme as my character is simple and i wanted to create a simple game.

I create platforms which are rounded off so they can be suspended in the sky.

I created decoration as i feel as if my level will be bland and empty without them

Enemies:

I used these images as inspiration for my final enemy design

My final design i chose was a ghost so that the enemy could fly in the way of the player so the player would have to find a way around the enemy

Character Jumping Animation:

I created new layers for each frame to be able to change the shape of my character as they jump.

I made my jump animation similar to the Mario jump as i wouldn't be able to use a lot of detail on my character.

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MVP(Most Viable Product)

I will most likely be able to make a way for the player to die and allow the player to get a new high score each time. The player will have to climb up platforms to get more score.

MOSCOW:

Must Have:

a way for the player to die

so the player can get a new high score each time

score system

platforms for the player to climb up.

Should Have:

an enemy which can kill the player when they touch it.

moving platforms

breakable platforms

Could Have:

items which give the player a vertical boost

power ups on the map

Wont Have:

a way for the player to win

a way for the platforms to randomly generate

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Arcade Game Concepts

Idea 1

Type of Arcade Game:

2D Side Scroller 

Game Concept:

The player has to travel up platform which are suspended in the air if the player misses the platform they fall down the platforms again, the player then has to make there way back up the platforms

The player can neither win or lose they player just has to try beat the high score that is set to the game 

The game will be replay able as the player would want to beat the high score.

Theme:

Goal 15: Life On Land / Environment 

I am going to implement this into my game by adding Trees and wildlife around the suspended platforms the platforms may sometimes have objects on them too 

I may also create a character which is an animal (e.g Monkey)

Competitors / Inspiration:

https://youtu.be/chPDcTRsxBI?feature=shared - Doodle Jump

https://youtu.be/DiLkNAQ7fTc?feature=shared - Nyan Cat: Lost In Space

https://youtu.be/if8pLV73FMA?feature=shared - happy jump

Idea 2

Type of Arcade Game:

2D Top Down + Side Scroller

Game Concept:

A Farming game where the player grows crops and slowly expands their land

The player get points based of the crops grown and the rarer the crops the more points the player gets 

There is no win The player just collects as many points as possible, however if the crops die the player loses the game.

Theme:

Goal 2: No Hunger / Zero Hunger

I am going to implement this into my game as my game is a farming game where the player has to get food to get more points

Competitors / Inspiration:

https://youtu.be/fzRrKFgTeIQ?feature=shared - Hay Day 

https://youtu.be/jLOb0JuKSe0?feature=shared&t=5 - Everdale 

https://youtu.be/jq_dSpkCqJQ?feature=shared&t=6 - Family Farm Seaside

Idea 3

Type of Arcade Game:

2D Side Scroller

Game Concept:

The player has to go into the ocean and remove rubbish to collect points however if the player is attacked and takes damage the player loses some of their points. 

The player has 3 lives and when the player dies the last time they lose all their points.

The player has to try and set a new high score without dying 

Theme:

Goal 14: Life Below Water

Goal 6: Clean Water And Sanitation 

I am going to implement this into my game as the game is going to be set underwater and the player has to go around cleaning the ocean and survive being killed from the sharks and other creatures that live under water.

Competitors / Inspiration:

https://youtu.be/stCnndmvQmE?feature=shared - Dave the Diver

https://youtu.be/2PldxtaI0Uw?feature=shared - Beyond Blue 

https://youtu.be/Q-7M10_DQv4?feature=shared - Abzu 

Arcade Game Video Research:

Doodle Jump:

Doodle jump is a game where the player has to climb up suspended platforms some platforms are broken ones some give the player jump boost, also some of the platforms have power ups on them like a jet pack of springs these allow the player to progress through the game quicker to beat the high score.

There are also enemies which fly around that the player shoots, if the player does not shoot the enemy the enemy hits the player and damages them knocking them to their death

If the player falls down the platforms they will die and have to restart.

Nyan Cat: Lost In Space:

Nyan Cat is a game where the player has to run collecting food and coins as points, the player can buy power ups with the coins. there is also some power ups on the level too, these allow the player to collect more food or go quicker.

As well as food being in the level there is also dynamite which the player has to click to deactivate. if the player does not deactivate the dynamite the player will be exploded and die.

there is also enemies on the level which can attack the player. If they attack the player they will have to restart

Happy Jump:

Happy Jump is a game about climbing up Suspended platforms however unlike the other games the coins and apples give you a vertical boost which allow you to defeat the enemies.

There are also enemies which if they hit you, you have to restart

There are some moving platform and some destructible platform this makes the player move towards where the platform will be.

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Game UI

I want to create UI for my game which show the high score and the score on the screen for the player and also shows the amount of lives they could have left

I want to keep the UI simple but effective as i don't want to fill up the screen with UI

I will stick to having 2/3 bits of UI on the screen

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Attract mode

Attract mode is where an arcade game has a preview of what is in the game and how the game is played before you go to the machine

This is meant to attract the player in and get them to player the game over other peoples games.

Attract mode is important in my opinion as it allows the player to pick your game over other games which may not have an attract mode.

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Animated UI

First i created a variable called current ui for my animation

Next i opened the animation tab and created an animation called score size

Then i added the text block so i could animate it.

I then selected transform so i could change the scale of it

I then selected scale and and added a new key frame to the start of the animation

then i changed the scale and put another key frame at 2 seconds.

I changed the scale of the score so it would jump out at the player and make the player look there more.

I then finally added another key frame at 4 seconds at its original size so i could repeat it

I added code to show my animation

this shows the animation on screen while the player is collecting points

Set number of loops to 0 to repeat it while the player is playing the game

I also made animation for Opacity

Which makes the score invisible and visible on and off

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UI

This code allows me to see my score in top of my screen

This is the canvas in which the score in projected onto.

This is a binding for the text block to show the score instead of text.

The game over screen show the player and the in game score which i do not want

I added code for the widget to show onto my screen.

Created a pawn to get rid of the player character from the game over screen

I added code to allow the mouse to work on the screen

Which allows me to use buttons on the game over screen

i created a new level for my game over screen so my player couldn't see anything while they were dead

I then added buttons so the player could press them and retry or quit

This code allowed the buttons to work and would send the player to the desired place.

Next i added high score code so the players can compete with their score

This code allows the high score to be saved to the game instance and not to the player

The high score would Save across game quits and allows the player to try beat the score

If the high score is beaten the game instance would replace the old score with this new score

This allows the player to load the game and have a high score there to beat

This code replaces the old high score

This allows the high score to save after i quit the game or restart it