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ZOMBIE ATTACK / GAME LOOP

So I have decided to quickly just design a simple game loop where if the zombie manages to touch you, then you will be sent back to the main menu. I know this isn't the most enthralling, but I needed a game loop otherwise my game is not a game at all, it will just be a boring walking sim, so at least it kind of has a purpose now?

In the zombie ai blueprint, i've just thrown together this bit of code. I created a custom event called catch player, and a variable called "caught?". I turned this on, cast it to my character, and then off that, used a branch and off the true node, ive made it open the menu level. To get this to actually work though, I have to add the catch player to the ai moveto node.

Now it should work in game, lets test it.

Yea it does, i know it's pretty awful but I had to think of something, so at least i have something now. Obviously, i could have added a death animation, a death screen, but i just don't have the time for it.

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EVERYTHING IVE DESIGNED

I've created a fog system which surrounds the player. You can also customize the distance in which the fog surrounds you in. Here i showcase how it works.

This is the final outcome for the graveyard I designed:

I created a zombie ai which chases the player around when in his sight:

I created a rain system to give my game some added atmosphere and try to make it a bit more immersive.

I created a simple sprinting system, you hold shift while moving to sprint.

Background sound and flashlight toggle sounds:

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Refining my final outcome

I've been told that my final outcome needs to be refined before its presented, as its actually too dark to make out what I've produced, although the whole point of it is to be dark. So i'm just going to tweak a few things in game.

What I've decided to do is turn up the intensity of the directional light to 0.5, instead of 0. This just give the player a bit more visibility.

Before:

After:

I still want it dark, because thats the whole point of it, but just the slight increase in light so you can actually tell what it is.

I've also changed the distance of the fog to around 3800 just for easier visibility.

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WHAT IS MY GAME ABOUT?

My game is meant to be a survival horror game with the emphasis on exploration and environmental design, although there isn't really much to explore and there's not much going on.

There are 2 main areas: the graveyard and the forest. The graveyard holds a zombie, which if it gets it's eyes on you, it will start chasing you until you are out of its distance, or it can't see you anymore. However, if the zombie does manage to touch you, its game over.

The objective of the game, is just the most simplest thing and just to explore the surroundings, and avoid the zombie as if he touches you, you get sent back to the main menu.

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SPECIALIST PRACTICE - LEVEL DESIGN

What is level design?

Level design is the step of game development that involves constructing the game's stages, maps, and missions. The overall goal of level design is to generate interactive scenarios or occurrences within the game environment that will challenge and keep the user engaged.

Design theories:

Flow Theory - Flow theory focuses on creating gameplay experiences which let players reach a state of intense immersion and attention. In gaming, finding flow means maintaining a careful balance between the game's difficulty and the player's skill level. When the game's difficulty fits the player's ability, they are more likely to enter flow—a condition defined by intense focus, enjoymentl, and a sensation of timelessness.

Space Theory - Space Theory in level design refers to the interaction of positive and negative space and how it affects a player's journey through a level. This relationship between mass and empty space effects player decision-making as well as emotional responses.

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UPLOADING MY GAME TO ITCH.IO

So, i've decided to upload my game onto Itch.io.

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SUBMISSION

Submission day is today, so I need to make sure that everything is completed and handed in.

I have completed everything that needs to be done and handed everything in.

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TARGETS FOR TODAY

Today, I want to be able to package my game, so it's ready for the submission, and also so it can be played at the end of year show.

I also want to start my self evaluation and hopefully try to finish it, otherwise I will have to finish it of tomorrow.

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MENU OUTCOMES

I added a few different buttons onto the menu. So there is now an info button, which opens up another widget and just gives you information on the game and what you do. The control menu gives you all of the controls needed to play the game. I've also made a reset button, so for whatever reason if you needed to quickly start the game again, maybe if you ran into a bug or something, then you can.

To make the game reset, you can just simply open the same level again, which is what I did, and the button to do so is R.

Overall, I like the way that this UI came out, its very simple I know, but it was quick and easy to make, and as Todd Howard said, "it just works".

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GAME TITLE

I have decided to go with the name "OUTLIVE" as my games title. The reasoning behind this is the meaning is pretty similar to the games objective, where you have to just try and survive while a zombie is in the graveyard. I also took some inspiration from the game Outlast.

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TARGETS FOR TODAY

Today I want to make a good start on my presentation slides. I need to make sure that all of my blog posts are finished as well, I know I should done this earlier. Also, just tweak a few things on my project, I need to complete the menus before I can build out the game.

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BACKING UP WORK

Just in case my hard drive gets corrupted or I run into an issue where I cant access it, I've created multiple saves of my project on my computer so I can access them if needed.

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PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT

There wasn't really been any major problems during this project I'd say. Every process has been pretty solid and easy to do, I have tweaked and changed things but nothing that I was stuck on or that I needed help with. However, my hard drive has been playing up recently, luckily its fine now but just in case, I created back ups of my work if it was to just stop working.

Apart from that really, everything has been smooth.

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ADDING THE SOUNDS TO GAME

This was actually much easier then I thought it was going to be. Once downloaded, I imported the sound into my project.

I want the sound to be constantly playing throughout the game, so I then opened it, and in the sound settings, I made sure that looping is on, so once the sound finishes, it will play again.

Now, to get the sound working and playing in my game, all I had to do was simply drag the soundwave into the map.

So now, once I start the game, the sound will immediately start playing.

Here, i've recorded the background sound that i implemented. Also, the flashlight toggle sound as well ive shown in the video below:

Overall, I'm happy with how i managed to implement the sounds into my game. I do kind of wish I added a few more though however, such as maybe a zombie growl or moan, footstep sounds, etc. just to give that extra sense of immersion and fear / despair.

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SOUNDS USED

I have found this sound which I really like and think goes well into my environment. It's just some spooky ambience, so I will put this in the background of the game so it just plays throughout.

I'm using this sound for toggling the flashlight on and off.

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TARGETS FOR TODAY

Today, I definitely am going to be adding sounds into my game. This is all I am going to be focusing on, as it needs to be done. I have the website here which I'm going to be using. I might also have to watch a video or two on how to actually add the sounds to specific locations and stuff like that.

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RAIN OUTCOME

I'm quite impressed with how the rain turned out. It looks fairly realistic when falling down, it also has little splashes now and again with each raindrop. Maybe I could of improved on this by adding rain sounds, but apart from that, I think it's really good.