puzzlegameangliajamjblbcs

[puzzlegameangliajamjblbcs]

The outline effect

Players had a hard time telling whether or not they were holding an object, and rightfully so. The only indicator for whether or not you were holding something was when it moved. So here's how I made the outline effect.

First off, on the item blueprint, on event begin play, I create a duplicate of the item with the model inverted as to only show the backfaces. This is known as the inverse hull method, and is perhaps one of the easiest methods to implement, while providing relatively nice results. The method works because the inverted mesh is scaled and only renders the faces in the interior, meaning it looks like an outline. I think the results speak for themselves:

[puzzlegameangliajamjblbcs]

Making the basket and rug

I had to do something a little different with these. I needed a bit more detail in them, and so I felt I couldn't just use the same gradient material. So, I used maths to procedurally texture the objects:

And here's how it looks when I'm making something:

Because procedural texturing can only be used within blender, I have to bake the colour into a texture, that can then be used within Unreal Engine. Baking textures is very easy: you create a new texture and select it while also selecting the object. You then click the "Bake" button in blender, and it will render the colour into a texture.

[puzzlegameangliajamjblbcs]

Making the 3d models

I tend to use the extrusion modeling technique, where you inset faces and extrude in order to add more detail.

Blender's subdivision surface modifier is also often used with this, giving a smooth surface you can't usually get with other methods.

A good example is the wine glass model I made a while ago. it is simply a circle that has been extruded and scaled, with a subdivision surface modifier:

Additionally, I chose to use gradients as my method of coloring, both to make it easier to create, and to give a simple, more stylized look. Generally games in Unreal Engine can look quite gritty and HD, along with the lighting it can become quite overwhelming, so contrasting the realistic lighting with unrealistic models and textures will help players focus on what they need to.

Here are some models I made for the project so far:

And then, of course, there's the room, but we gotta populate it first so ill put that in a separate post

[puzzlegameangliajamjblbcs]

Music

So i realized we deeded music, and decided to try make some using Beep Box, a website that lets you easily create 8-bit music. I forgot that it only really can be used for 8-bit music and also remembered that I don't actually know how to make music. So, here's my unholy attempt to create a song:

Probably not gonna end up using this but I still made it

[puzzlegameangliajamjblbcs]

Gaming The Mind Talk

They are a charity that creates games about and with people who suffer from mental illness and often work with mental health professionals. I was intrigued by the amount of data about both the negative and positive affects of both casual and professional gaming such as how it can induce an equivalent stress level and a professional F1 drivers, I intend to investigate gaming the mind further when researching the affects of OCD, which is what my groups game will be drawing from.

[puzzlegameangliajamjblbcs]

Scripture

[puzzlegameangliajamjblbcs]

Potential house layout?

perhaps

[puzzlegameangliajamjblbcs]

The game

The game, as chosen by the spinning wheel (best of three), has been decided. The result is OCD Simulator, the idea proposed by myself. Obviously, this will not be the final name of the game, but the idea will be where we start.

[puzzlegameangliajamjblbcs]

Research-Uncharted Franchise

Uncharted is a third-person action-adventure / puzzle solving franchise of games developed by Naughty Dog where you play as a renowned treasure hunter in search of glory, you face a lot of dangers along the way, whether they be human or creature.

It features both fictitious and historical characters such as the legends of Sir Francis Drake and Henry Avery, as you uncover their secrets you have to solve elaborate traps and puzzle contraptions to gain the next clue.

[puzzlegameangliajamjblbcs]

Research : The Witness

The Witness is an open world game set on an island where you go around and solve puzzles in both natural and man-made structures. The game provides no indication to what you need to do, leaving the player to figure things out themselves.

Most of the puzzles are quite similar, you must draw some form of path on a grid, and the path must follow a set of rules. The island is split into eleven regions with a large mountain in its center, the main goal is to get to this mountain. In order to unlock the mountain, the player must complete puzzles in all regions first. at the end of the game, the player is transported back to the place where the game began.

The art style is extremely stylized, with very vibrant colours and almost plastic-y looking materials. despite that, realistic lighting techniques are also used, like reflections and volumetric clouds.

While I agree the visuals look nice, I personally feel like there could be a bit more, for instance: rather than simply darkening an object, it would be better to also shift the colour towards a more cooler colour, increasing the vibrancy and making it slightly more visually appealing. It is said that the game can take a long while to complete, and it may get quite boring with the continued usage of the same puzzles, so making it look nice is definitely something that would help.

^ Some of the environment

^ One of the puzzles

[puzzlegameangliajamjblbcs]

Research : Viewfinder

Viewfinder is a puzzle game where you are able to project 2D images (from your camera in game or other images) into 3D space. It's a little hard to explain, but it allows you to copy the contents of an image and place it within the level, letting you create things like bridges to new areas, or copy things from images into the playable 3d world.

The game is set in a world where all plant life has been eradicated, the player is within a simulation in order to try and find a way to bring back plants. At the end, the player does manage to bring back a singular seed.

Visually, the game is quite vibrant. every level seems to be set in the sky, with large concrete(?) buildings overgrown with bright grass and plants. It takes inspiration from painterly and other stylized visuals, while mixing in realistic lighting.

^ A black and white photo rotated and used as a ramp in game

^ Multiple images/photos placed in close proximity

[puzzlegameangliajamjblbcs]

some of my ideas

ADHD simulator

A game where you have to do every-day tasks using lots of different items, except these items randomly move position when you aren't looking, so you need to look for them. you must complete 7 days, and every day the distance the items move will increase. There should also be a timer, in order to add to the panic.

OCD simulator

There are multiple rooms and there's something (perhaps multiple) things amidst in the room and you gotta find them out and fix them. stuff like books missing or out of place. time limit. the changes get harder to notice as time goes on.

[puzzlegameangliajamjblbcs]

Our group's roles

*despite having roles, we will most probably all end up working on at least some portion of another's role in some way. basically, its kind of like a guide.

Connor will be mainly focused on designing gameplay, things like puzzles, general story and major decisions.

Leon will be working on implementing things into the game, doing the programming and adding features.

I will be focused on artwork, including: post-processing, UI, 3D modelling, textures and particles.

[puzzlegameangliajamjblbcs]

Research : Superliminal

Superliminal is a game set within a dream. You find yourself within a "recurring dream cycle", meaning you wake up from a dream within another dream. The main focus of this game is to wake up, traversing through levels by reaching the room's exits. The game uses multiple rendering tricks and optical illusions as its puzzles, from physically scaling objects based on their perceived distance to rendering 3d objects on the surface of others, resulting in a flat image that looks 3D.

^ An object scaled through an illusion in game

As is quite common with these type of games, the visuals are very stylized, using quite soft and flat colours, with not much texture unless really needed.

[puzzlegameangliajamjblbcs]

Research : Portal

Portal is a puzzle platformer game based around the usage of portals (wow). You have the ability to place down two portals, one orange and the other blue, which create a direct pathway between each-other. The main focus of the game is to traverse through pre-made "chambers", each teaching you how to use the portals and environmental obstacles in different ways.

^ A puzzle showing the usage of these cubes to open a door.

The game is set in a lab-type environment, using very cold and gray colours. The materials are all very clean and tiled, giving a cold and uninviting feel.

The game's story was made after the game's mechanics were created, something I would usually advise against, but it turned out fine so it doesn't matter. According to Wikipedia, "found the game fun but asked about what these test chambers were leading towards.". Unless you absolutely know you want something in your game and know it will fit within the story, I would refrain from adding something you also plan to be important.