A.I.D.E.N in Space
Developed by: Harvey Yeo, Jon Tai, Sean Ng, Adrian Lai, Jarvis Hu
Project Roles: Level 2 Co-designer
Game Preview
A.I.D.E.N in Space
'A.I.D.E.N in Space' is a third-person platformer where players control a rat-sized robot attempting to traverse a human household to get back to its spaceship. To progress the levels, the player will have to conquer puzzles and obstacles laid along their path.
This Unreal project was developed for the Unit 'IGB321 Immersive Game Level design' at QUT using the Unreal Engine's Stack-O-Bot project preset as a base.
Details of contributions
I worked with my team to come up with the narrative and setting for the game.
I designed half of the 2nd Level of our game with a teammate (Jon). We worked together to streamline our puzzles in the environment our level is set in, while ensuring the experience is fluid.
My Development Process
This project served as my first introduction to working with Unreal Engine while focusing on level design. We used 'Stack-O-Bot' as the base game and built the level using assets downloaded from Unreal Engine Asset store 'Fab'. As a group we decided on the theme of exploring a human household as a rat-sized robot. The interconnected levels would have the player character A.I.D.E.N ascend the household from the kitchen to the attic. I was working on the 2nd level - the bathroom with and group member (Jon Tai).
Puzzle Design Philosophy
Creating a platformer also meant creating puzzles for players to solve as they progressed the level. Our design philosophy was to create puzzles that make the player feel accomplished. Inspired by the 'Portal' series, we structured our puzzles by to teach the players the basics before gradually increasing the challenge, often reintroducing them in a following level with a twist. To further assist and guide the player, we placed collectables that served as visual indicators for players to move towards that direction.
Level design was also designed around the functionalities that Stack-O-Bot came with. The player character was able to run, jump, fly for a limited time and interact with several platforming environmental objects.
Unreal Engine Blueprint Revision
The default blueprint for Stack-O-Bot would respawn Stack-O-Bot when the player inputs a specific key. This would respawn the player at the last checkpoint and leave a copy of their body behind. We wanted have a fail state for our game such as falling out of bounds. Therefore, we revised the Unreal Engine blueprint to adjust the mechanic into a "kill the player on collision" function, using it to kill the player when they fall off the map or collide with dangerous objects.
Building the level
I designed and built the second level with Jon which was set in a bathroom environment. The player would begin this level from the top of the shower head and complete it by exiting the bathroom door. Before beginning our design, we referenced bathrooms from showcases and movie sets, incorporating furniture and props to make our level believable and therefore immersive.
We concluded that simply using a household bathroom would make the level design space too small and took some creative liberties to make the level a huge 'playground'. Playable areas were restricted to furniture surfaces and falling off them would kill the player character.
Puzzles in Level 2
I designed the 'Bathroom Vanity' and 'cabinet' areas of the level. These areas focused on presenting two challenges to the player them being 'Puzzles involving fans' and 'platforming skills' respectively.
Fans were introduced to the player as an environmental object that could carry them across distances. They would be activated by pressing on buttons or putting movable boxes on pressure plates which were introduced prior to encountering them.
The other main obstacle introduced with the fan was bodies of water, which would kill the player character on contact. Since our game has unlimited lives, we expected players to learn through their first encounter - whether by direct contact or avoided through their intuition. The fan was implemented as the solution to this puzzle.
When designing the puzzle, the area the water covered determined the size of the basin since the player character could fly. To prevent players from by-passing the obstacle just by using the jet-pack, we adjusted our flight duration values in the Unreal Engine blueprints.
When designing the cabinet areas I focused on the basics of platforming - jumping from surface to surface. Due to using props placed at odd angles, I had a fun time setting up the collision boxes for the environment. To preserve the intended challenge, I had to place invisible walls in some areas to prevent unintended shortcuts.
Outcomes
This unit introduced me to Unreal Engine and its capabilities. I was impressed by the difference in graphical prowess, and lighting system it has compared to Unity. After understanding the fundamentals, I am able to approach future Unreal Engine projects with confidence and look forward to transfer my Unity skills into future Unreal Engine projects as well.