• 1)Introduction

Before beginning, I want to clarify that my primary focus for this project is to implement and experiment with concepts that I plan to expand upon for a larger project in the future. My goal is to learn how everything works and operates so that I can effectively incorporate these elements later on as references. (For the sprint button, I left it to be quick and fast so as to view how everything looks for the concept and explore before the light goes out.)

What I'm creating, or at least what I envision it becoming, is a Horror Survival RPG game. The gameplay style will be turn-based combat, allowing players to control several characters as they navigate the challenges of surviving on a deserted island filled with unknown horrors. Players must manage their resources wisely and find a way to escape the island. This game will feature a third-person perspective, expansive traversal maps, turn-based mechanics, a crafting system, custom mini-games, and a stalking mechanic that heightens the sense of tension and fear.

This is the concept I will later improve and invest my time in.

• 2) Lighting

As I begin this stage, my goal is to implement the horror elements of my level. To create a dark, eerie atmosphere, I will darken the skylight to my preferred lighting. So what I planned to do I would go to the sky atmosphere details and change the hues of the Rayleigh scattering and the art direction sections. This will allow me to change the color and emotion of the area. Turning the sunny day into a nighttime setting helps elevate the horror aspects. I would mess around with the atmospheric lighting height to give it the right balance of lights and shadows, while also messing with the sky luminance factor that really mixes with the hue of the night, letting me make it be either a blood moon, foggy night, or other types of features.

I find the aesthetic appealing, but I sense that something is still missing. I want to introduce a day-night cycle that emphasizes time management for players, forcing them to make wise decisions before their visibility fades. I would go into the level's blueprint and input a day speed variable that will change the directional lighting's direction. Afterwards, I would multiply that by adding it to a rotator that will let the directional light rotate around the sky atmosphere by making it into a variable with a rotator node linked. Initially, I adjusted the lighting so players would have at least some areas to navigate through. However, the day-night cycle remains a key feature, encouraging players to explore strategically, especially in the larger game. I aim to maintain the lighting as is, as the trees contribute to a haunting scenery that enhances the horror elements found in nature, complemented by lurking creatures.

 FUTURE INCLUSIONS: I plan to introduce improved atmospheric lighting in certain areas, as some parts are too dark when they don't need to be. Additionally, I will incorporate torches to help players navigate through the darkness and other props with luminous properties.

• 3) Materials

Incorporating various materials into the level proved to be quite challenging for me. I struggled with making selections to assign specific textures to different parts of the environment. Unfortunately, I was only able to implement a single texture for both the land and rocks, but I will have a texture that will merge well with the landscape. I would go through FAB to look for a texture material asset that would fit the vibe of the level and mix well with the lighting. I would find a free asset and import it into my level. It was a grassy texture that will fit the theme of wildlife and import it as the landscape's texture material. Though thankfully, the sculpting of the ground gives it the idea of surviving in the wild, as it still merges well with the lighting and creates a nostalgic and creepy emotion, something similar to SuperMario 64 Bower’s level, which I want to keep for the moment. 

FUTURE INCLUSIONS: I envision creating a professional landscape painting within the landscape selection from the level that delivers a strong visual impact and merges well with the lighting. I will also include different texture materials for different landscapes when the player walks on grass, snow, stone, sand, water, etc.

• 4) Audio

I had a challenging yet enjoyable experience with this project. With the thought process, I am working with a horror theme, so initially, I have to incorporate sound effects that blend in with the level. What I was searching for was thriller background music that incorporated something that wasn't chaotic or too much, but instead a lingering feeling of anxiousness and anticipation, making the player alert that something might come after them at any moment. I was able to find the selected sound and incorporate it into the level. I intended to know what fits with the theme of horror and what sounds can elevate it. Not just with the background music, and the entire understanding of how that works. This would only help for this project, but in future works.

I've struggled with creating a trigger that would alert the player when approaching the creature too closely. What I wanted was to have the player be alerted that the monster noticed their presence and is around the area. I want to include a monster sound that lets the player know that they are near. The choice of sound effect is to be vocal, with howling growls that are heard throughout the area. My first attempt involved incorporating a sound cue with adjusted components and a collision sphere to indicate when the player was too near. However, this approach often resulted in the sound triggering too early or not at all. After several hours of experimentation and troubleshooting, I decided to implement the sound cue within a blueprint actor. This setup included audio components and a collision box that would activate when the player got too close. By fine-tuning various settings, I finally achieved the desired sound effect. I played around with the audio cue, enhancing the pitch and volume to create a more menacing snarl for the monster.

However, I felt that more immersive elements were necessary. For both the main menu and the playable level, I included wildlife sounds to evoke the feeling of being in the wild and near the sea. Additionally, I integrated a suspenseful horror music cue to play in the background, creating an atmosphere of dread and anticipation—especially when the creature pursues the player. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed working on this aspect of the project; it quickly became one of my favorites.

FUTURE INCLUSIONS: I will add a chase audio cue whenever the player is getting chased by something. I will also include sound effects for player/enemy footsteps, trees and greenery rustling, different cues with stepping on different types of ground, and different music audio when traversing into different maps, something similar to Kingdom Hearts when moving through different areas.

• 5) VFX

With learning about VFX Niagara inputs had me rattling my brain for a bit on what I could use. The first thought would be that of pouring water, similar to small water, until realizing I could just put in a VFX effect of rain. I wanted to incorporate this effect since I want to make different weather conditions for the day cycle mechanic. The weather is unpredictable; one day it will be sunny, and the next thing you know, it's a damn deadly storm. That is what gave me the inspiration to input weather conditions for this level. This is also to showcase how the player will be moving forward and implementing a mechanic of status effects, with the rain making the player's character "Wet Status" or "Sick Status." Deciding on what to do, I first create a new file for my effects, inputting "Environment Effects" for later use, for later inputting different environment effects and settings. Getting started, I create the Niagara system and use the fountain difficulty as the main starter.

At this step, this was perfect the way it was. Now, with implementing it at the level, this would be the hardest thing I have to struggle with, figuring out how to put it in such a wide area. At first, I would go to the bounds scale and increase the number, but it wouldn’t be enough, as it barely covers the area. It covers such a small area, even putting it at 9000000000 for scale, but barely reaches anywhere. Next, I would try to scale it to a higher number as the positive change is I can expand it to longer lengths, but what makes it worse is it stretches the particles from each other to which makes it look sad. Lastly, I decided to just put some Niagara effects just from the starting area to showcase the rain particles. That certain issue would only frustrate me further, and I needed to fix this. I got recommended by a classmate to include the Niagara effect in the BP_ThirdPersonCustom, and initially, I was uncertain about how that would work. Including the component with the Niagara effect is where I got the results that I wanted. Another issue would occur whenever I playtest the level; I can only move my camera to a certain spot when I can actually see the rain effect. With more experimenting, I would find out that the scale would help drastically and give me the results that I wanted. The hardship I got for this was a nightmare, but it gave me more inspiration for other effects I can do without struggling as much as before. 

The Niagara effect now has usage for later reference, especially befitting for a deserted island level. This is to reinforce the idea that there will be a change in weather conditions and what it can change for gameplay. This will be utilized for more immersive gameplay, with conditions being set if rain comes, changing the conditions of having the player needing to be stealthier and getting the wet status effect. Other features can be like having the player move more slowly in the rain, or having the advantage of noise reduction. Whether the case, this is mainly for immersive aspects since it will dull the game if there's only daylight and nighttime, but to mix in other variations on what the weather can bring for gameplay.

FUTURE INCLUSIONS: I will include more special effects for many mechanics and effects for other elements, and also for other weather changes. Help create an immersive fusion with the atmosphere.

• 6) Post-Processing

For my level design, it has many aspects that I like and includes references to my future goal of making a video game. The goal that I have right now is to showcase the exposure and the collision of lights and shadows. It always had an appeal to me, and I want to include that within plans by merging with different skylights, atmospheric hues, and other features. An art within an artwork. The color grading would definitely enhance the beauty of light and shadows, as I want this game to look cinematic and driven with its art direction. Many effects will be included for cinematic shots and scenes with bloom, vignette, and other post effects.

The landscape sculpting demonstrates the particular interest in what I am trying to do. It gives me a vision of how the player will need to be moving, the duration of time when moving, and how it would make the player feel. I would say that the lighting atmosphere and directional light will need improvement since parts of my map are too dark and need adjusting, and the concept of implementing a day cycle as an experiment rather than a full functional mechanic. I also can’t figure out how to stop the sudden blackout from the light’s glare. With knowing this, I have identified many aspects that either need to be changed or what I can later improve to its fullest. I already made an Overview that demonstrates what this game is going to be and what it needs to include. Including how it makes you feel, think, witness, and other important ideas. Not just for myself, but with others I will be working with soon later on.

• 7) UI

Whenever I was first starting the overview for my game, I would first start with what the title screen would look like. The idea is to have the introduction of the title as a welcome showcase to a beloved game. I would include panels with a light opacity with satisfying sound clicks and hovering to give it the "Uphm!!!" The idea of having the UI has much importance along with the gameplay. I want the UI to have visual appeal with small animations with interactions with the gameplay, and significance with implementing your settings, inventory checks, and other usages. With the concept already in mind, I would work on it.

After countless hours spent grappling with the parenting implications of button operations and the widget transitions between panels, I found myself initially overwhelmed, as this wasn't my strong suit. However, through practice and experimentation, I gradually learned how everything worked and how I could effectively incorporate it into my design. When creating the menu panel, my goal was to make it visually appealing. I aimed to add UI click sounds and animations for button hovers and clicks. After several iterations, I successfully achieved the desired functionality, though it required extensive back-and-forth between the designer and the event graph. Once it was operational, I realized I had a lot of ideas I wanted to showcase, but I decided to stick to the basics for now. I focused on the Menu UI and Settings, ensuring they were functional for future use. This foundation will allow me to build a professional UI complete with audio, gameplay features, and additional options. This would also include my own design with UI.

FUTURE INCLUSIONS: I plan to refine the Menu UI further by incorporating more elements. I want to make the pause button functional but non-pausable, as this will support a unique gameplay mechanic. Additionally, I intend to include an in-game menu featuring an inventory, character selection, load game options, settings, and a return to menu button.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I recognize that there is further to improve my skillsets within Unreal Engine. My primary focus is to add to my overview for I can know what I want to include for how I want my game to look and operate. This project helped me understand a little when it comes to the functions, but I know I can do a lot better and will invest my time into making further improvements and add-ons with future mechanics and functions for others can get the grasp on my vision, but for now, it will only be an example taste.