Out of session this week I received the final size for the character models.

This meant that the models we already had needed scaling up.

The level design changes were made with block outs to show where assets are going to be placed. This will be sometime next week.

Updated screenshots of the levels :

This week in session I created a timeline for the tutorial level of our game.

This timeline shows how the whole level will play out, what animations are needed, what tooltips / UI changes need to be made and when and a preview of  how the screen will look when playing.

The purpose of this timeline was to show / remind members of the team how our level will play out, what tasks they need to do and mainly for seeing how a change in the game will affect how the whole timeline plays out.

For next weeks session I plan to have the UI base functionality down and have a mock design ready for next semester when we start making the UI look ‘pretty’.

This week consisted of mainly making sure everyone on the team was reminded of what game we were making and the direction we intend to go. I will be creating a timeline (out of session) of how the level will play out and a timeline for the team on when we need parts of the game uploaded and working.

We started the session with a play test of the progress build as the only people to have played/know what the game looks like so far were myself and the tech team. The team pointed out many flaws of the build tech side but unfortunately I was unable to get feedback on the current level design as the modified designs were not in the progress build.

However, after talking, the level design needed to be changed again. We have currently been working with 2 planes however we were informed that there wasn’t enough going on in the second plane that made it worth using and should consider switching to using 1 plane. As the team was very set on having 2 planes we were told we needed to come up with other ways to use the second plane. I spent the rest of the lesson coming up with ideas with my junior on how we could accomplish this. After watching the feedback video for the progress build we also came up with another idea on how you switch between characters not just key binding but also visually which would fit nicely with our UI changes we plan to make.

The foxes abilities have also been changed. This is something I felt for a while that needed to be changed but the rest of the group was set on the idea therefore no changes were made until now. The arctic fox and the fennec fox had the same ability, they are now one ability on the arctic fox. She can hide and reveal hidden locations for the other foxes. The fennec fox now has the ability to slip through gaps the other foxes cannot. 

New level designs compared to old designs-

Surgery Room- 

Progress from prototype to present. The surgery room has changed the most out of all the areas and after receiving feedback on how to incorporate more gameplay elements on the two planes I decided to based upon the new fennec fox ability to add a vent in the room. You can only pass through this vent as the fennec fox which takes you into the waiting room. In the waiting room you will climb along a pipe and jump down onto the desk to press a button which will turn the door system online ready for the red fox to hack the door and make his way into the waiting room to progress with the level. When you first enter the waiting room the receptionist isn’t there and the room is more lit (due to a desk lamp so she can find her way back after going to the toilet). When you hack the door and walk through into the waiting room it is now much darker and the receptionist is at her desk. Later on in the game this feature could have a time limit between hitting the switch and reaching the door to unlock it. 

Waiting Room- Added where the pipe will be, the switch and how the character will get back onto the desk to leave the room again. We also removed the chairs from the foreground, we decided to hardly use the foreground as it was just blocking the characters vision. It might come in use again later on in the outdoor areas.

Main Entrance – We removed the use of using the second plane in this area as using both planes would get repetitive and boring. Only certain areas at certain points will make use of the second plane.

Next session we will be finalizing designs for all of the UI, making mock designs, asking for feedback, testing it and have it implemented into the engine.

Over the weekend I had an idea that would be quite time consuming for the group but will pitch it on Tuesday and see what they think. As we have 3 (potentially 4) different types of foxes they all live in slightly different habitats (some the same), therefore I was thinking for our game that in the final stage you chose which ending you get. One set in the Arctic for the arctic fox, one set in a desert for the fennec fox, and one set in the forest for the red fox.  Depending on which character you are playing as when you enter the final area is which ending you will receive.

This week out of session I looked at creating mock designs for the main menu and pause menu.

These included a stock background image for the time being  In Ori and the blind forest their main menu background is concept of the forest you play in. In our game you are never in 1 setting, you pass through multiple settings with the end goal of returning back to the wild, so for now I decided to go with a stock image of a forest (the default ending area). The background will eventually be a screenshot from the game or a piece of concept art but as the aim of the game is to escape back to the wild that’s why I chose a forest background.

The colour scheme I went for was oranges, yellows and whites, this is because our foxes are these colours. The borders around Play,Options and Exit are a wood style due to matching our in game hud borders also being wood style which was a design choice again based on returning to the wild, which is a forest (by default).

Each of the main menu and options screen have two different versions, these will be pitched to the group to see which idea they like best and I will modify the designs in session based on their feedback.

Main Menu Design 1 – The background can always be made brighter, the text for the title of the game also is just a place holder for the custom font that I would like to use (the same font that is present on our logo). When you hover over one of these buttons the font will change colour to yellow.

Main Menu Design 2

Options Screen Design 1 – In Ori and the blind forest they use the same image as they use in the main menu but just a darker version in order to be able to see the text clearer. I have gone with a similar idea for our options screen (this might eventually be called help and options screen). We decided on the idea last week that as we have concept art for each of our characters it would be nice to show off these somewhere, so came our characters screen which is a little bio of each of the characters with their concept as well. I also liked the idea of having a gallery in our options (will possibly be moved out of this section into its own later on) this is because we have a lot of concept art and because its a really nice idea to take screenshots of the game (just the backgrounds / without the character in) and show off development stages of the game that people can look through to see where we started and where we ended up. As well as having the font change colour for selecting that option, I will also ask for a shape to be created or effect that can be added over the top to the option that is selected.

Options Screen Design 2 – 

Pause Menu Design – The background is place holder but it will be just an overlay menu on your current screen meaning the background will be the in game scene. The shape in the top left is also a place holder for what our collectable symbol will be. This is the screen where you can see how many are in the level and how many you have collected.

In session I will finally be creating the widgets for the In Game HUD and testing it to see if changes need to be made.

This week in session was focused on getting the areas finished with base assets (not polished) in for the Friday deadline.

They also needed to be completed so we could get backgrounds started for each of the areas.

Before Fridays deadline the Main Entrance area needs to have all the final assets in instead of being a base block out.

And

Before next weeks session the In game HUD widgets need to be created along with a basic design of the main menu and the pause screen. Included a list of all the tooltips that will appear in game along with the design for the tooltips.

This week in session I started to play around with the in game HUD design.

We tested out a couple of ideas of what the in game HUD could like :

We decided on this idea as our final design as this version looked the best out of the 4, it also doesn’t draw any attention away from the game play but makes it clear which fox you are playing as. 

In this version I started to look at how the borders would look like, I looked at a couple of ideas and liked the look of a wood border the best as it fitted with the theme of returning to the wild. Within each border I used colours representing each fox as the background then had concept give me an icon for each of the foxes. I changed the opacity and size of the other foxes character icons (will change later on) because they aren’t selected. When you are on the selected fox so in this case the Arctic fox, the icon will be bigger, brighter and have a glow around it so players know that this is the character they have selected.

To improve on this design I will be adding symbols next to each character border as players might not remember which fox has what ability.

For next weeks session I aim to have completed the in game HUD design and to have a base block out of the reception area and update the surgery room area so tech can start working with a base level design. After this I plan to start importing assets and building the final version of the level. I will be posting progress updates of how the level is coming along each time the level gets modified.

I also aim to start testing out the in game HUD, writing up the tool tips for the tutorial and making a colour palette for the main menu and pause menu.

I have started to write up a list of the main assets we need created in order to start building the tutorial level. This is because the team isn’t making the main assets we need for a base level, this should hopefully get the team back on track.

I will start adding to the other sections near the end of the semester when i do the level designs for the second level of our game.

In this weeks session I will start mocking up a puzzle design for the lock-picking in the first area and start thinking about where enemies will be placed along with the placement of collectables.

This week out of session i created a couple of moodboards for UI design.

Our in game HUD is going to be very simple as all we need to show is which fox you are playing as and the special ability the fox has (as players might forget from the tutorial)

I’m currently working on a design for the main menu and for the in game hud. I will complete these in the next development session.

I’m also planning still to work on creating the world however we are still waiting for assets in order for this to happen.

Me and another producer have spoken about the production lead roles and the creative lead roles. We will be splitting each role as we have worked equally on both for the last few weeks however I will be taking the title of creative lead.

In today’s development session, I started to mood board level designs for the tutorial level of the game. I grabbed reference images for surgery rooms in vets, waiting rooms and the main entrance area for zoo’s. I had old level designs for the prototype but they needed updating due to the fact we had split the level into three areas.

Each one of the areas are connected meaning if there are not any obstacles blocking your path back then you can travel through each of the areas.

Over the weekend I will be creating a UI mood board and mocking up a design. I will also be writing out a mechanics list for the game along with a list of tooltips for the tutorial.

First area – Surgery room

This is where the character spawns. This is area is going to show off the Red Fox and lock picking, included in the locking picking is a maze which the fox must find its way out to unlock the door. The mazes condition is going to be that you cannot touch any of the sides, doing so will result in the player alerting security and having to try again. I was considering having three lives before the player gets reset in that area. I will start blocking out a maze puzzle in the next development session.

Block out level design – Surgery room – Top down view / Side on View

Second Area – Waiting room / Reception

This area is where we first get introduced to the night vision fox and the stealth fox. As the game is set at night time this level is going to be completely dark and show of our enemy mechanic. You go into this level completely dark, a tooltip will appear suggesting you change to the Fennec fox, he has the ability of night vision. He will be able to show you the area. However, there is a receptionist sat at her desk finishing off some work. She has the only bit of light in the room which is coming from her monitor and she also has a desk lamp which she turns on when she senses the fox. This is where we are introduced to the Artic fox who has the ability to stealth, this fox will use the environment around them to hide in. Currently in this area the fox can hide behind the chairs in the room and move again (switching back to the fennec fox to see the way) once the light has been turned off.

Block out level design – Waiting Room – Top down view / Side on View

Third Area – Main Entrance / Zoo

This final area of the tutorial level is going to show off another way the Artic fox can stealth in the world. Using the middle ground, they will be able to jump into holes, between bins etc. to hide from the enemies. These holes later on in other areas won’t always be visible using the Artic fox you might need to use other foxes to help you find them like how the two foxes worked together in the second area. We are splitting this area in half, having both sides patrolled by guards and an obstacle in the world meaning you cannot just walk through the level using only the playground, you will need to move into the middle ground walk around the obstacle then come out on the other side, avoid this guard by going back into the middle ground again then completing the level and escaping the zoo.

Block out level design – Main Entrance – Top down view

Each of the designs has a colour scheme, Purple means non- playable areas this is mainly the middle ground and Pink means non-interactable objects, Green means the foreground (also used for leap points and doors) and Blue / Dark Blue means areas you can play and interactable objects.

In next week’s development session, I will finish a side view of the main entrance (or ask the junior designer to complete this) I will also merge all the top down views and side views so we can see the full level block out instead of the areas.

I will also start implementing assets into UE4 to test each level design, make sure each area is playable and there are no points in the level where the character gets stuck or doesn’t match the world.

 A reminder : All the basic block outs for the levels are a work in progress, they are to help the art team get a feel for the assets they need to create and the design team when it comes to importing assets into UE4