Nightmare in the Marshlands
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Platform: PC, keyboard and mouse
Skill focus: Level, mechanic, narrative translation and appropriation, audio implementation, environmental art Time spent: 4-6 months Engine and tools: Unreal 4.22, Maya 2018, Unreal Scripting (Blueprint Scripting) Link to play game: shorturl.at/opM12 From this link you will find a .zip file (1.12GB), controls, and full list of credits. Any feedback and criticisms are welcome! For any inquiries please message me using the information on the Contacts page |
Summary of Contributions
- Level Design - This project was interesting as it was needing to focus on aspects of design I had never really explored before such as exterior level design. At my time at Abertay, I had only really made interior designs as I believed them to be easier as they made sense and I could get a good feel for how it would be structured in the engine. Exterior designs felt chaotic in their design as they would have to be more organic than technical. After spending some time making different levels I began to realise that it wasn't as bad as it was and am rather proud of what I've made for these levels. I focused on making sure that they were simplistic in nature and follows a set path as to keep the navigation linear to the story. I did take my knowledge of interior level design however and made a tutorial level that the player could explore.
- Mechanics and Scripting - A lot of my time near the beginning of the project was focusing on the mechanics I wanted to make for the game. I began with the firearms, I switched between using hitscan weaponry and projectile weapons but settled on the latter as I thought it would add some extra challenge. I also worked on a small collection of different firearms but ultimately stuck with the pistol since the other guns steered too much away from the narrative. Once I felt comfortable with the weapons I then worked on the first version of the zombie enemy. At the time I made it so it could follow patrol paths and search the players last known location however I decided to remove it as well and replace it with a more simplistic zombie enemy that would just hunt the player down and kill them instantly.
- Environment design/art - I never made any of the art assets seen within the game, I sourced them from a multitude of sites such as Sketchfab and Megascan's Quixel. I did populate these levels and worked on the lighting within each of them. I created still image cutscenes that the player could look at whilst listening to the continued narrative between the levels.
- Audio - This was an interesting one considering I rarely ever use audio creation software so this was an interesting experience. I sourced most of my sound effects from freesound.org and from the internet as a whole. The narration was taken from the audiobook version of World War Z and was then condensed down into what I considered to be important aspects of the story.
Examples of Contributions
Tutorial Level Evidence
Level 1 Evidence
Level 2 Evidence
Level 3 Evidence
Credits
World War Z - Created by Max Brooks, 2006
Audio narrative - Audible, 2007-2013
Adaptation of chapter - Craig Brown 2020
Audio narrative - Audible, 2007-2013
Adaptation of chapter - Craig Brown 2020
AUDIO
freesound.org credits woman panting painful - MadamVicious heartbeat - herbertboland Male screams 1 - johnsonbrandediting Male scream 2 - thesubber13 Tree falling down - ecfike Timber tree falling - Matt-beer Helicopter - visions68 Frogs in North Carolina - Courter Ambient pond sound effects - Soundholder Zombie sounds and Music credits Zombie Sound Pack - Film Masters (Youtube) Horror Ambience Music (Royalty Free) - ThrillShowX Source of Player Sound Gun sound effect - Underscore (Youtube) |
ART
Environmental Assets Marsh ground & Dead Trees - MegaScan Quixel packs Construction Assets - UE4 Marketplace Level 2 SUV - UE4 Marketplace Character Rigs - UE4 Marketplace Player and Gun Animations - Underscore (Youtube) Zombie Animations - Mixamo Zombie models and Rigs - Mixamo Boar Gun - Alex Skirving (Student 1803047) Sketchfab Assets 308 Sniper Rifle - Sebastian Webster Ammo Box - Alex Sanchez Destroyed Bus - o0ozexo0o Burned Cars and Muscle Cars - Renafox Tent - Venikamen Cypress Trees - BaptisteBerard Old Camping Trailer - Walking Polar Bear 357 Revolver Kaliber Magnum - the_table |