One of the new levels added due to the level design rework was the training area (read about in 'Level Design Rework' blog). This was because we wanted to teach the player how to interact with the combat systems before entering the rest of the levels.
I knew the team wanted to have a medieval training area but wasn't sure how to lay this out, so I went and got various reference images and brought them to our next team meeting to gain the team's input. We all agreed we liked the first two styles, and it would be a quick design to implement.
I used the Blockout Tool Plug-In to help get the structure of the environment and the landscape tool to act as a background of the player's view.
I wanted a visual way to tell the player how to do actions in the game and not to rely on narrations entirely. Therefore, our UX/UI Luke Shingleton was able to do various sketches for each mechanic, which allowed me to turn them into gif in unreal by having a plan and changing the texture parameter value every five seconds.
*Concepts by Luke Shingleton*
Attempt One
At the very start of the development, Holly Boyle set up basic test dummies that would lose health when you hit them, and instead of any development work being wasted, we could reuse them by adding the dummy model Luke had designed. Therefore, when the player picks up the sword, they will be told to destroy all the training dummies then the doors will open, allowing them to proceed to the next area.
Attempt 2
In the second attempt, you will notice how everything now has materials and the voice lines, which have now been changed over to voice designed by John Houston to help guide the player. I also realised we hadn't introduced the player to the sword throwing mechanic that Holly set up and felt it needed to be presented here. This was a mechanic that some users struggled to understand when conducting playtesting sessions.
Out of house assets packs used
The packs used within this level were only for materials;
City of Brass: Environments - Materials only
City of Brass: Props - Materials only
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