Project 2:
2D Platformer
The Client:
This page has been worked further upon after the initial submission of the projects deadline.
Introduction to the Project:
When you first open the brief, it leads with the phrase
"Time is precious"
This is a huge hint to the theme, and also generates a lot of ideas for my game.
​
This 2D platformer project revolves around the theme of clockwork and time, the brief mentions that is "all about the hustle and bustle of everyday life", I am required to produce a (at minimum) playable level sequence using Unreal Engine V4.27.2. The target audience is young people aged 12+, I should provide suitable documentation on my decision making, idea generation, feedback, time management, etc. I must submit a video of my level sequence in an appropriate resolution and ensure that the video is accessible to view. My Unreal files should be available in Editor, and as an executable state. Finally, it should be uploaded to a suitable storage medium where it can be accessed by others.
My interpretation of the Client Requirements
Firstly, the words "Time is precious", this phrase can be interpreted in many different ways, but for me I immediately think that time should be a limiting constraint for the player, time should be a core function in this game.
​
Secondly, the Client requests a 2D platformer game, this means my work will have to revolve around 2 axis (x & z in unreal) to give that sense of 2D. As well as this, it must be a platformer type game, a platformer game is a game where the player has to jump and maneuver across obstacles to get to the desired location. This implies that I will have to platforms for the player to move across, I could also have platforms that move to keep the players on their toes.
​
Next, the Client has chosen the theme of clockwork, to me this means that time will be a big factor in this game, I could have timed segments where the player must complete an objective within a certain time frame. What also came to mind was that world should be constantly moving. I will expand upon these and more ideas in my mind map on the theme.
​
Then, the target audience is young people aged 12+, this means I will have to look at the PEGI regulations and highlight the key points I will need to consider in the production of my game, this is relevant to the: style; profanity and story of the game.
​
Also, to provide suitable documentation I will need to make documents such as: Time schedules to manage my time for each task; Mind maps and mood boards to generate ideas; a production log to show how I produced my game, and more.
​
After, I must submit a video of me going through my game, this video must be in a suitable resolution, so 1920 x 1080 (as I don't have a 4k screen).
​
Finally, I will have to provide access to my editor files, as well as this, I should compile and package my project into an executable file and provide access to it.
Key Points
-
Must be a 2D platformer
-
Time must be a core mechanic
-
Target audience is young people aged 12+ (No profanity)
-
Must use Unreal Engine 4.27.2
-
Should submit a video of my game
-
Unreal files should be available in an editor and executable state
-
Files uploaded to an appropriate storage medium
Limitations & Specifications:
Time:
With the theme being "clockwork", it is a very vague theme and leaves a lot up to your imagination and interpretation, I already have so many ideas of features and mechanics I could implement. However, I am weary of time and if I will be able to achieve my ideas and implement them into my game.
Unreal Engine
The client explicitly mentions that I am to use Unreal Engine 4.27.2, the client has explicitly told me to use this specific version of Unreal Engine. This is somewhat of a limitation as Unreal Engine 5 is more powerful.
2D Game
The client says that the game must be 2D, this restricts my use of 3D assets and means that I will have to apply the "Paper 2D Textures" settings to my assets when I import them.
Because it is going to be a 2D game, I will have to make sprites in the .png file format because of it's transparency. The sprites shouldn't be too big, around 32 x 32 so I don't spend too much time on artwork.
Time Management:
To manage my time over the duration of this project, I used Trello to set myself SMART* milestones to keep track of my tasks.
↑ Click on the gallery to view in full resolution ↑
All of the task descriptions here are SMART targets
I will add more milestones as the weeks go on, I will also provide an update at the end of each week to see if I have completed the tasks I set out to do.
* SMART -> Specific; Measurable; Achievable; Realistic and Timebound
PEGI Regulations:
What PEGI Regulations Apply to Me:
The client states that the target audience for this game is for people aged 12+, but the client also states that the game "could feature some fear or violence".
​
Firstly, the age rating of 12 is what I need to make sure I meet, as the client wants the game targeted to people of the minimum age of 12.
This means that violence can be present towards fantasy characters and/or non realistic violence towards human-like characters.
So to me this means that I can have any sort of violence towards aliens or mythical creatures, etc. However, if there is a human-like enemy, the violence should be non-realistic.
​
As well as this, sexual innuendos and posturing are allowed, but any bad language should be at the most, mild. This implies that no explicit curse words, but words such as "crap", for example, are fine.
​
For the other ratings, I am allowed to include:
-
Moderate fear
-
In-app purchases
​​
I am not allowed to include:
-
Gambling of any kind
-
Drugs
-
Discrimination
The Other PEGI Regulations:
Even though I have talked about the PEGI regulations that I must follow, it is helpful to recognise the other regulations too.
​
-
PEGI 3 - No fearful elements, comedic violence allowed and no bad language.
​
-
PEGI 7 - Some possibly fearful elements allowed, non-detailed/realistic violence allowed
​
-
PEGI 16 - Real life accurate violence or sexual activity allowed, more extreme bad language, use of: tobacco, alcohol or illegal drugs also allowed.
​
-
PEGI 18 - Gross violence allowed, such as motiveless killing and violence towards defenseless characters, glamorisation of drugs and gambling allowed, as well as explicit sexual activities.
Mind Map on the Theme:
I started brainstorming about the vague theme of this project, clockwork, and what that brough to mind. I had 2 main points, aesthetic and plot.
​
I thought up of some colours that I thought would fit well with the theme, and I settled on steampunk-like medieval colours.
​
Clocks work on cogs which are constantly moving, like time.
​
I thought of a plot idea where the protagonist is lost in time as well.
​
I will create a survey and see what my peers think about these ideas.
Mood Boards on Existing Media:
Here I researched other games that had elements relative to my interpretation of the theme, such as time, cogs and clocks.
​
I then looked into how those elements are used and/or what they symbolise.
​
I chose one platformer, one 3D game and a wider piece of media, this was in order to give me a wider understanding of how clockwork is presented elsewhere.
​
I will gather feedback on these and the mind map via a survey and act upon the feedback.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time - Platformer
Gears of War 3 - 3D Game
Clockpunk City Artwork - Wider Media
Research Survey:
This first question is referring to my mind map, I asked if I could add anything and 4/6 people replied yes, this is helpful because I can ask what they would add to improve my research.
​
​
Here I asked for them to elaborate, one person suggested I look into steam punk, and another said I should add pictures. Finally, the last reply suggested I should explore my plot idea of lost in time more, clarifying if it will be the past, present or future. All 3 of these will be great additions to my research.
​
​
No one had any issues with the example colours I chose, but I did ask if they would add any other colours.
​
​
​
​
​
I got some really helpful responses, suggesting colours I didn't even think about. I'll be sure to add these to my colour palette.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
This question was referring to my Gears of War 3 mood board, a helpful response was to talk more about the games colour choices and how that helps with the points I mentioned initially.
​
​
​
​
​
This question was referring to the clockpunk image I found online, I asked what it made the responder's feel to try and draw any ideas from that.
One person mentioned it felt apocalyptic to them, whilst 2 others felt like it symbolised industrial evolution and it gives more information about the game.
From this, I know cogs can resemble evolution and progression.
​
This question was referring to my Crash Bandicoot mood board, the main bit of feedback here was to again dive deeper into the colour palette of the game and explore how it relates to my initial conclusions.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Here I asked what media other people have decided to research as I was curious and might be able to notice some similarities and add to my own research.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Here I just asked if they had anything else they wanted to add, and the main thing here is again looking into the colours of each game and exploring their meaning.
Here is a link to the survey:
Feedback Adjustments:
Mind Map:
In this new updated version I have took the feedback from my survey, and I have added pictures of clockpunk, and the newly added steampunk. As well as taking the suggested colours into mind and making a colour palette out of them.
​
I also expanded on my lost in time plot idea by adding some key points.
Mood Boards:
In this updated mood board for Gears of War 3, I looked at the colour palette and talked about how the colours suit the game and match it's tone and story.
​
The colours of this game are very monochromatic and dark, there isn't much 'life' to the colours which is a huge part of the tone of the game. You wouldn't expect complimentary colours in a game about war, loss and grieving. Those are very serious properties to a story that the colour palette of this game reflects very well, I should think about what tone I want my platformer to be and choose a suitable colour palette for it.
In this updated mood board for the clockpunk city art I found online, I looked at the colour palette and talked about how the colours show different aspects of the city and the art.
​
Similarly to Gears of War, this isn't a very colourful scene, the only deviation from the monochromatic, dull colours is the natural light. That in itself shows that humanity has lost its nature, and dug itself into an industrial hole. The fact that the only bright light is from nature conveys that there might still be hope for the state this world is in, but all together, another serious tone which is portrayed via colours.
Colour Palette by Me
In this updated mood board for Crash Bandicoot 4, I looked at the colour palette and talked about how the colours portray the game very differently to the how the other two pieces of media are portrayed.
​
This piece of media stands out, it has a lot of complimentary colours as well as some tetradic and triadic colour schemes. This gives a lot more of an up-lifting feel, one not of dread but of opportunity and adventure and fun. This is the kind of tone that I would like to try and convey, the bright colours really catch the eye and can ease the player into being more confident, rather than being cautious in a game such as Gears of War.
Colour Palette by Me
End of Week 1 Evaluation:
What Went Well:
Now at the end of the first week of the 2D Platformer assignment, I have completed all the tasks I set out to do in order to achieve the week 1 milestone, and I have met all of my smart targets. The feedback from my survey helped tremendously in me improving my research, I now have a lot more ideas I can use.
I also completed all tasks before the due before date of Monday the 4th of December, so I am staying on track and on time with my project.
​
I received some very helpful answers on my survey, which I also acted upon and improved my research to be more helpful to me.
What Could've Gone Better:
I struggled whilst making my initial mood boards as I was not that sure of what to put on them regarding the media I was discussing, but after asking for some help and receiving feedback I improved my mood boards to a point where they are more helpful to me now.
​
I wanted to mention a 2D Game in one of my mood boards, however I did not have enough time to find one so I went with a platformer instead.
Start of Week 2 - Tasks
Much like the first week, I made a Trello list on all the tasks I should complete to complete the week 2 milestone. I will update the Trello board as I go and give another overview at the end of week 2.
​
I made sure to, again, set SMART targets.
About my Game
In my 2D Platformer, you will have to collect cogs and eliminate enemies to reach the end, you will also need to traverse the level by jumping from platforms and reaching the end. There will be three levels in this game, 2 normal levels and the 3rd will be a boss level where the player must fight a powerful enemy by using the terrain and their abilities, melee and ranged attacks. There is also a pick up that slows down time.
​
The ranged attack has a cooldown of 5 seconds between each shot.
​
The player has 3 lives, a life is lost if the player loses a health.
​
Level 1:
In the first level the player will start their journey and will have only their melee attack, after they collect 3w cogs and reach the end, they will be rewarded with a new power, the ability to shoot clock faces as projectiles and move on to the next level.
​
Level 2:
In the second level the player will now have to defeat 5 enemies and collect 7 cogs to be able to beat the level, the platforming will be harder than the first level.
​
Level 3: In the final level, the player will fight the boss and will have to damage them more than normal enemies to defeat them.
Other Information:
​
The Main Character is an cyborg assassin who works for the government, he was the only survivor of a gone wrong experiment with space and time. At his present time, in the year 3023, a tech giant organisation was experimenting with time travel. Of course the device malfunctioned and decimated everything in a 50 mile radius.
​
The Main Character, X-23, found himself transported through time, far in the past in 1901, around 1000 years prior to his home time.
​
He tried to find some people to talk to hoping they could help him, however, there was tension between two countries which caused rumors to spread about the possibility of an upcoming war. Because of this, everyone was on edge and no one trusted anyone.
​
The terrain was very 'bumpy', there were random items just laying around, as well as pools of a seemingly toxic substance.
​
After learning the location of a military base, he was hoping he could find a renown scientist from this time period to help him rebuild the time machine. When he got to the front gates, he wasn't exactly welcomed, he had to fight his way through. The enemies are guards that didn't hesitate to open fire on X-23. When he got the main lab, he saw a giant robot which fired clock-like projectiles at him. After a close battle he beat the mech and found the scientist.
Level Design:
I started to design the layouts for my levels in Microsoft excel, I made 2 variants for a level 1, and one for a 2nd level (I did more later but I ran out of time in that session).
​
Each of the floor pieces (green squares) are 36 px ewide pixels (2 individual tiles), every individual lift square (yellow squares) will be 36 px wide, the deathzones will be the same size as the floor.
Level 1 a
Level 1 b
These are the three level designs I made in that time limit, and the three I got feedback on.
​
This is level 1 (first variant), it includes different pathways and elements.
​
​
This is level 1 (second varient) I switched the location of some of the elements
​
​
​
​
​
​
For level 2 I thought of a type of level where instead of progressing forward you move around an already set out level, this layout features many lifts.
Level 2 a
Annotated Versions
Click on Gallery to Show Images in Full Size
Level Design - Survey:
Here I asked if the layout was suitable, majority agreed that it was but it was close, and 2 people answered "kind of"
This question asked what I could change if they answered no or kind of, and this was really helpful as the answers were to reduce the level difficulty so that the player can learn the controls.
I then asked if there is anything I should add overall, someone mentioned that I should clarify which pickups they are, but they will only be the cogs and time slows.
Here I asked if the layout was suitable, majority agreed that it was but it was close, and 2 people answered "kind of"
Key Points
-
I need to either make a new level 1, or adjust level 1 to give the player space to learn the game.
-
If I do still use level 2, I should consider spreading it out more.
-
The 2nd variant of my initial level 1 is considered to be better than the first variant, so I should use that one.
Here is a link to the survey:
Feedback Adjustments:
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
I went and redesigned level 1 to give the player more space, I placed a ledge to get the player to learn how to jump and double jump, this is also done by the jump atop the ledge over the death pit. Then there is the first enemy which the player will have to defeat, as well as being introduced to lifts.
​
​
I repurposed the 2nd variant of the initial level 1 to be level 2, this is because this variant was voted as better than the first variant. I used this as level 2 as the initial level 2 had a negative reception of being too clustered and messy.
​
​
​
​
I made this level from scratch, it is a normal level that leads into a boss battle area, the boss must be defeated for the player to complete the game.
Annotated Versions
Click on Gallery to Show Images in Full Size
Asset List/Logging:
End of Week 2 Evaluation:
What Went Well:
At the end of week 2 I now have my level designs done after acting upon the feedback and are ready for me to create in unreal engine, I got the majority of my tasks completed and I have all the assets planned out in my asset list
What Could've Gone Better:
I hoped to complete all of my tasks before the deadline I had set myself, but I will spend time doing them in my own time.
Start of Week 3 - Tasks
For week 3 there is only really two tasks I need to do and that is the unreal implementation and developing my production log.
I noticed my SMART targets were kind of falling off in the later weeks, so I remade them.
Backstory & Context
My character is from the future of a bright, advanced neon city and got sucked into a time vortex which made him lost in time, and ended up in the past in this steampunk medieval era. They must collect cogs and move through the world to fix a highly top secret time machine, that was rumoured to exist around these times, and make it back home.
​
This is why the bright colour palette of the player is vastly different to the dark colour palette of the world.
​
The cog pickups represent the moving parts of the machine the player needs to get back home as well as their tenacity to make it back to their time.
Asset Management
I have all my assets stored in the project files of my game, I have a folder titled "source". Inside this folder is where I will store and manage all my assets neatly. Inside this source folder are subfolders for my assets.
Here's a video of me going through all my folders:
And with that, week 2 is now complete.
Version Control:
To make sure I don't lose anything and as good professional practice I will create versions of my project, I am now on version 2 and will make a new version every time I go to work on it. There is a showcase of the version control towards the bottom of the site.
Updated on 13/01/2023
Production Log:
-
Pg. 46: Death Zone Video Link
-
Pg. 71: Movement Test Video Link
-
Pg. 84: Enemy Test Video Link
End of Week 3 - Evaluation
What Went Well:
Now at the end of week 3 I have started development in unreal engine and of my production log,
What Could've Gone Better:
I hoped to have the project finished ready for bug testing and fixing in week 4, however, it's not too bad that its not done since there was a lot to do.
Start of Week 4
Week 4 is all about testing and eradicating bugs, as well as logging each test carried out and each bug identified to produce a complete log book of both of these.
I noticed my SMART targets were kind of falling off in the later weeks, so I remade them.
Test Log
Bug Log
End of Week 4
Now at the end of Week 4, I am still progressing with development, and as development continues more tests need to be conducted and new bugs pop up, so both test and bug logs are in progress and being updated as development continues.
​
What Went Well: I have a test log and bug log that I will continue to grow, this allows me to keep track of what I need to sort out and what I have already tested as well as extra information about them.
​
What Could've Gone Better: What I could have done better is add more fields to the tables to account for extra information which could be useful
Start of Week 5
I noticed my SMART targets were kind of falling off in the later weeks, so I remade them.
Click on Gallery to Show Images in Full Size
Project Files
Video of Completed Product
Video Proof of Version Control:
End of Week 5
Now at the end of week 5 all my tasks I set out to do are done across all weeks
​
What Went Well:
I fixed all identified bugs and finished the game, I produced a video showcase of the final result which Unruly Ember has asked for. I also evaluated every step of the project.
​
What Could've Gone Better:
I could've finished the work a bit sooner.
Conclusion:
Now that the whole project is finished, I can identify what I did well and what could of gone better.
​
What Went Well:
I did everything the client asked for, I: produced a 2D Platformer based around the theme Clockwork with the timer; kept withing the target audience and PEGI regulations, i.e. Unrealistic death animation on player and enemies; Made the game in Unreal Engine v4.27.2; Produced a showcase video and made the project files available for viewing and download.
​
I am happy with the end result of my game, I was able to implement the main features I aimed for and produced 3 unique levels for the player to play through.
​
What I Could've Done Better:
I had to leave out some mechanics I initially would've liked to implement due to time constraints, so I could've set more realistic targets for the time I had to work with.
There were some assets I had listed in my asset list that I did not use in the final result, mainly the sound effects, so I should make sure to properly prepare time for such features in the future.
​
Overall:
Overall I am pleased with my final result, it is not everything I aimed for I know how I can improve next time and progress my character and technical skill.
Extra:
Looking back, I realised that I left some debugging elements on my final boss enemy, I will go back and remove them
I also went back and added a mechanic I initially wanted to include, a time slower.
Here's a mini production log of how I made it and a showcase video.
