Motion Control Demo Video!

This is what I’ve been up to the last couple weeks!

Things are moving along nicely for this new game!

Here I showcase:
-Movement system
-Hand animation states
-Weapon controls and handling
-Basic inventory selection

Over all, this prototype took a lot less time than I anticipated! I wasn’t expecting to be this far until Mid-January, but this thankfully allows me to start blocking out some narrative and traversal objects.
More updates incoming!

I’ll be doing these videos every couple weeks with a few blog posts littered in between.

The Wishlist

I like games. Love em.

But there are some things I love that aren’t present in most VR games.

Things like, moving around a space without teleporting, having arms and legs, NPC’s that can look you in the eye with more gravitas than a rutabaga . Little things.

SO FAR, I have a movement system built from scratch (more on this later), and interact objects that allow you to:
1.) Climb up ropes, ladders, and sides of buildings using your arms

2.) Use elevators, press buttons, open boxes, interact with computers and control
panels

3.) Jump by using upward arm swings

4.) Pilot vehicles such as flying cars, airships, or swimming unicorns.

Now that I’ve made the code to interact with a VR world, it’s time to block IN The World.
These are some quick photobashes of places I’m going to start.

These will change in the game, but doing photobash exercises like these help with lighting and scene composition. I’ve already gotten some amazing feedback on how to make these locations better.

Aaaaand we’re back.

Update and post-mortem for Ironsides! I released it on android. There was a problem with the Ad service plugin I was using that was causing a crash, so I disabled ads and now Ironsides is Ad free!

Overall Ironsides was an unwieldy first project with massive heuristic benefits. The initial concept for features and art of a game are rarely the end result and Ironsides was no exception. On a daily basis I had to evaluate if my reach exceeded my grasp for features, story and art. Ideas for cinematic epic battles with voiced characters were always met with the staunch logician hiding behind my eyes asking “Does this add to the core concept? Is this achievable?” All this was punctuated by the dewy eyed gamer in me shaking that logician enough to realize when he was being lazy. Dozens of times the answer was “Actually Ya, I can execute this feature, AND I can do it better then I originally thought.”

Those moments made the forehead shaped divit in my keyboard worth it.
Thank You All for your support!

BOOM!

Whats that? A new project just crashed onto the scene? Yes, the rafters and dust are falling off of it’s ample shoulders as its imposing silhouette covers my laminated poster that says Work Life Balance.

This one’s juicy folks. VR? check.

Cyberpunk? check.

Morocco? check.

We got your detective story, we got your cool weapons. Terrible puns about holograms? No less then 7.
I know I’m making big claims here, but I’m betting the anxiety of me publicly stating this will create a self fulfilling prophecy situation

Stay tuned!

Camera Freedom: A new perspective on what sidescrollers could be

Progress through a traditional platformer is generally lateral. Left to right. It makes sense, and makes controls easier to learn.

Instead of worrying about spacial progress, the same principle can be applied to a track. This utilizes the benefits of a 3D world (namely immersion and the ability to see things from multiple perspectives) with the control simplicity of a traditional side scroller to denote progress along pre-designed tracks.

In the below example, the camera follows the character using the track rotation to change perspective subtly as they move around a mountain.

combat3119.gif

This also means that cinematic moments can be achieved procedurally throughout a level by placing volumes that control camera pitch and distance from the player, like below.

cameraSwivel3119.gif

Progress is still controlled laterally by moving the virtual joystick from left to right.

In this instance the volume casts to a custom event in the character blueprint.

Next week will mostly be an art week! I’m replacing the worst of the programmer art to get closer to a vertical slice. I’ll be live streaming the sculpt of the protagonist on twitch!

Come hang out Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 1-5pm

https://www.twitch.tv/dunewheelgames

Twitter: @DunewheelGames

https://www.facebook.com/Dunewheel

The Bones

Here is some of what I’ve got so far.

sidescrollerTest22519.gif

Something almost universal to sidescrollers is the ability to jump.

I’ve hijacked the jump button. Now it enriches combat.

The player is challenged to use it for timing blocks against a hoard of foes; these foes vary in attack timing and movement style.

Tools are also near and dear to my heart, so I’m trying to make as many as possible early on.

SplineTest22519.gif

This is a pathing spline blueprint I’m using to determine character location along a given path. I can change it on the fly to accommodate new environmental elements or cinematic opportunities.

PathingSpline.JPG

I can place as many of them as I want in a scene alongside “switcher” volumes that allow the player to choose a path. This will make more sense after my next post where we explore one of the key features of the game.


I’m EXCITED to share MORE on the cinematic stuff.
-N8