Prototype Intention
This prototype was the artifact created as part of my Master's Degree. This was a demonstration of designing and scripting game mechanics that could only be resolved by two players working together as a team. With the mechanics designed and working, the level was developed, with difficulty increasing as the level progressed.
Skills Demonstrated
➤ Unreal Blueprint Scripting
➤ Sequential Object and Enemy Placement
➤ Basic Level Blockout using BSP Geometry
➤ Designing for player communication for local co-op
➤ Balancing and Tuning variables at instance level
What worked?
➤ Scripting mechanics that forced players to coordinate and time their shots, making them communicate with each other. Demonstrated by the purple-coloured enemies.
➤ Sequencing of targets and in-game problems from easiest to hardest by sticking closely to a principle known as Well-Ordered Problems.
➤ Using coloured lighting to subtly communicate solutions to problems to players as well as communicating when they can progress to the next room.
What could be improved?
➤ AI behaviour was too simple (not using behaviour trees and blackboards and relying purely on custom events), making it hard to tune and balance.
➤ Did not make use of inheritance for Blueprint objects, meaning scripting work became repetitive and confusing due to manually scripting mechanics for duplicated objects
➤ Level layout design could have had more thought put into it in the context of a cooperative game where player communication is the key component to success.