Journal Entry 2

Previous Update

The game's last build was a simple one, primarily designed to showcase and get feedback for what will serve as the game's core movement. Having now looked over that feedback, I see that the movement is good and worked as intended. I am however aware that the last build relied on players to test all of this on their own with no real guidance or place to properly showcase the movement in active gameplay and as such, this updated build will act as another chance for me to get feedback on that movement, while also showcasing more of what the game will look and play like.

Tutorial Level

This time I have a full level that can be played through from start to end. This will eventually act as the game's tutorial level and will be one of few if not the only interior level/area in the game, the reason why I've decided to set it in a warehouse while the rest of the game takes place on rooftops is that it helps justify the liner nature of the level, where if it was also set on the rooftops, it would feel kind of odd that the player has to travel in what is pretty much a straight line. In its current state, it's a fairly simple warehouse map that serves as a way to get a playable tutorial in place relatively quickly, but once I'm set on the exact layout and challenges in the level, I'll work on making the level look nicer or at least more warehouse-like, adding more environmental set dressing and making things like the floating platforms fit in more with the rest of the level. The final plan for this level is not only for it to act as a tutorial, but also to serve as an explanation of how the player reached the rooftops in the first place.

Final New Mechanic

This build also has my first implementation of the Acrobatic Maneuvers. Creating this has proven to be more difficult than I initially expected and after much thought and consideration, I have decided to greatly scale down the idea into just one type of Maneuver, the pinpoint landing one. I've already spent a bunch of time on this one thing and have hit a wall. So now it's time to move on to other things, I plan to focus on this one Acrobatic Maneuver, expanding how I'll use it in the game as well as working to further refine it.

What The Game Will Look Like.

I'm not an artist. I have some experience with 3D modeling and can make something presentable given enough time, but I don't have enough time to work on both that and the rest of the game. That being said, the final version of the game will still have improved visuals. There are plenty of simple things I can do with Unreal Engine's modeling mode to flesh out the environment when combined with the proper lighting and applying the proper materials(Unreal’s version of textures). I can speak from personal experience that when done correctly these three things can really help improve the visuals of even a simple-looking game. All of this is to say that the game's visuals will likely stay the same as they are now and merely be upgraded.