Final Game Design 1

(Welcome to the "Zombie Prison Abyss" game design class project) 

-Here we are at the end of the semester closing out the stealth project

(Core Game Mechanics from Game Design Document): 

Loops: The player finds a transition between the levels of sneaking around and evading attack from the zombies. The player frequently finds themselves in situations where they must move between the limitations of the AI. 

Player Mechanics: The player is able to dash around, crouch behind objects, and throw a rock to distract the enemy. The player is also able to utilize the key system to open the locked doors as to move onto the next level. 

Design Principles in Level Design: Throughout the premises of the level, the player is able to utilize moving forward through a sighted direction with lights, and props to guide a pathway system. There are moments of tension and relief in between the level to account for player awareness and to set the tone for spatial comprehension. 

Player Emotion: In the level, the player feels a sense of accomplishment as they get to the finish line of the level, I think this is important for the player to feel as if they have truly completed the game. The VFX provided at the end gives the player a feeling of relief. 

(Game Level Lighting): 

-I wanted to execute a lighting system that showed off the shadows of my game; throughout the level the lights are plenty dimmed around the props and enemies to highlight a path for the player to follow. Many areas highlight reflections of a dimly, lit area to mimic a somewhat futuristic zombie prison. 

(Materials design): 

-I utilized the warehouse package from the FAB marketplace to create a zombie prison as my game level. Throughout the level, the materials consist of steel bars and orange colors to create a sense of imprisonment for the player. 

(Audio & Sounds): 

-I wanted to create an ambient scary vibe for the player; I added a background music and lowered the volume to implement sound for the games main level. I also utilized a rock sound for the player throwing the object to distract the enemy AI. 

(VFX): 

-I utilized the smoke VFX for the end of the game area to highlight the player accomplishing the end and escaping; I have a fire / exploding VFX created for the game that is paired with the smoke effect, but I do not know how I would use it elsewhere in the game, so it has been left out in the rest, I may revisit this part to take another risk with creating a much better VFX effect for the game. 

(Post-Processing): 

-Utilizing the lumen system, I have adjusted some of the reflections and lighting of the post-processing effects to adjust how the game lighting looks after processing the main build; this creates great reflections as the player moves around the level and especially some of the things looked at in the far distance to create wholeness for the game level. 

(UI/UX): 

-We implemented a start menu and a pause menu in class and took it further by adjusting our color settings and button settings for the game. We further implemented the running code to make the buttons work. I took things a step further by finding some royalty-free art for the start menu instead of the polished default game pixels. I think it suits the game-style much more. The UI/UX has been implemented to fit the color scheme of many aspects within the level. The save system is consistent with saving at a checkpoint at a computer. The save system works by the player adjusting their position over the save slot to save their progress in the game. 

(Polish end of Game Design): 

-As far as the polishing of the game level goes, I really made adjustments to the pacing and how the level was structured. At the midpoint of the semester, the level was quite large, but I closed off many of the open areas and adjusted the scale of the level as a whole to create a more whole experience for the player. 

-Here is some code for the player throwing the rock or the distractable object as well, I do need to work on this some more. I think it can be appropriately highlighted as well once fixed. 

(Design Choices): 

-I chose to create a town environment around the main level of the game so as to create an atmosphere for the player to explore only to essentially be trapped in the zombie prison. I tried to design the materials and processes around the level to encapsulate the sense of being trapped in a futuristic zombie prison. The world feels alone and empty except for the space the player is existing in, which I think is a great byproduct of the game design choices that I have implemented. 

(Risk-Taking and Problems moving Forward):

-I really pushed to focus on the player experience and how to create a basic game that feels complete to the player. One of the things I pushed myself on within this scheme was the programming of my AI and the implementation of the AI design within my level. I really wanted it to shine in the game. 

-There were several issues after getting to the final build of the level, some of the issues were getting my AI to respond to the rock or distractable item that the player throws. One of the issues I faced with post-processing was the flickering of my textures. I had to focus on the settings and texture design that would allow for my game to be smaller in the production phase so as to compensate for some of the flickering and merging of textures or lights. 

(Closing): 

-Moving into the next phase of repolishing and fixing up my game; I would like to clean up some of the small errors such as the AI responding to the distracting item and some of the lighting. I think I struggled some with the post-processing effects within my level and I think the atmosphere of the level with a stealth tone could be improved as a whole.