Homework 3: Unreal First Steps

I started with the starter content to create a new scene. I erased the starter content, then went to file and added a new level. I hit the default new level option. I added a cylinder from the Geometry shapes, I reshaped and resized it and played around a bit with it. I added a curved stair leading up to the cylinder. I made a higher cylinder and spiral staircase in the sky, sort of like another level that the fairy in the game might be able to fly up to.  At this point, I also added a directional light and played around with the shadows which were cast.

Next, I changed the scale of the floor for X,Y, and Z to 5. I began adding texture to the stairs and cylinders. I added a cobblestone texture to the stairs and a chose the ground grass texture for the base floor.

Here, I right-clicked and added a actor, and chose the camera actor option. The following screenshots shows the camera actor view. 

Here, I just began adding additional content from the content folders. I chose the boulders to help add more objects in the scene.

Thank you!

Group Meeting

After meeting with one member of our group, Sunny, we have decided to do a game that combines racing, flying, and a maze or mazes.  We would like to add a feature with levels of the mazes that get increasingly harder or have increasingly difficult time constraints. We are also considering having bonus items that would give the character speed or strength capabilities to break through walls, etc. We also discussed including enemies or obstacles in the game that would cause time delays, traps, or loss of lives. When discussing roles and responsibilities, Sunny volunteered to program it. I will create character and scene designs and will work with Sunny to learn and help with the programming. We have decided to look at some UNREAL tutorials as homework for the project to better learn how to use the program to fit our game's needs.  In addition to my home computer which could access the program, I now have a laptop that is able to access the program and will be able to follow along with the class to learn more as well.

Images

I am uploading the images I used to make the previously posted video. The images were created in Photoshop. The puppets face I traced off of a real picture of the person and I drew the body using the magnetic lasso tool. The computer image I took from pixabay, deleted the background in Photoshop and adjusted the perspective. I drew the table, walls, and floor using the pen tool. I know the measurements are not geometrically correct, but I look forward to learning how to make model landscapes in this class, as well as perfecting my puppets. I looked at a tutorial and learned how to properly name the layers to sync with the puppet movements in Adobe Character Animator. It's not my best work, but it is an example of what I have been working on lately.




Games

Two games that I like to play are chess and racing games, like Mario Kart.

I play chess using the online site Game Colony. I like that it is an interactive game that allows me to play with real people. I like the strategy of chess and competing against people. I like that it is a "thinking" game that allows you think both offensively and defensively. Chess is a game of wits and when you beat your opponent they somehow feel smaller than you. When I get outsmarted, it makes me learn more and ways to improve my own game.

I like racing games like Mario Kart. I love to compete with my friends, the wits and strategy involved. I began playing the game on the Nintendo 64 but it has since been upgraded to work with all the new platforms like the Wii. I like the scenery, graphics, and characters. The audio is also part of the brand/experience. A person can hear just the audio and recognize the game. I like the idea of using weapons strategically to help you win the game, short cuts, bonus levels or games.

Video with Voiceover

This is a video I created using Character Animator. I designed a puppet in photoshop by taking the image of a person's and tracing it in photoshop. I just drew in a body and background on different photoshop layers. I imported the photoshop file into Character Animator and added draggable pin points, facial expressions, and a moveable mouth.  I recorded the movements first with my mouse and keyboard shortcuts. I went back and recorded the voiceover in a second track also on Character Animator.

Thank you,
Pablo Correa