Week 1 - Getting Started

During the first week of development, there was a strong focus on planning out the project. I created a new Trello board and set up the lists to suit my workflow. Then I populated the Trello board with tasks. Using my GDD, I created a list of tasks that would need to be completed. I tried to keep the relevant tasks together with colour coding and implemented a priority plugin that would allow me to mark some tasks as a high priority.

I would be doing my work in week-long "Sprints". During each sprint, I would assign a number of tasks to be finished within that time. these would be moved to the "To Do"list.

Then, whichever task I was currently working on got bumped to the in-progress list, before being sent on to the "Done" pile. I hope this pile of completed tasks will give me the strength to complete this project.

Into the Engine

For this project, I will be using Unreal 4.26.2. In my games scripting project last semester, I enjoyed my time with Unreal and I look forward to using it more. I will admit, I am slightly daunted by the prospect of making an entire game experience.

In the first week, I managed to get my project files and folders structure set up. I created a new unreal project, set up my backup protocol, and created a navigable folder structure that will help me keep organised as the project becomes more complex.

In Engine, I got the camera adjusted to suit the twin-stick style. I started with the Third Person Template project in Unreal so by default, the camera was hanging over the character's shoulder. I adjusted the angle and height of the boom arm on the camera until I got an angle I was happy with.

This is the positioning of the camera relative to the player's avatar.

This is the view from that camera and the point of view that the player will have. I have gone for a completely top-down angle.

The distance from the avatar may need to be altered as the project goes on and I see how the range of view affects the gameplay mechanics.

I was also working on an alternate mode for the camera but it was giving me trouble and it is not as important as some of the other mechanics that need to be built so I have shelved it for now.

Back into the Fray

Overall I am excited to be back in Unreal, getting to bring my creation from last semester to life. For this project, I will need to be reaccessing a lot of different tasks at once. I will need a strong workflow that allows me to pinpoint the problem areas and plan around them.

As for the first week, It is a relatively slow start but I am hoping that the groundwork done now will pay off when I get stuck into this project.