When it comes to this project I want to stretch myself a bit further and I want to research into a new mechanic in Unreal Engine that I can use in my building showcase to further elevate my experience and also my knowledge surrounding mechanics in Unreal Engine 5 to better prepare myself for future projects and also further in my career. This new mechanic that I want to research into is opening and closing doors, I want to research into this because I believe that it would unify my experience and also allow me to showcase my building as accurately as possible as the office that I am going to be recreating in Unreal will include several separate offices separated by doors, so learning how to open and close doors will allow me to create a higher level of accuracy in my experience. 

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The first source that I have researched is a YouTube tutorial video. I have chosen this source as I believe that by looking at the title this will be perfect at explaining the mechanic to me. Throughout the video, I was presented with several steps and tips on how to successfully execute an opening and closing door. The main areas that stood out to me and have learnt from this video are that I will be needing to design my own door and door frame assets, ‘Of course you can create your own door model’ (Gorka Games, 2022), this was to be expected and will allow me to experiment with my 3D modelling. I have also learnt that I will be also using some of my pre-existing knowledge of Unreal Engine to be able to create an opening and closing door, for example Actor blueprint class and also the event graph. For this new mechanic, I will also be needing to use ‘custom events’ and ‘timelines’, (Gorka Games, 2022) both of which I have not used before in Unreal Engine, so this method will fully stretch my knowledge and also showcase my ability to learn new mechanics and features in Unreal Engine. The custom events allow me to link the door object to the door opening event directly instead of coding in an input just like I have been using for camera movement and character movement, this allows for smoother coding and also helps to allow me to directly adjust the actions of pressing a key to match with the line tracing that will enable the door to open and close.

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However, another source that I found on YouTube explained the process of implementing opening and closing doors using physics and collision boxes to simulate a push and pull door, unlike the previous video that explained the implementation using the keyboard to interact with the door. Just like the previous research source, this one also requires me to use the “Actor Blueprint” and also “Static mesh components”, (Gorka Games, 2023), this is because this source follows the same steps to create and implement the basic door asset without any physics applied to the assets. They then go on to mention that I would then need to add “collisions”, (Gorka Games, 2023) to the door asset and the door asset only because this door will only function from player collisions unlike the previous source that used a key input to open and close doors. I should also ensure that the door frame has “no collision to prevent interference”, (Gorka Games, 2023) with the doors swinging action getting caught on the solid surfaces. Furthermore, Gorka Games says that I would need to enable physics for the door and also add a Physics Constraint set to 90 degrees positioned to one side of the door in order to simulate the natural swing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Overall, I have learnt that this method of implementing a door mechanic takes less coding time than that of the previous one and provides a more realistic feel than that of pressing a key on the keyboard. I feel that from watching both of these video tutorials that going forward I will probably adopt the workings of the second source because of the more realistic door physics when compared to that of the first source, I would use this mechanic in my experience as my new found mechanic that I must add to the game for this project. I will use this mechanic to add a level of immersion in my experience and also to separate dividing rooms in a more natural way than using open doorways.

 

 

 

 

To be able to successfully develop a project that flows in gameplay and also understand the most common ways of leading the player along the journey in a game I must research into Breadcrumbing, Breadcrumbing has been defined as ‘leaving a "trail of breadcrumbs" that the player can follow that will lead them through the game spine.’, (Only a Game, 2007).

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The first source that I have identified explains the theory of Breadcrumbing and how it allows the player to subconsciously follow the story or gameplay as the developer had intended, ‘the game writer's role in keeping the player on track’, (Only a Game, 2007). In addition, the writer explains the different methods of Breadcrumbing that will possibly need to consider when it comes to planning and developing a game or experience, for example they say that you can use ‘Pick ups [...] lines of dialogue [...] [or] action points the player must visit (as in GTA)’, (Only a Game, 2007). These are all new theories that I have learnt from this source and I have never before considered the subconscious way of guiding a player through a game by using action points or pick ups, although I may not be needing this information for this project in particular I feel that this a great theory to have learnt about and I will definitely be considering all of these points when it comes to developing other projects that rely on a linear story.

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Another source that I researched also wrote about the theory of Breadcrumbing, however, this source went into more detail about the theory behind it and how to successfully execute the theory in order to draw players attention to the intended route along the game. Universe W.R. (2023), also describes breadcrumbing as, ‘the most common technique to help focus player attention’, just like the previous source, so I can trust that breadcrumbing is an important factor to consider when designing the flow of gameplay and I will most definitely consider the theory going forward. In addition to this, the source details many other forms of breadcrumbing that were not mentioned in the previous source, for example, ‘Contrast [...] Leading Lines [and] Bread Crumbs’ (Universe W.R., 2023), now leading lines is the basic theory of the environment or camera position pointing or leading the players attention towards a path or objective, just like in Tomb Raider. Leading lines can also be used in combination with contrast, contrast has been explained as elements of the environment design that stand out, for example a lit cave in the distance would create contrast as the cave would be brighter than the environment the player is in, leading to the player being drawn towards the cave. Furthermore, the article highlights Breadcrumbs just like the previous source as a method of leading the player, Breadcrumbs are often objects or pick ups that create a path for the player to follow, just like that of Hansel and Gretel with which this theory shares its name.

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Overall, these two source present great information about Breadcrumbing and its many ways of implementation and I feel that both sources back each other up in terms of explaining how the theory is an integral part of the story telling and gameplay flow, so I will be taking all of this research into consideration when I move onto a project that requires me to focus on storytelling and guiding a player through an environment.

 

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To better understand the theory behind different lighting techniques and how to successfully achieve the correct lighting for different environments, I am researching environmental lighting and how to set up environmental lighting for different environment types.

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The first source that I have found online is an online article about the different types of lights and when to correctly use them depending on the environment so whether interior or exterior, the article starts by stating that ‘For an Interior scene - Omni Lights, Area Lights, point Lights and Spot Lights with baking is used to give proper amount of illumination.’, (Game Development, 2018), this makes sense because often point lights provide a wider spread of light and that would explain as to why they would be used in an interior environment. Furthermore, the article explains that colours can also be used in conjunction with the lighting to present or connote a certain mood or feeling within a scene, environment or cut scene, ‘colors signify the Mood of the Scene.’ (Game Development, 2018), going from this, the correct lighting and colour goes hand in hand as well as with the mood or tone of the scene, poor lighting or an incorrect colour choice can drastically change the connotations of a scene so finding the correct combination is paramount to presenting the correct connotations of a scene. 

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Further along in the source, Game Development (2018) states that ‘for an Outdoor Scene - Directional Lights, Area Lights, Point Lights are used to illuminate the scene with baking Lightmaps’, I can see here that we already have a crossover of lighting types between interior and exterior environments, point lights and area lights can be used for both environment types whether to simulate the natural glow of the sun or as a light source from an LED lamp. Yet again, I would interpret that colour comes into effect again here, as the glow of the sun would be a brighter more intense light when compared to an interior lamp, so choosing the correct light colour would help enhance the look, feel and immersion of the scene.

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This source has been helpful for me to understand the different light types and what they are used for when lighting a scene, and when it comes to adding light to my environment in this project I will ensure that I use point lights for my interior static light sources to ensure a realistic and even spread of light, I will also play around with the colour of this light to ensure that I present the correct mood in the experience. Furthermore, I will be needing to add a torch to my experience so as a torch has a more focused light spread I will use a spotlight light type because I feel that this would provide a smaller spread of light that is natural for a torch.
 

 

 

 

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Game Development. (2018) Art Guide Theory: Lighting an Game Environment (Objectives, approach/workflow and mood) in PBR. Available from:  https://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/158027/art-guide-theory-lighting-an-game-environment-objectives-approach-workflow-an. [Accessed 19th September 2024] 

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Gorka Games (2023) How to Make a Physics Door in Unreal Engine 5. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30G-WJ5aMpA . [Accessed 17th September 2024]

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Gorka Games (2022) Learn how to open and close doors in Unreal Engine 5. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7vmp73ue4Y. [Accessed 17th September 2024]

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Only a Game. (2007) ‘Funnelling and Breadcrumbing: Examples Wanted’ Available from:
https://onlyagame.typepad.com/only_a_game/2007/08/funnelling-and-.html. [Accessed 17th September 2024]

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Universe, W.R. (2023) 'Follow the breadcrumbs: the basic techniques of level design,' Medium, 28 June. Available from: https://medium.com/my-games-company/follow-the-breadcrumbs-the-basic-techniques-of-level-design-754820499a1b. [Accessed 17th September 2024]
 

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