Mechanic#2 Laser Bounce

Mechanic #2: Laser Bounce

One of the mechanics that I am working with is making a laser that gets reflected on a surface.

The laser is going to be reflected from the surfaces and the player must guide the laser to a certain destination.

This is the sample of what my particle system looks like. The first 3 particles are the lasers. The first streak will start off the line of laser. Then when the system detects a collision of the first particle, the second particle will start from the location of the collision. Then when the second particle detects a collision, it will start off the third particle from the location of the collision. But when the system detects the collision of the third particle, it will start the 2nd particle system on the colliding location of the third location and that "rule" is repeated. As a result, the laser will end up bouncing infinite times.

Procedural Building in UDK

Procedural Building in UDK

 

 

The rectangular building has 2 proc building brushes.

As the viewers can see the awning that is built on the ground floor can't be found in the top portion of the building. That is because there's a variation node in the rule set which allows the user to choose whether to have or not have awnings.

The different variations are better visible on the octagonal shaped building. All the three visible sides are constructed with different variations, which the users have control over.

 

-modular kit (tessellated)-

The buildings are made up of 9 to 12 pieces. There are two variations for each of the 3 frieze meshes(straight, 3-sided, large).

The uses has the freedom to make their buildings with only one of the 2 variations or both.

The big appeal for this assets are the snow effect on top of the meshes.

In order to give the snow more body, I've applied tessellation which adapt to the camera position. 

-proc building ruleset-

This represents roughly what my ruleset looks like. It is just matter of time before the ruleset gets many for variations and become extremely versatile.  

 

 

 

End notes:

The Proc Building system is a rather powerful system which allows the users to create buildings instantly. The buildings are instance of each other meaning it will use less performance power than as if the buildings were created individually by pieces. One "annoying" aspect of the proc building is that the numbers has to be precise. Otherwise, there will be lights visible between the cracks of the meshes, or there will be annoying z fighting.

 

This knowledge of making proc building will pay off when making a whole city environment such as Rockstar's GTA series or other open world games for that matter.

 

This project was a good project for me to learn new techniques. This particular project gave me opportunities to learn about procedural building system, tessellation, and substance designer 3.5.

Substance Designer 3.5 allows an artist to create textures from node based work flow. The pros and cons of Substance Designer is debatable because it is essentially UDK's material editor, but in another software.

But in my experience, it is easier to use and I had to freedom to just drag in another texture (which they call it Filter) to my current project and create cohesive materials for an asset. In addition, the normal, spec, curvature, world normal, etc. maps can be created in the software by importing a custom mesh. As a result, the artist may create individual, precise textures for the mesh. Not the mention, the user has the ability to paint straight on to the mesh which is not available in UDK.

The project create in Substance Designer 3.5 can be published, meaning saved so it is compatible in UDK, and bring it straight into UDK and be able to tweak numbers instantly like material instance.

 

The total hours spent on the project adds up to be approximately 50 hours. The total hours include modeling, texturing, proc building ruleset creation, tessellation, and brainstorming.

brainstorming 20 game mechanic ideas

Brainstorming 20 game mechanic ideas

1. A gas mask that needs to have its filter replaced after certain amount of time
• In the game Metro:Last Light, the player is required to wear a mask when going outside. The mask uses filter so that the character can breathe. However, the filter needs to be replaced after 5 minutes or so. Otherwise, the player will die from suffocation.
2. Particle effect that can be controlled by the player 
3. Player being stunned
• During gameplays, there are times when a player is shot by a stungun which stuns the character for several seconds. In the game, Pay Day 2, the players are sometimes shot by the cops with a stun gun. As a result, the player involuntarily shoots the gun continuously for several seconds. And the player is immobilized for couple of seconds. 
4. healing self or other player
• The mechanic of healing a player is frequently implemented in games. Some games only allows the playerA to heal playerB when player B has fallen on the ground from excessive damage. But some games allow players to heal each other whenever and where ever. 
5. interaction that requires time to complete
• Interaction with object in games are often seen in games. However, sometimes that interaction takes more time. For example, in the game Pay Day 2, the player must set up a drill on the safe to crack open the safe. However, during the time when the player is setting up the drill (interacting with an object), the player has to continuously press E and cannot move or shoot. The only thing they can do is look around. But when the interaction is interrupted by no longer pressing E, the player is again mobilized. However, restarting interaction will restart the process.
6. drawing attention via sound
• Sound plays a big role in games for both ambiance and strategy. In some games, the player can turn on a radio in the environment to draw attention to near by enemies. Also, the player can throw items like a can to draw attention to that place. 
7. drawing attention via light
• The light can also draw enemies' attention. In certain games, the enemies are drawn to the lights and when the lights flicker, they get alerted assuming someone's there.
8. over charging weaponry or power
• In the game Metro Last Light, there a weapon which shoots darts by air pressure. There's a gauge that displays the current pressure in the tank. However, the player can pump the gun more to over charge the gun thus dealing more damage.
9. melee attacks
• In most fps games these days have a dedicated button for melee attacks. The player needs to be in a fairly close range from the enemy to successfully implement the attack. This attack is rather powerful compared to other attacks.
10. invisibility for certain period of time
• In WoW, the players of certain jobs are able to become invisible for several seconds by using an available skill. This skill allows the player to be invisible. However, when the enemy becomes too close to the player, the player will become visible to the opposing player. However, the opacity will still remain low so that the player is still partially transparent.
11. "energy" shield
• In Pay Day 2 series, the player has a "energy" shield that protects the player from the police to a certain degree. When this hasn't been depleted, the damage recieved from the police will be significantly less. However, when the shield is depleted, it will quickly kill the player. 
12. burning flame lasting certain period of time
• In a lot of games, the element of fire will often come up. And when the player step into the fire or the player is set on a fire, the fire will damage the player. And even when the player steps off from the fire or until the fire is extinguished, the player will continue to recieve damage from the burn.
13. ice effect that slows down the player significantly
• In many games, there are ice attacks that will whether freeze the player or slow down the player significantly and last couple of seconds to minutes.
14. blocking attacks
• In Skyrim, the player has the option to equip a shield. The shield will allow the player to block the enemies' attacks thus allowing the player to survive and fight strategically.
15. telekinesis
• In Diablo series, the Sorceress class has a skill called Telekinesis. This skill will allow the player to interact with objects from a further distance and pickup light objects like money from a long distance. 
16. deploying and disarming bomb or mine on a surface
• In a korean FPS game, Sudden Attack, there is a match where two teams fight to defend or destroy an environment. The terrorist team must deploy the bombs in the designated places and blow it up in order to win. The other team must either kill all the terrorists or disarm the bombs in time to win. 
17. flash light that can be toggled by the player
• In the game, Metro Last Light, there is a level where the player has to go through a really dark environment. Without flashlight, the player cannot see and the monsters will attack the player. The monsters in that area is invincible to rifle firepower, however vulnerable to light. So the player can toggle on and off the flash light to draw in the monster to kill them with light.
18. smoke grenade that blinds the player
• In almost all fps games, smoke grenade are available for players to use. When used, it will create thick smoke in the area and blind the players.
19. flash bang grenade that blinds the player briefly
• The flash bang grenade in Call of Duty game series is very useful when killing juggernauts. The light will stun the enemy for a brief moment which will give the player chance to kill the enemy strategically.
20. hacking a computer in the game
• In the game Fallout3, the players often encounter computer system in which they can be hacked and used for player's good. The hacking is like a mini game within the game itself. When hacked successfully, it will open up a secret passage or save time to go to a certain location.
21. fixing a broken object so that player can interact with it
• In the game, I Am Alive, the player is asked to fetch a jerrycan with oil in it to restart the elevator. The elevator won't work without power. And the power generator need fuel. So it is the player's job to find and bring the fuel for generator to restart so that the player can take the elevator to the higher floor.
22. puzzles that needs to be correctly matched 
• In Skyrim, the puzzle system is quite interesting and necessary. The players must solve the puzzle in order to battle the boss so that they can acquire better items which can only be obtained from the specific boss.