Ben White {Games Design Year 3}

What we need to work on For the Beta, it was vital that we get the majority of the mansion design and interiors complete. I have been working on adding, making and finding props and furniture to give the mansion more of a background and atmosphere. Interior Design Using our agreed layout plans, I began finding and making objects for our game. I found quite a few ornate pieces of furniture with wooden materials that fit perfectly into the manor. Using these objects, I worked firstly on one of the large common rooms. We wanted this room to look like a place the owners would relax in. There is old seating, a large fireplace, a rotten rug and plenty of books to convey the owners may have been heavy readers. I then went to work on the various hallways, adding paintings, lighting and scattered furniture, conveying a derelict presence. After these areas were complete and a theme had been set, I began work on adding more to the house and completing more rooms by addin...

Alpha For the main alpha version, I have added quite a few things and made changes to some mechanics. I have  Edited the Ghost AI and improved the capture scenario so that the camera rotates to look at the ghost Added pick-up-able notes that can have multiple variations, allowing the player to read a narrative Added a door and key system, where only certain keys can open certain doors Added materials for the main house  Small bug fixes WORK IN PROGRESS

Friends and Family Alpha For the F.A.F Alpha, it was vital our group develop a very basic prototype of the game with basic functions. Elliot and Shumel were tasked with developing plans for the Mansion House and developing it in the Game engine. My main task was fixing the AI I wanted the AI to behave like it does in the majority of popular horror games. I needed the AI to wander by itself and chase the player properly, so I needed to completely recreate the main AI. Here you can see all the items and are used in part of the new AI: AI Behaviour Tree The AI Behaviour tree is a small tree that defines the AIs two basic functions - Wander and Chase. It initially follows the Random Movement section, but then switches when it locates the player and changes to Threat mode. Ghost Main AI This is the blueprint system inside the AI of the Ghost. In here many items are handled. The blueprints that handle the Ghosts Movement ans speed are here, as well as mainly wh...

PROTOTYPE Preparation As the lead designer for this project, I need to work on quite a number of mechanics for the game. As this is a horror game, it is important to have a good AI to effectively chase, scare or creep the player out. My first main task was to develop a level and an AI that could walk around it. I researched many different ways to make this AI work. It needs to: - Wander around by itself  - When the player enters its field of view, it will chase the player and capture them - When it loses sight of the player, it begins to wander again Here is my blueprint showing the AI in the prototype stage. So far, the AI is able to build a path and navigate around it - even being able to climb stairs without issues. It also targets the player and chases them down, but nothing currently happens upon capture.  There are also a few bugs: When the player gets capture, the collision causes the player to jump about or get stuck When the ghost loses sight ...

Initial Outline For this project, my group has been tasked with developing a Haunted House game and a similar VR experience. I am in a group of 3, with Elliot and Shumel. I am the Lead Developer, Elliot is the Lead Artist and Shumel is the Project leader plus Lead Designer. The idea we came up with was to create a mansion haunted by a poltergeist. The ghost follows the player around interacting with things in the environment. As the player progresses through the house, the ghost becomes more aggressive in its actions. We are taking inspiration for the narrative form the game ‘Gone Home’ in that the story becomes apparent to the player as they explore the environment. We are taking inspiration for the visual style from games like ‘Amnesia’, ‘ Bloodborne ’ and the literary works of H.P. Lovecraft as we feel they perfectly capture the look and feel we are trying to achieve. As the Lead Developer, I will work on: Putting assets together inside the game engine Some 3D mo...