Special Topics Module 1

Research & Activity Documentation

Andrew George Geevarghese

Project 1

Module 1

With this module, we explored Unreal Engine to understand its capabilities in order to design a game concept. Alongside our exploration, we discussed various themes and narratives to introduce to the gameplay.
Our goal is to create a foundational prototype that consists of 3d models, a simple map, character animations, basic game mechanics and light narrative. We will leverage Blender for creating 3D models and Fab.com for ready-to-use assets and animation to ensure an efficient work flow.

Activity 1

For the project, I am focused on creating a virtual experience or game. Hence, I explored as many 3D environments and game engines as possible for Activity 1.

I found my experience to be quite entertaining and I feel a bit more certain about the path as it.

Here's my insights:
- Spline is a very approachable tool that I am very familiar with. The physics and game controls are easy to manipulate. However, the application seemed to glitch out even with my low poly simple game sample.
- Unity requires a bit of bouncing around the UI which I found a bit disorienting. However, it has a strong community for tutorials and assets
- Unreal engine was the easier to start up and use game mechanics off the bat. However, from tutorials that I have viewed, it seems to have a steeper learning curve than Unity.
- I found Blender's UI to a bit harder to navigate that competitors but due to the cost-free nature, I feel it's the most viable option for creating 3D assets.

Due to the cleaner visuals that can be created with Unreal Engine as well as the easier start up. I may go with a Blender + Unreal Engine route

Possible Group: Me, Gladdens and Sang due to the shared interest for UE and Blender as well as fitting the required skills.

I followed a tutorial that showcased how to use plugins and assets to create a First-person open world game in Unity <a href='https://youtu.be/BmI_6PHxTpI' target='_blank'><p>View Video</p></a>

I used a Unreal Engine template and tested various features such as lighting, cameras, physics, game controls. Additionally, I tried to create a moving, interactable enemy but it proved to be a bit challenging unless I dive further into some tutorials. <a href='https://youtu.be/xry4TPTpLqk' target='_blank'><p>View Video</p></a>

I wanted to test the rendering capabilities of the web-based Spline. I found it to run my gradient objects in a foggy environment fairly well but there were moments of lag even with hardware acceleration enabled on Chrome <a href='https://youtu.be/S9Q3qzpcHvA' target='_blank'><p>View Video</p></a>

I played with Game controls and physics for this iteration of Spline <a href='https://youtu.be/IY5CC01ADDM' target='_blank'><p>View Video</p></a>

I followed the well-known donut tutorial with a 1 hour time limit and reached to this stage. I had a hard time figuring out the controls at first as some shortcuts and UI placement are not similar to that of other 3D apps I am familiar with (3Ds Max and Cinema4D)

Activity 2

This week's focus was to check the viability of our path choice. We chose the game experience path with Unreal Engine as the platform and wanted to gain inspiration from games we personally enjoy. Some things we explored are:

- Some inspirations for games for peaceful and horror themes which helped fuel further development of the theme and open world nature of the game concept we want.
- We needed to figure out the version that would be the most apt for us. Based on our research we found that Unreal Engine 5.5 would be the most applicable for us due to the higher polygon counts, better lighting and rendering engines than previous versions of Unreal Engine.

Done by: Andrew, Sang, Gladdens

Simple Unreal Engine Game
with Chill Open World aspects. Similar to Animal Crossing. We enjoyed the idea of making something peace and involved farming and exploration

Simple Unreal Engine Game
with Thriller Open World aspects. A Post Apocalyptic Open World Game. This was the other idea feel strongly enjoyed, the roguelike and thriller aspects of some of these games make us hooked!

Concept art of the game map. Done by Sang.

Workshop 1

“Action research is a strategy that tries to find realistic solutions to organizations’ difficulties and issues. It is similar to applied research.” – questionpro

In workshop 1, we looked at action research, what it is, why it may be helpful and how we can take the first steps in applying action research. Our goal at the end of this workshop is to gather more information and identify 3 possible first steps to start our action research.

Done by: Andrew, Sang, Gladdens

Action Research

We started by researching about action research, noted they key points and came up with three possible first steps to begin our action research journey. After this workshop, we wanted to test one of the pressing unknowns we identified the previous week regarding developing the game mechanics as that plays a central role in this experience.

For our action research, we:
- Identifed what are some basic mechanics needed for our game: Player character movement, enemy movement and tracking, map destruction, trigger events, etc.
- Andrew followed various node programming and Unreal Engine game mechanic tutorials. Some were difficult to do but with some supplemental tutorials for the node programming and animating the walk cycle for the pawn (Enemy).
- We found the fracture destruction from the Chaos destruction feature on UE 5.5 to be a bit glitchy. Only at certain angles of collision between the bullet and the cubes led to the cube breaking apart. However, the test was overall successful with good insights on how to continue with the game mechanics and connecting them with soon to be developed rigged 3D models.
- Observations: Walk cycles, animations, collisions were successful after a few attempts. However, we need to consider if the game will be first person or third person as some of the steps and assets in some tutorials that Andrew watched was not available for the UE 5.5 First-person template.

Workshop 2

In this workshop, we explored what executive function is and how we can improve our executive function by adressing things which may cause executive dysfunction. How are we affected by it? How does this impact the way we prioritize our tasks? What can we do to improve?

The link that Sang and Gladdens explored was 9 Ways for Adults with ADHD to Get Motivated

Done by: Andrew, Sang, Gladdens

Lower levels of dopamine <br>
People who live with ADHD might have lower levels of dopamine. It is a neurotransmitter in the brain associated with pleasure, reward, and motivation.
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Goals & Lists
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It may help to set goals or lists to help keep on track, complete tasks and meeting deadlines. A large goal can be daunting so create small steps and making smaller goals may help. his can also help prevent a lack of motivation.
Take the pressure off
The mindset that you HAVE to do it might make it less likely for you to do it just because of the pressure. Think about how you may feel after you completed the task (and thank yourself for doing it!)
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Involve others / Create Rewards
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It is helpful to have someone other than you being accountable on your progress and task. Research suggest having component can act as a motivation to finish a task. Also, having a reward after achieving a goal is essential. Having a reward after even a small task is important to keep the motivation going.
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Change routine / Visualize result
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To make it less boring, change up your routine, do the task in a new fresh way. Look at your goal and visualize it. This can be writing it down, making a mood board, sketching or any other way for you to see the goal. It may also help you break down the goal into smaller tasks.
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Track productive time / Successful start
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Keep track of when you feel motivated the most and pro-active to finish the task, and start the day with a simple task done easily. By finishing a simple task from start of the day can bring motivations.

Executive Function

After our Executive Function workshop, we learned about what it is and why we need to work on being aware so we can push foward. We both have experienced a lack of motivation to do our work in the past, however a tip like starting small seems like simple but effective way to start a task without overthinking it. Once you get the ball rolling, it is easter to continue.

Project 1

Project Concept

The concept we are proposing is... An Unreal experience with a chill open world with a horror twist theme. We established attainable goals and aspirations for the end of the semester.

These are our desired outcomes, however we understand that adjustments can and may be necessary based on the circumstances.
-Create simple assets (characters and objects)
-A small section of the landscape
-One user interaction
-Simple character animations?
-Draft a short storyboard to covey the narrative and “characters”

Concept Art of the map that we plan to build

Testing Action Research

Andrew tackled the Action Research by following relevant tutorials we collected and tried various techniques and features from node programming to slight animation to collision events.

Adding visual sensing for the pawn, allowing it to pick up the player's movement when the player is in its line of sight. Using booleans and conditional nodes, it follows the player. <a href='https://youtu.be/cKYC06N3i1I?si=Omwj5sxJsR5JZ4kI' target='_blank'><p>View Demo</p></a>

Animating and posing the enemy pawn so that it has a standing, walking and running animation montage that depends on the speed of the enemy.<a href='https://youtu.be/E8zSJN9urBs' target='_blank'><p>View Demo</p></a>

Testing how the chaos destruction feature on UE 5.5 works. It involved creating a new template and control how the object broke and how far the pieces flew.<a href='https://youtu.be/idnUNYyzfdA' target='_blank'><p>View Demo</p></a>

Research Reflection

In Project 1, we explored our interests, explored project ideas and defined our final concept. The concept we are proposing is an Unreal experience. We decided to set solid and achievable SMART goals to ensure that we do not overwhelm ourselves before we even get started. As a team, we've made great progress exploring Unreal Engine, Blender, and the challenges of game development.

Andrew found Unreal exploration engaging and discovered that basic node programming was more intuitive than expected. However, debugging and correcting animation errors proved to be a significant challenge, requiring extra time and effort. Looking ahead, he suggests implementing Gantt Charts or other project management tools to better handle the complexity of our project.

Sang enjoyed the Blender modelling tutorial despite finding it difficult to follow at times. UV wrapping was a challenge, but step-by-step guidance made the process manageable. Excited about rigging and animation, Sang feels that working as a group has been motivating and looks forward to further development.

Gladdens appreciated the feedback from classmates, which helped narrow the project's scope. She is eager to experiment with lighting and integrate personal assets into Unreal. Continuing to explore Blender, she aims to develop landscapes and bring them into Unreal for an early iteration. Additionally, she wants to improve project file management to ensure organization and maintain backups.

Overall, our group collaboration has been smooth, and we recognize the importance of structured planning and efficient project management. Moving forward, we/ll refine our workflow, keep iterating on our designs, and continue learning from each other.

Next Steps

As we move forward, our focus will be on refining our project through continued research, iteration, and structured planning. We will deepen our understanding of Unreal Engine, Blender, and animation while addressing the technical challenges we've encountered. Implementing project management tools like Gantt Charts will help us stay on track and manage complexity effectively.

Each team member will continue developing their skills—exploring modeling, animation, lighting, and asset integration—while ensuring efficient workflow and file management. We will be learning from our action research, successes and setbacks.