DEV LOG: Fire Raiders: Milestone Update!
With about 1 month to go until my showcase for Fire Raiders, we had to present Milestone updates to our supervisors at the International Students Arts Incubator! Here’s what I’ve been up to in the last few weeks and some updates on how the game is looking!
Collectibles
I added collectible Fire Raiders badges to the game! Players can find these throughout the level and they restore a bit of health and fuel. This was a fun way to target Achiever player types and to also lightly guide people through the levels and get them to explore areas! I based them off the Spider-Emblems in Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions!
UI Updates
I added UI pop-ups that periodically remind players of their objective, and dynamically update when they complete them, always giving players feedback to their actions. When they save a civilian it will say how many are left, when they collect badge collectibles it says how many are left around the map. It always keeps the player informed of what is happening around them and what they need to do, without boxing them into how to approach the level. I also added a Victory Screen, to really celebrate the player in style!
Motion Capture!
Thanks to NYU’s motion capture lab, I got to record some motion capture animations of running, walking and jumping that will be added to the game! Thanks to the help of Marcel Truxillo, my professor in the class “Motion Capture in Unreal”, I was able to use the equipment available to make realistic, personality-filled animations (and a couple of dances)!
Narrative Cutscene
Since I had built a whole world with characters and various settings on paper, I set out to introduce those elements in the showcase demo. I recruited a collaborator, Tatiana Jimenez who is a very talented Storyboard artist to help me create a 2D animated cutscene in the style of Marvel/DC motion comics! I was inspired by games such as DC Universe Online and Marvel Heroes Omega’s cutscenes to really emphasize the comic-book nature of the game. I also recruited Megan Zammit, a versatile voice actress to narrate the story!
Detour Jetpack system
I was inspired to expand on the jetpack system by superheroes like Iron-Man and Superman. I set out to add more flight options that allowed the players to “Superhero Fly” and looked at games like Anthem and Avengers 2020 for inspiration. I added a “dynamic flight” system to a Unreal default character, and tested it out, really enjoying the way it moved at first. However, during playtests players had a hard time aiming where to fly and using the system in the small, enclosed spaces they were provided. While the system looked really cool and was very superhero-adjacent, it didn’t prove a right fit for the game and its existing systems. A mentor of mine told me once that Artists can add styles to a game because its “cool”, Programmers can add systems to a game because its “cool”, Producers can add processes to a game because its “cool”, but Designers have to think about things in terms of a broader system, and be intentional about how it interacts with other elements, so I decided to stick with the older Jetpack Hover system.
Next Steps
With the showcase coming up soon, there is still a ton of work to do, but it is gonna be awesome when it all comes together! Currently, the plan is to integrate the cutscene in the game, iterate on the gameplay and UI, and implement a Techno-inspired soundtrack. Wish us luck!