tfrh

1. 3D Unity Game Workflow
Being tasked to create a 3D game which required more of a level design aspect
than a coding and physics side of things, it made sense to go more based on
aesthetics over gameplay.
Starting with my idea for a terrain, I planned to have a forgotten desolate area,
surrounded by mountainous regions with small lakes of water.
As it was intended to be made from a first person view, I added places for the
player to walk around, marked by lighter dirt shades at an equal level.

2. I then took the decision to add more detail to some of my terrain by changing
the textures of the hill-based part of the mountains.
Using the Asset store I used an Asset referred to as “Elementals” which bases a
lot of particle systems for use, once I’d looked into elements and particles I
liked, I changed my terrain to match, in this occasion I used a snow texture on
my higher terrains to give my game more of a dynamic theme.
Whilst also adding a snow floor texture where my water was previously.

3. Once I’d given my terrain texture I was happy with, I created snowfall to fit the
level using a particle generator which I changed myself to collide with the
terrain and decay as snow would.
Once I’d had the base aesthetics of my game I worked on a purpose in my
game, something for the player to do, to give them a sense of direction I
referred back to the Elementals asset which contained a particle system that
moved in a chosen direction like wind, I decided to use a few of these to show
the player where main areas would take place.

4. After giving the player direction, I needed to give them something with
purpose such as further exploration, I went about this by making my terrain
into a flat platforming area in themselves.
To show the player where to jump next, I used a particle system which was
pointing to the jumping points, leading the player into the mystery.
But with jumping and platforming, there’s a chance the player will fall off and
running around would be a pain, so falling off in different areas will teleport
the player to one of these “jumping waypoints” which would be the particle
system.

5. I added further jumps as well as put in a “portal” particle effect which, when
touched by the player, will teleport them up to a new area which I’d yet to
create.

6. To give more depth into my game and further challenge, I made the portal take
you to a higher up area on the map which would be an increase of difficulty
compared to the natural terrain platforming that the player previously went
through.
This also has a failsafe in which can be seen if you jumped off a platform other
than hopping into the Volcano, making my platforming linear but challenging if
you slip off or mistime a jump, teleporting you back to the start, even if you
tried to jump out of range of the teleported entry.
To give my game more direction and purpose, the floating fire ring seen in the
print screen above will lead you to a volcano, in which you must jump into in
order to be teleported to an abandoned castle containing my end screen as
well as a teleporter back to the start of the game.

7. Once I’d given my game purpose I worked further on tweaking small things,
making the jumps slightly more challenging and making it more player friendly
and doable.
Feedback
After a few people playtested my game, I saw people were able to fall off in
places I least likely thought it was possible to slip at, to fix this issue I added
more teleporters which would act as a failsafe in case people fell nearby the
jumps.
As far as people’s opinions on my game go, people thought it was a very
dynamic and beautiful game to play, though it was very linear and short.

8. Reviews and opinions
-“It’s understandable and helpful”- Callum Deighton
-“Fun platforming experience, I like it c:”- Adam Hughes
-“An adequate amount of water” -Brandon Mcnamara
-“Good use of particle systems” -Daryl Bates