Julia M Wayne

Unreal FPS

Emphasis on enemy AI design, event triggers, and combat.

Overview

This project marks my first experience working with Unreal Engine, built solo over 5 months with a primary focus on learning its core features and mastering the Blueprint Editor. The result is a first-person shooter that incorporates interactive dialogue, cinematic cutscenes, and engaging combat mechanics.

Technical Highlights

Built a first-person camera and movement system, paired with weapon handling and shooting mechanics for both the player and enemy characters.

Designed multiple unique enemy AI Blueprints to enable varied, dynamic combat behavior rather than a single repeated pattern.

Implemented visual effects using the Niagara particle system, including custom portal effects.

Built cinematic cutscenes and event-driven triggers to support narrative pacing, alongside scene transition and interaction triggers for seamless gameplay flow.

Developed health systems for both player and enemies, integrated with enemy death animations and combat events.

Created an interactive dialogue system to support character communication and story progression.

Approached level design with a focus on player engagement and narrative pacing.

Notable Project Features

Enemy AI

The project features a sophisticated enemy AI system built with unique Blueprints tailored to multiple enemy types, including three distinct cube-based enemies and two soldier prefabs. Each enemy exhibits dynamic behaviors that enhance gameplay complexity and immersion.

Enemies patrol predefined routes, actively scanning for the player. Upon detection, they transition to pursuit mode, closing distance while engaging with ranged attacks. If the player evades sight, enemies seamlessly revert to patrol behavior.

Some enemies employ advanced search patterns, scanning their surroundings before initiating a chase, adding unpredictability to encounters.

The cube-based enemies demonstrate versatile 3D movement capabilities, enabling them to navigate multi-dimensional spaces while simultaneously engaging the player with ranged attacks.

This layered AI design showcases a deep emphasis on creating varied and challenging enemy behaviors that respond intelligently to the player’s actions, significantly enriching the gameplay experience.

Cutscene Triggers

Throughout the level, various trigger mechanisms are implemented to enhance gameplay flow and narrative progression.

Area triggers attached to invisible objects that activate when the player passes through specific zones.

Dialogue-based triggers that initiate events upon the completion of character conversations.

Portal triggers that activate as the player enters designated portal objects, facilitating seamless scene transitions.

These carefully placed triggers ensure an engaging and responsive player experience by dynamically advancing gameplay and story elements.

Dialogue

The dialogue system prompts the player with a clear on-screen indicator to press ‘E’ when near an NPC, initiating conversation. Upon activation, dialogue messages are displayed sequentially, allowing the player to navigate through the conversation with options to continue or exit at any point. This design fosters immersive player interaction and narrative engagement.

Scene Triggers

Leveraging Unreal Engine’s Niagara particle system, I created a visually compelling portal effect. The portal object is equipped with an integrated trigger that, upon player interaction, initiates a seamless scene transition, enhancing both visual appeal and gameplay flow.

First-Person Camera

I implemented a first-person camera perspective on a third-person character framework, enabling immersive player control with the flexibility to incorporate third-person camera angles in future development. This approach allows seamless transitions between perspectives, enhancing cinematic opportunities and gameplay variety.

Unreal Editor

Unreal Editor presents a comprehensive and complex toolset that requires a significant learning curve to fully understand and utilize. I am proud to have developed a strong proficiency in its features and workflows, enabling efficient and effective game development.

Notable Unreal Blueprints

Portal Blueprint

This Blueprint controls the swirling blue portal within the laboratory environment. It instantiates the custom Niagara particle system I developed from scratch to create the portal’s visual effects. Upon player entry, the Blueprint triggers a seamless transition by loading a new level, facilitating smooth gameplay progression.

Enemy Soldier Blueprint

This Blueprint represents a fully functional enemy AI modeled as a soldier character, featuring unique animations and weapon mechanics. The enemy can receive damage from the player and be eliminated upon health depletion. It exhibits diverse behaviors, including patrolling predefined routes, pursuing the player, and engaging in ranged combat, contributing to dynamic and challenging encounters.

NPC Commander Dialogue Blueprint

This Blueprint encapsulates the core logic for the dialogue system specific to the commander character. Dialogue is initiated when the player presses the ‘E’ key, triggering the corresponding conversation flow for the NPC. This system ensures seamless interaction between the player and the commander, facilitating dynamic narrative engagement.

Third Person Player Blueprint

This Blueprint manages key systems including player health and damage handling, interaction mechanics such as pressing ‘E’ to engage with NPCs, armor regeneration, weapon management, and HUD initialization. These components work cohesively to deliver a responsive and immersive player experience.

Enemy Cube Turret Blueprint

This enemy AI cube features distinct abilities that differentiate it from other cube enemies. It is capable of dynamic movement and actively fires projectiles at the player, adding variety and challenge to combat encounters.

Weapon Blueprint

This Blueprint defines the functionality and behavior of the weapon utilized by both the player and enemy characters.

Level 1 Blueprint

This Blueprint manages core gameplay elements for the first level, including box triggers that activate cutscenes when the player character enters designated areas, enhancing narrative flow and player immersion.