Learn ⇢ Make ⇢ Share (Repeat)

I love making art. I love making games. I just love making... and learning

[eddyortega]

The Beast Project - Pointing and Bow Targeting

1) Point at stuff

2) Set aims on stuff

3) Murderate stuff

[eddyortega]

So this week I worked on 3 systems at the same time, you can check them out in this video Ravens Pesky enemies with a territorial twist. Even worse when they come in flocks... Pointing In our game, the player can point at objects at a distance to issue commands to his dog or interact from afar Bow Aims I implemented a Bow which uses the pointing mechanic to give you an aiming handicap when shooting small objects at a distance :D

[eddyortega]

Crow behavior steps 2 and 3: Agro and random flight paths (I can't wait till we have some flocking and spline motion)

[eddyortega]

Crow behavior step 1 : Circling #indiedev #UE4

[eddyortega]

More grayboxing and level design for the forest clearing! Hoping to share a lengthier process post with videos and fun stuff in the coming week

[eddyortega]

Whipped up a quick graybox for a forest scene in our game :D Feels good to get back in the flow for level design

[eddyortega]

So I spent last week storyboarding some of the basic ways the Wanderer and Beast must collaborate when exploring their environment Beast Tug Preeetty self explanatory, I think it’d be a lot of fun to have certain objects or obstacles that are too heavy for the Wanderer to handle on his own. Enter the Beast Tug! It’s like... Link’s Power Glove...If Epona was helping him push blocks... or something

[eddyortega]

So I spent last week storyboarding some of the basic ways the Wanderer and Beast must collaborate when exploring their environment Threats This is one of those that I think will really make the Beast feel unique and alive.... The Beast can become threatened by things or creatures in his environment, the Wanderer must handle these threats in order for the Beast to carry on.

[eddyortega]

So I spent last week storyboarding some of the basic ways the Wanderer and Beast must collaborate when exploring their environment Track Scent This is one of my personal favorites, the Beast can track the scent of certain items and lead the Wanderer towards creatures, enemies, people...or piles of poop :P

[eddyortega]

So I spent last week storyboarding some of the basic ways the Wanderer and Beast must collaborate when exploring their environment

Retrieve Oftentimes, there will be items that are out of reach to the Wanderer, the Beast may be commanded to retrieve these for the Wanderer

[eddyortega]

So I spent last week storyboarding some of the basic ways the Wanderer and Beast must collaborate when exploring their environment

Attention The Beast can perceive, smell, or track items in the world that the Wanderer can’t, so he might paw at something or whine to catch his attention

[eddyortega]

The Beast Project | A little bit about our new game

So to a few of my peers it is no secret that we’ve been working on a new game for polymathlab​, it is a project we will codename The Beast Project for now, but yes, we agree, it needs a proper title :P  Of course as you would expect it is a game about silly things like feelings, empathy, and trying to elicit a sense of bonding with the agents of the world we will craft.

The Premise

Beast is an adventure and exploration game where the player, a lone Wanderer, will embark on a journey alongside a canine companion, the Beast. The Wanderer must build a bond and learn to cooperate with the Beast in order to solve the world’s puzzles and survive in battle against its many foes.

Crucial tasks in the game are performed by cooperating with the Beast, who has his own interests and behaviors. Puzzles may require the Beast’s participation, enemies may have weaknesses that need to be exploited by Beast or Wanderer at different times.

So in the past few months we actually prototyped an “Interest System” that allows our Beast to react to the world around him based on his current “wants and needs”.  The Beast’s attention is his own, he may roam about or acknowledge the Wanderer at will. Things in the world may be threatening, causing the Beast to fight or flee; they may be amusing, causing the Beast to become playful... The Beast may become hungry, disobedient, or tired. It is up to the player to discover what makes their companion tick, and learn to work with the Beast throughout this adventure.

At the core, this game is about going on an adventure with a creature who feels alive. We want to create a setting where cooperating with the Beast feels like an exercise in building bond. The Beast has his own character, desires, and motives, it isn’t just an input-consuming-machine that performs the player’s every command. 

[Um, like this guy]  Now let’s be honest, we are NOT trying to model complex psychological behavior here, or trying to revolutionize AI, this isn’t DogSim3000... 

However, with attentive and sensible design we can craft a creature that feels interesting and unique, just that more alive and relatable in our little adventure.

[Yorda from Ico is still one of the greatest examples on eliciting player empathy with a minimal but sensible design]

There’s still so much to share about Beast! 

Gameplay mechanics! Storytelling context! The lore of the world! Art style! Aaaahhhhh so much stuff we’re psyched about....

At the moment, we have a few succesful months of prototyping behind us and a whole lot of game to make ahead of us. This is a project we are super excited about and we can’t wait to share it with anyone who comes along for the ride.

Stay tuned, we will be sharing all our prototypes, in game development, and artwork in the months to come!

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You can find all of our dev progress at polymathlab​

[polymathlab]

RTS Style Turret Prototype

Spent the past week prototyping a simple RTS style turret game in UE4! Featured in this video is unit targetting, turrets with auto-aim, and different types of missiles (Arc missiles in orange and Homing in Yellow) All blueprint, I just love how easy it is to get something fun going

[eddyortega]

This tiny prototype taught me so much back then. Can't believe UE4 turns 1 year this GDC already! Learned so much and yet so much to learn still....

[eddyortega]

Throwback Man, every now and then I forget about Delirium. I look back at it, and although there is so much I would fix, so much more I would do to it.... It's just refreshing to look back at something you've made and still feel excited about it, still think "wow...that was really awesome to work on". I hope to always work on things that'll make me feel that way. It may have not made it past a concept trailer... but Delirium still holds a dear place in my heart.

[eddyortega]

Jet afterburners make da speed #3d #cg #polymath

[eddyortega]

Little Mr robot #wip Next up some awesome feet and a badass drill , can't wait to see him rigged and animated #cg #3D #polymath (at The Homelab)