Jungle
Pillars
Length: 3 Weeks
Introduction
Level Design and Level Mechanics
Jungle Pillars is a project where I created my own mechanic from scratch. In this project, I created pillars that move without using the physics engine, all purely done from coding.
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For this project I took inspiration from the Uncharted and Tomb Raider series​ where I took time to add more detail into my block mesh compared to my previous projects. Managing to achieve that feeling of overgrowth in a jungle full of vegetation, I am happy with how this project turned out.
Level Design Flow Chart
Mechanic Walkthrough
Blockmesh Playthrough
Postmortem
What Went Right
Better Understanding of Blueprint
When jumping into this project, it felt good knowing that I knew how I wanted to design and code my mechanic straight from the get go. In previous projects, I had to experiment around with different widgets and nodes to see what would work best and what would not. With my previous experience with other projects and continuous working, I was able to gain the knowledge to see a problem and come to a solution faster. It ultimately allowed me to put in the extra time to now only make the mechanics modular for other developers, but also time to put better details into my level design.
Better Understanding of Detailed Environments
As stated previously, I had plenty of time to work extra on my level's blockmesh. This allowed me to create this detailed jungle and vegetation where the player can look to all corners and see nothing but thick dense trees. I also created a blueprint that made it so that each tree and grass object placed down would be generated in random direction. This allowed for a more natural look to the forest. I am extremely proud of how my level came out. It gave me a sense that I can definitely make it in this industry as I continue to push myself everyday.
What Went Wrong
Lack of Sleep
Despite the extra time for my level that I has, I ultimately focused so much on the details of the map that I would forget to sleep some days. This lead to struggles with my job as I work as a manager and need the energy to lead a full team. Luckily despite my lack of sleep, it only really affected me and not anyone around me. Looking back on this project, I need to give myself limits on how much I should be working on a project as I end up forgetting to take care of myself.