Game Design
GURN: Gun and Run
Project Status: Active Development
Project Type: Student project
Project Timeline: 10 Months
Software Used: Unreal 5
Languages: Unreal Blueprints, Unreal Shadergraphs
Primary Role(s): Technical Art Programmer / In-Engine Programmer / Designer
Collaborators: Sebastian Mene Andrade, Grace Yang, Brady Anderson, Joshua Schoemberger, Valentine Faruqui, Mitchell O'Brien
About GURN
Project Description:
Simulating a Studio Environment for a University thesis, I was in charge of designing and implementing optimization, UI Elements, Material Shaders and character controller systems. Particularly the Parkour Systems, wherein I designed all Blueprints, Animation Blueprints (Sound included), and VFX
Design Goals:
1. Teach the team good practices to utilize blueprints effectively
2. Fill as many hats as possible to maximize my learning potential within the engine
3. ensure that the code has minimal dependencies while it interacts with larger systems
4. Design a character controller with the pillars of momentum and accessibility
THIS SECTION IS A WIP
THIS PROJECT IS IN ACTIVE DEVELOPMENT AND MANY ELEMENTS ARE STILL BEING DEVELOPED
WILL UPDATE SOON!
Character Controller
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Things I've learned:
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Traversal Systems: Designed and implemented 10 traversal mechanics, including parkour, ensuring seamless integration and smooth transitions within a modular framework.
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Animation and Gameplay: Programmed comprehensive animation graphs, enabling fluid character movement and responsive gameplay.
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Player Experience: Improved player controls and camera dynamics to deliver an engaging and intuitive experience.
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Pipeline Optimization: Built debug tools and optimized programming pipelines to enhance efficiency for other developers.
Wallrunning
System
Bar Swinging
Materials and Shaders
Key Takeaways!
Creating Cell and Toon Shaders:
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Cell Bombing Material:
This case study was focused on implementing a modular material that used a Voronoi Noise pattern to randomize and prevent organic textures from wrapping. Limitations I learned were that non-organic materials have artifacting or warping from the pattern and don't blend as well.
Modular Design:
Created shaders and materials that supported the team’s visual consistency and were easily reusable.
Codebase Refactor
Ability UI System:
Taking over for another designer is never easy work, you don't typically understand how they interpret a design problem, and in this case, my partner was inexperienced in UI practices, so I told them to make a functional prototype after sending them some resources. However, they still didn't quite hit the mark that I was looking for, leaving almost every sub-function of the UI in a single massive event graph. because of this, I decoupled most UI elements to their own WBP, not only making it easier in the long run for developers to find a method or function but also cleaning up unnecessary repeated code. The Example I will use for this scenario is, the Ability Icons.
Ability Icon (Brush):
While a minor refactor in the long run, the original get ability image brush needed to have an instance made for every ability that existed within the UI, the problem that this created is over time, for example within the character blueprint, designers would have to loop the exact same function multiple times, which not only wastes time but also has more potential for someone to mess up a step, because of this accidentally I got a simple reference to the texture and returned it once, keeping the original developers spirit of the system, while making it cleaner and easier to read.
Game Text Manager:
OLD UI Canvas
Redesigned UI Canvas
Ability Icon
Ability Display (Cooldown)
Game Text Manager
OLD Text System
Lessons Learned
Programming In Blueprints
Learning Technical Art
Assisting Studio Conflict
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Provided critical support to producers and project managers during high-pressure challenges, ensuring smooth resolution of issues and maintaining project momentum.
Additionally, I developed clear and actionable documentation to enhance team communication, alignment, and collaboration throughout the development process.