After much consideration I have a basic concept in mind for the project I want to work on for the remainder of this semester. "Claymore" will be a action-packed rogue-lite made in Unreal Engine 5. This game will act as a way to fill in the blanks in my portfolio, and expand my own skills and knowledge. My main goal will to be create an extremely polished game that I would be able to release on a platform like Itch.io or Steam, that can teach me the fundamentals of Unreal development and C++.
While it would be possible for me to take my career as a game developer in an independent or academic route, my main goal is to work in a more professional game studio, where I can be creatively fulfilled and challenged. So far, much of my experience at university has been within Unity, using C#. I am at a point where I can say I am comfortable in the engine, however, I do not want to limit my skills there.
There are no guarantees that potential studios I apply for will want Unity and C# experience, upon doing my own analysis of the job market I found numerous listings that called for Unreal and C++ developers. Even companies that primarily used Unity or other engines listed Unreal / C++ experience as being a bonus. Many AAA studios also utilize the engine, with successful games like Fortnite, Sea of Thieves, and Jedi: Fallen Order all being made in Unreal. Despite being relatively new, Unreal Engine 5 has also generated a sizeable amount of excitement in the industry, with several AAA studios already planning to use the engine (Mates, 2022). By using Unreal Engine 5 I can showcase to employers my ability to stay up to date with trends and new technologies and even more importantly that I am adaptable.
My main goal for this project will be to use C++. I have prior experience with Blueprints and I am fairly comfortable with them, so while I will aim to use primarily C++, I can use this experience to "fill in the gaps" if I run into any difficulties. Learning C++ will also help me grow as a developer overall. Selawsky (2019) argues that learning multiple languages improves employability, ability to learn, and versatility. Studies have also concluded that learning programming languages also has many cognitive benefits, including the ability to problem solve creatively (Sherer et al., 2021).
I also have several secondary goals for this project after going over my previous projects. Firstly, I wanted to focus on a more combat-heavy game. Many of my past projects have been platformers or puzzlers, and while this is fine, exploring a new genre is a great way for me to diversify my portfolio and create new mechanics I haven't worked on before. Secondly, I want to further my knowledge in game AI. I was able to learn the fundamentals of game AI in IGB383, however, I am yet to utilize these in a project of my own. Unreal has a built in behaviour tree system that will be perfect for furthering my knowledge of this topic. Lastly, I want to try and incorporate common rogue-like mechanics such as a progression system and procedural levels. This is a great way to add a further level of polish to my game, increasing replayability and once again allowing me to explore new mechanics and systems.
The Game
Elevator Pitch
So what exactly will "Claymore" be? As I discussed, I wanted to make a rogue-lite game to experiment with different mechanics. This concept can be easily conveyed through the following elevator pitch:
"Claymore is a fast-paced, action-heavy rogue-lite set on an overgrown planet inhabited by strange hostile robots. Play as an adventurer equipped with an oversized sword to fend off waves of enemies to progress deep into ancient vaults and uncover technological relics. "
The key selling points of my game will be:
Replayability
A strong sense of progression
Polished, responsive and satisfying combat
Mechanics
In my pitch I touched on the idea that the character will use an oversized sword. This sword can be controlled using the mouse, with the sword waving in whatever direction the mouse does. This freedom of movement can give the player a greater sense of control over the enemies they attack, and allows for unique interactions such as "batting" away enemies or even deflecting projectiles. To give the player a little more freedom and manoeuvrability I also want to incorporate a simple dash where the player is carried forward by their sword, and a jump attack to leap over enemies and their attacks before performing a ground pound. My main goal is for combat to be extremely polished and fun, with the players able to use their creativity in fighting enemies
Visual Style
One of the key benefits of the Unreal Engine is that I will have access to high-fidelity visual effects for attacks, as well as Quixel Megascans to build out interesting looking levels. This will alleviate a great workload for me, allowing a better focused to be placed on programming the mechanics and only requiring a few small assets to be modelled potentially.
MVP and Scope
As this project will be entirely individual, and with only 6-7 weeks to work on it, it is extremely important for the project to be appropriately scoped. As such, I have taken time to consider what my MVP will look like. I believe the key mechanics to my project will be the combat. Already by taking time to program a satisfying combat system I will be addressing a gap in my portfolio (as discussed earlier). I can then potentially build out a few levels and focus on polishing the enemy AI and level design. From this I have several clear stretch goals:
Procedurally load levels as the player progresses
A progression system, the ability to buy new swords, buffs, etc.
Incorporating a basic story, promoting intrigue and a desire to go further
Conclusion
Overall I'm fairly confident in my abilities to get a basic project completed. Following my laid out plan I will be able to ensure I have a polished base before branching out and implementing more complex systems. I believe this game will help me learn a great deal as a developer, and by achieving a polished final product I will have a worthwhile addition to my portfolio.
References
Mates, D. (2022). Unreal Engine 5 Games List - Upcoming UE5 Titles. Game Watcher. Retrieved from https://www.gamewatcher.com/news/unreal-engine-5-games
Scherer R, Siddiq F & Sánchez-Scherer B. (2021). Some Evidence on the Cognitive Benefits of Learning to Code. Front. Psychol. 12:559424. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.559424
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