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Complete Hand-crafted
Unreal Engine Game
by Zi Glucksman
Over the last three years, Zi Glucksman has been studying, implementing, and executing the fundamental concepts of game making. In collaboration with Alex Gonzalez, Zi has crafted a complete 3D virtual world using, Visual Scripting, Artificial Intelligence, and 3D Animation. The game Piratesnacks utilizes the industry-leading software, Unreal Engine 4, and is full to the brim with handcrafted awesomeness.
What went into the Project
Visual Scripting
Visual Scripting is a forward-thinking approach to prototyping game mechanics and programming behavior.
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Instead of writing code line by line, programming is done visually: drag and drop logic nodes and then set their properties.
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In this project, virtually every gameplay mechanic element including was programmed from scratch using this technique including * * a health bar that dynamically checks conditions of all characters * a floor fall” - * a tripwire that changed that rotated the light source * a custom “animation jukebox” which played variable different attack animations * custom controls for each character * controls, characters, * teleport code - that * an invisible game referer “we titled PirateSnacks” which caught oj
Gameplay Mechanics
In this project, virtually every gameplay mechanic element was programmed from scratch using Visual Scripting including:
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A health bar that dynamically checks each character's condition
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A floor fall
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A tripwire that changes and rotates the light source
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A custom “animation jukebox” which played different attack animations
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Custom controls for each character
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Teleport code
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An invisible game referee titled "PirateSnacks Game Mode” keeps track of all character's health and location
3D Level Design
Each element of the world was designed within Unreal Engine 4 including:
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Castles, jungles, Roman and Greek architecture, dragons, knights, centaurs, and monkey warriors.
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A labyrinth of multiple landscapes
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A controllable player character
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Multiple AI characters that chase, attack, and defend
In this project, virtually every gameplay mechanic element including was programmed from scratch using this technique including * * a health bar that dynamically checks conditions of all characters * a floor fall” - * a tripwire that changed that rotated the light source * a custom “animation jukebox” which played variable different attack animations * custom controls for each character * controls, characters, * teleport code - that * an invisible game referer “we titled PirateSnacks” which caught oj
A complete game
Putting Piratesnacks together over the course of three years required effort, patience, heart, and a lot of revisions.
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There were glitches and setbacks - which had to be overcome by improving the code, and keeping the final project build organized and modular.
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The game is designed to run on Windows computers, and from the very beginning, was built with the intention of creating a project that operates on virtual reality headsets. It has run on VR with great results.
Where I hope this ends up
The game is not yet complete. In the future, there will be a networking feature for people to play together in different locations.
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In the short term, new attacks will be added to both the controllable player character and the AI characters.
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Ultimately, the goal is to launch Piratesnacks on Steam, a video game digital distribution service, and also make it available on VR headsets.
Future Projects and Dreams
Future projects consist of games involving swordplay with different levels similar to Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. They will include:
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Networking
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VR combat
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Various characters to play with that will have different features, defenses, attacks, and visuals.
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Levels with different traps and hidden advantages
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