05-03-2020
Finally had a motivation boost today and I got a lot of things done. I rearranged the rooms at the lower level and also added rooms at the top floor. I made some triggers, which will open doors to different rooms eventually. Right now they only make the doors disappear, because I don’t have proper models and animations yet. I also accidentally reset the position of the front door, and now my animation doesn’t work anymore. I’ll make a new one later.
Everything is finally coming together. I’ve started on trying to implement the Maya models into the game, but it doesn’t really work properly yet. I’ll look into that another time.
I’m also working on a script which opens up some sort of notification when the player presses a certain button near a collectible. This is for the news articles the player can collect in the game. I managed to make a pop-up appear when the player walks over a trigger, but the pop-up doesn’t pause the game yet. It’s also still pretty ugly, but I can just create some articles in another program and then import them as images.
06-03-2020
Today I updated the collectibles script. Now, when the player hits a trigger, a pop-up appears which pauses the game. When the player hits enter, the pop-up disappears, and the game continues.
Right now, I’m using all sorts of weird controls for the game. When I’ve got everything I need, I’ll update this to make it more logical. I also still need to look into another way to import Maya models.
09-03-2020
I finished the window layout in the house. I also added some sort of box behind the front door, which is necessary for the final cut scene of the game. When the player opens the door, they think they’re free, but instead they end up in an empty white room with a single spotlight. They look around, and then a demonic hand appears in their view, which pulls them back inside the house.
I really need to start on the animations. But I honestly don’t know how to start. I’m gonna try to get as much of the house finished before next class, and from then on I’ll be focusing on the animations and the cut scenes.
11-03-2020
The trigger system is finished. When the player enters the trigger zone, a message will appear, telling the player to press E to pick up the collectible. When the player does so, a pop-up will open with the collectible on it. When the player exits the pop-up, the trigger will be gone.
I got rid of the final room and added a white quad instead. When the front door opens, the screen will fade to black and I’ll add some text which tells the ending of the story.
I also discovered today I can’t use the player camera for my cut scene. This means I’ll have to think of something else again. I think I’ll just place a trigger at the very beginning of the scene. When the player triggers it, the cut scene starts and it shows the key in the final room. It’ll then zoom out and move backwards, through the closed door, the hallway, down the stairs, back to the player. The particle system will probably be some lightning behind a window, and the audio will be the thunder.
With so many different deadlines closing in, I’m finding myself less motivated each day. That’s a shame, because I think I could’ve really liked this assignment if I hadn’t been so busy. I have already learned a lot from it though, which is really nice.
Building Playful Worlds 