Over the course of the year ideas came to me on what I wanted:

1. an epic boss for the player to overcome,
2. my game to move away from a typical game made in the Unreal Engine,
3. to expand my use of pixel art beyond just user interface as I had done in Unit 7,
4. to make an adventure game that had depth to it,
5. to use inspiration from some of my favorite games like Pokémon and Fire Emblem to make a game I would want to play.

When I first looked at how I could use pixel art in my game, I thought I could make a 2D game similar to the original Legend of Zelda but from what I read and was told Unreal is not the engine for 2D games. One YouTube video set me on my path; it said that traditional 2D may not be the path for users of Unreal Engine but 2.5D games work well on the platform. Games styles including 2D platformers with fixed camera angles and only allowing movement in the X & Z axes but have visual depth or games that have 2D characters but move in a 3D space are game styles that work well in the Unreal Engine 5. This video also led me to a free plugin for Unreal called Paper ZD which allowed for more complex and intricate 2D characters that Paper 2D (a built in option for 2D characters in Unreal) did not offer.

I reviewed games with a style I wanted, I remembered the recently released 2.5D remaster of Dragon Quest 3 used a 2.5D style and a classmate highlighted Octopath Traveler when I mentioned my idea to them. I also was reminded of one of the oldest 2.5D games, Paper Mario.

One of the games I grew up with was Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, this side series of Pokémon taught me valuable life lessons about connection, kindness and the beauty of the morning sun. I felt this was the kind of impact I wanted my game’s story to have, a story that makes you reflect and grow.

Another game I used as inspiration was Stardew Valley as I wanted to player to have a simple attack that they could use like the slingshot from Stardew Valley.

1. Main Menu
2. Meadow Village
   • Here the player will learn most of the story and be given a way of attacking the enemy.
3. Forest d’Ombre
   • The player will learn the combat system and gain the key for the next level.
4. Lumière Cave
   • In this level there will be limited light for the player to find another key to unlock the next level.
5. The Land that Sleeps
   • The final dungeon crawling level will be the major puzzle for the player to solve and then reach the teleport to the boss.
6. Boss Arganoth
   • This will be the boss level for my game and once the player defeats them they will win the game.

Mechanic: Chasing Enemies and Combat

The first mechanic I wanted to develop was a way for the enemies to see when the player was nearby and to head towards them. I believe this, while not being the simplest task, would be possible to execute fairly swiftly as I have made chasing enemies before in Unreal. I will then create a way for the player to counter the enemies, it will either be a small weapon like Ness’ baseball bat from Earthbound or I could create simple magic that the player can cast like a fireball. If I go with magic I would like it so that where the player clicks the character will create a fireball that will travel to the clicked point. I believe this can be achieved with a line trace.

Enemies: Tree Zombies

My idea for the enemies for this level are creatures made of wood animated by the magic of the forest. They will look like they are made of woodland material like moss, dirt and wood. They will roam and defend the forest from intruders such as the player. I will assess with my pixel art survey whether I should be looking at making idle animations for characters like the tree zombies.

Environment

I want to base this area on the Needwood Forest which I grew up nearby. In winter and early spring it has a really eerie feeling to it.

I knew I would be going to see my family in the area in the Easter holiday so I decided to make a trip to the Needwood Forest part of my primary research. To prepare I had a family member take a few pictures to create a mood board of what I should be looking for when I go there and what I could create as part of the 3D assets I want in my environment. Furthermore, to ensure I kept myself and others safe while respecting the environment I made a risk assessment for my trip to the Needwood Forest. I will create a list of objectives for the research, this might include: take pictures of the area, review what plants are common in the area and take an audio recording of the forest to put in my game.

Environment

When I was thinking about what levels I would like to make I thought of some of my favourite levels of dungeon crawlers I have played. I remembered the beautiful yet simplistic design of Crystal Cave and its secret depths Crystal Crossing that leads to the Shining Lake. Crystal Cave is as it sounds, a cave filled with crystalline structures. There are many caves around our world that bare resemblance to this cave, Bermuda, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Sequoia National Park, Western Australia and Wisconsin all have different caves that have crystalline structures. However, I have selected the Mlynki/Mlynky Crystal Cave in Ukraine due the beauty of the naturally formed crystals that fill the cave.

To create this environment I will create rocks to scatter around the map and have them produce limited light to cut through the darkness of the cave. I do not know whether just emissive materials will be enough to light up the area or will I have to put point lights inside the rocks.

Environment

My game inspiration for this level is the Hidden Land from the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers games. A secret land that no one is allowed to go to. I also thought that I could incorporate my mechanic inspiration into the environment and base it on Vilcabamba but with key details from the Mystery Dungeon game.

I want it to be a rainforest or jungle area with scattering of ruins around that are dilapidated. I intend to achieve this by creating a selection of stone blocks that I can construct ruins out of for this level.

Mechanic: Bullet Hell/Area of Effect Attacks

For my boss I want to create a difficult obstacle for the player to overcome. I want him to have multiple attacks that range in effect. To do this I will look for YouTube tutorials for area of effect attacks and hopefully bullet hell attacks. I want at least one of each to provide variety so the player has to manage their movement.

Enemy: Arganoth: King of the Fell

My plan for Arganoth is a demonic king, mainly coloured with purple, pink and gold. I will take inspiration from games like Fire Emblem with characters like Grima and Sombron. I don’t think I will make rotations for his sprite as he will be a static boss. This I think will save significant time in making his sprites as I will only have to focus on arm movement and not rotations.

Environment

This environment will be simple as I want this level to not have any lag to improve player experience. My plan or theme for his domain is that it should be dark and villainous.

I have made this checklist to ensure I have produced my FMP to the best of my abilities.

I have had about 10 people, friends and classmates, test my game. I have found a few bugs such as:

• The volume was too loud,
• The player gets stuck if they go to the boss without any weapons,
• Navigation meshes are not working in Meadow Village and Forest d’Ombre,
• Some people felt there was enough direction for the player so they did not know what they were looking for, key press for melee, spells and sprint
• The run animation does not play properly for moving down left on the player character.

These problems seem easy to fix and I will aim to do these before Monday 12th May 2025. I intend for these to be my final changes.

I have made a minute long trailer for my game using in game footage and I have uploaded it to YouTube to be a major part of my pitch.

I have reviewed about half of what I have written so far to check for grammar, spelling and general quality of my writing. I will aim to do this by Thursday 15th May 2025.