Post Mortem
Cthulhu's Rise
The goal is for you, the player, to control the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse and start revelations. Journey as: Conqueror, War, Famine, and Death and complete challenges that pertain to the character's abilities in order to progress the levels.
Executive Summary
Game Genre
3D Horror Adventure
Game Concept
Our game follows the four horsemen of the apocalypse on their journey of causing chaos and collecting souls to summon Cthulhu. The player will swap between characters to navigate through various levels. Each character has its own unique traversal and combat abilities.
Target Audience
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Casual Horror Lovers
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Teens/Young Adults
Cthulhu's Rise Dev Logs
Characters
Conqueror
First Character Concept
Model Design :
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Royal looking bow
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Thorned Arrows
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Leprosy
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King Baldwin’s Mask
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Crown of Thorns
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Tentacles out of back; Tokyo Ghoul
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Different Tentacles out of robe bottom
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Radiates White Aura
Attack :
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Fires arrows at target
Abilities :
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Mark of Pestilence - Debuffs all enemy targets within a radius of the Conqueror with mark of pestilence lasting for n seconds. This debuff makes Conquerors Normal Attacks deal bonus damage stacking on the normal attack damage.
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Rain of Pestilence - AOE that shoots a flurry of arrows at the target.
Final Character Concept
Abilities :
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Slow Time and Zoom - When activated, time slows down to help the player take time to aim
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Bow & Arrow - The bow is used to shoot enemies and targets or to break objects to make them fall.
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Grapple Swing - When the tentacles are out, they can be used to traverse the level by grappling, pulling, and swinging on objects.
War
Final Character Concept
Abilities :
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Charge - Charge into objects to shatter them, does deal damage to enemies too.
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Push/Pull Object - Grab onto an object and push or pull it to access more areas.
First Character Concept
Model Design :
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Bulky Figure
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Almost Naked with Rags covering private areas
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Busted Breastplate
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Scars all over body
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Purple hands with purple emissive radiation veins that fade as they move up the forearm
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Radiates a Purple Aura
Attack :
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Greatsword slash attack
Abilities :
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Devastate - Devastating attack sending out a shockwave forward damaging targets in a line.
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Battle Shout - buffs allies to deal bonus attack damage or debuffs enemy Armor
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Undying Rage - Apply a buff on all allies that last for n seconds (5?). If any of the allies die while this buff is active, they come back with a portion of hp (25%?).
Famine
First Character Concept
Model Design :
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Bone skinny figure
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sunken stomach
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radiating a black aura
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veins that radiate a green emissive color all over the body.
Attack :
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claw slash perhaps or using the Scales of Time to attack targets from ranged and perhaps just weaken the attack stat of the target he is hitting?
Abilities :
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Swarm of Locust - Locust cluster fires to target
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Plague - Black Bile Vomit, has an AOE
Final Character Concept
Abilities :
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Locust Swarm - Attack destructible objects that can be eaten by Locust or attack enemies
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Locust Teleport - get through past areas that are too tight to walk through, but are able to see through.
Death
Final Character Concept
Abilities :
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Glide - Glide over a distance and slightly go higher.
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Possess - Combat ability used to control enemies that are out of range but in sight. When the player leaves the possess, the enemy dies.
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Shroud - When active, shroud makes the enemy AI perception update be shorter range of detection.
First Character Concept
Model Design :
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Doll Body
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Little Boy
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Black Eyes
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Cracking
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Black Fingers
Attack :
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Fly at the target and rake at the ground with a scythe
Abilities :
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Trail of Hades - Death flies over the enemy targets and a black/blue mist/fog/smoke trails behind him and causes damage over x time.
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Wither - grabs target by the face and forces them to look into death's eyes dealing a few ticks of damage based on how successful the user is at inputting the spell
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Mist/Shroud- Death shrouds the area in a dark cloud or mist. The enemy army’s accuracy is reduced lowering the POW stat.
Levels
Fishing Village
The player begins on the docks of a town, guided by the voice of their ‘father’ to collect souls. Following the sounds of souls, the player will need to use their abilities to progress through the town and into a carnival on the other side. To get through the first obstacle they encounter, the player will have to use Famine’s teleport ability to get to the top of the building and break open a hole in the roof with their locust. Following the stairs down and exiting the building, they can destroy the main gate to the complex to access the town where they will follow a trail of souls to get to the other side of a car accident, by teleporting over them. The player will then be introduced to Conqueror's abilities with a character-swapping statue. Here the player will use a combination of Conqueror's tentacle swing and shooting to parkour over the roofs and get access to the carnival. Once inside the carnival, the payer will swap to War and use her abilities to smash things to get through obstacles such as the house of mirrors. Towards the end of the level, the player will finish with Death and use his abilities to get out of a house of horrors and gain access to the next level.
Swamp
The player starts at a multi-car accident, seemingly caused by as the player begins their journey through the swamp. The guard rail has been destroyed by the wreck, creating a pathway for the player to travel into the woods. Death glides between islands and obstacles before switching to Conqueror. The player will shoot down vines to open up the next part of the path. The player can continue along by swinging through trees before being blocked by some really thick vines. The player will then have to find the statue to swap to Famine and break through the vines with their locusts. The player must then find War's statue to break down walls and progress through the swamp. Once the Death statue is found, Death will sneak through and destroy any enemies standing in the way. The player can then swap back to Conqueror to swing through the remainder of the area before swapping back to Famine to clear the path for the four horsemen to steal an ambulance and drive into town.
Main Town
The main town is a focal point for the player and is, at its base, utilized in the wartorn town level as well. This town has been overtaken by chaos leaving people taking to the streets in fear.
The player starts by going through the diner as the character Famine. Once they teleport their way through to the backroom, they can use their locusts to break down the door and get outside. As they continue along, they switch to War and can bash their way into the library, where they have to move around bookcases to get to the upper floor and bust down to the road once again. From there, the player will go through the mechanic's shop as the character Conqueror and use their tentacles to get on top of the building. They can then swing across to the next building where they can drop down and work through little shops until they get to Star City Cinema. Here, they swap back to Famine and teleport through different theaters and make their way out the side door leading to the arcade. In the arcade, the player can possess arcade machines and blow them up as the character Death. Down the road, the player enters a church where they will have to glide through different construction railings to collect souls. Once done in the church, the player goes through the plaza to get to the cemetery. At the cemetery, the player can choose which character to play to progress through to the end of the level.
Cthulu’s Mind
The player enters into the Mind of Cthulhu where a mysterious force has begun to take a hold of Cthulhu’s mind. The player progresses to a doorway that has been overgrown by vines. The player changes to Famine to destroy the vines, with its locust, and clear any vines that have blocked the paths ahead. Once the player has progressed through the foyer and dining room, they come to a hallway that has floating lanterns. The player takes control of Conqueror to progress through the hallway. A room has been overtaken by enemies, which Conqueror must defeat in order to proceed. The player swings into a large shaft that drops them into a basement that has been flooded and overtaken by enemies. The player then controls Death and possesses any enemy standing in his way. After defeating all of the enemies and leaving the secluded basement a grave is open to the player. They must then jump into the grave where they are teleported to an attic that has been walled off. The player then changes to War who will then charge into any wall standing in front of her and strike down any enemy along the way. The player then charges into a wall that connects to a tall tower, which falls down to the floor below. War then comes upon a staircase that has been overgrown by vines, which will need Famine to use their locusts and remove the vines blocking the path. After enough souls have been collected, the player can unlock the soul door and continue to the next level.
Nightmare
The player begins in a dark room with platforms that appear to have been altered in Cthulhu’s mind. The player uses Death to pass through this dark expanse and open a door to the foyer. The player is met face to face with Life who has been behind the attack on Cthulhu’s dreams. As Death, the player will possess and defeat any enemy standing in his way. He continues into a study and up a staircase that leads to a room that has been turned upside down. The player uses Death to glide and jump onto various lanterns and reach a doorway that is at the top of the room. The player drops down into a small room that has a statue to possess Conqueror. As the player opens the door, they come into a Billiard room that has various running around the room. The player uses Conqueror to defeat all of the enemies in the room. When the player looks to the back of the room they see a painting hanging on the wall with lighting spreading from a crack behind the painting. As Conqueror, the player will use his bow to shoot down the painting. Once the painting has dropped, The player swings from pool cues with skewered on them to reach the ventilation system. The vent is too cramped for the other characters, so the player must use Death to traverse through the vent system. The player must find their way through a maze of vents until they reach Famine's statue that leads into the bathroom. In Famine, the player must make their way through the bathroom into the back of a toilet that leads into the pipes. The pipes take the player into the attic, where they control War to break through walls and reach a passage that takes the player to the courtyard. From the courtyard, the player controls Death to possess and sneak past the army that has formed in the courtyard. A soul door blocks the exit which the player must pay in souls to pass through and proceed to the final level.
Wartorn Town
When the player exits the nightmare they are placed back in the cemetery that they originally left in the town only this time the town has been riddled with destruction. The player has to go back through the town through a modified path. This level is a smash n' bash to collect souls so there isn’t much in the way of a playthrough description. At the end of the level, the player is presented with a cutscene of the horsemen all giving their souls and power to Cthulu.
Mechanic Documentation
Character Mechanics
Conqueror Abilites : Slow Time and Zoom How to : press and hold RMB to activate slow time/zoom and release to deactivate. Purpose : slow time to help aiming while in the air Other Blueprints : None Bow & Arrow How to : While Bow is out the mechanic has 2 input actions. The first input is a single click without holding LMB, this will knock the bow and with a second follow up click after the bow is knocked, the player can shoot the arrow. The second input is to press and hold LMB until the arrow is knocked and the player can then release it to fire the arrow allowing for high skill ceiling quick input. Purpose : Shoot enemies or objects to destroy them or make them fall. Other Blueprints : Breakable rock and Drop box both just are based on an overlap event that casts to the arrow to trigger the event. Grapple Swing / Pull How to : While tentacles are out press and hold LMB when a grapple point appears. If the HookPoint’s CanSwing? variable is true the character will connect with target and will get increased velocity in the direction the actor is “moving”, so use the movement keys to influence direction. If the HookPoint’s CanSwing? variable is false the player will be pulled to the HookPoint. Purpose : Traverse obstacles and, stay off the ground with style. Other Blueprints : BP_HookPoint - place where the player can hook. Grab Object How to : have tentacles out and press LMB when aiming at an actor that has tag “Grab” and if the object is pull-able it’ll pull it toward Conqueror, if it’s interactable it’ll just interact. Purpose : Interact with objects from a distance as long as there’s a clear line of sight to the object. Other Blueprints : None, but place tag Grab on whatever is grabbable.
War Abilites : Charge How to : Hold LMB and aim with crosshair to set direction. Purpose : Charge into objects to shatter them, does deal damage to enemies too. Other Blueprints : Breakable wall blueprint Sword How to : While sword is out, press LMB to swing sword, can be pressed in succession to do a combo. Purpose : Attack Enemies. Other Blueprints : None. Push/Pull Object How to : RMB to activate and RMB to deactivate; move once activated to push/pull object Purpose : Traversal ability that allows for manipulating terrain. Other Blueprints : Any blueprints from the Pushable Objects folder Climb How to : Jump up to a climbable ledge, once on use A and D to shimmy left and right. Use W and S to climb up or down from the ledge. Purpose : Traversal ability that allows for manipulating terrain. Other Blueprints : set actor to block the ledge channel and overlap climb channel.
Famine Abilites : Locust Birth How to : Passively create locust in exchange for LP (will not create more than the limit of locust and can only create if LP is available) Purpose : Used as a resource for other abilities. Other Blueprints : None Locust Swarm How to : Click LMB to activate and again to deactivate; aim with crosshair Purpose : Attack destructible objects that can be eaten by Locust or attack enemies Other Blueprints : Destructible Locust objects and needs tag “Locust” Locust Poison How to : Click LMB to activate and again to deactivate; aim with crosshair Purpose : Makes AI go into a rage mode attacking everything in the vicinity foe, or ally, alike. Other Blueprints : Enemy AI Locust Teleport How to : After Locust Swarm is activated press RMB to lerp to location Purpose : get through passed areas that are too tight to walk through, but are able to see through, and to traverse large distances that wouldn’t normally be possible. Other Blueprints : Need at least 1 locust to be able to perform.
Death Abilites : Glide How to : Hold Spacebar Purpose : Glide over a distance and slightly go higher too; used to pass pitfalls. Other Blueprints : None Possess How to : Press LMB to go into a ghost form, this ghost form will allow you to walk faster, walk into enemy AI or Arcade machine to posses. Use LMB to attack and RMB to Thrash the enemy from the inside. Death will leave the AI once he is out of energy. Purpose : Combat ability to be able to control enemy AI for Combat and to help evade from them. Other Blueprints : Enemy Base or any children of it. Death Gun How to : Click LMB to Shoot; aim with crosshair. (Cost 3 LP) Purpose : Attack Enemies from afar. Other Blueprints : None. Shroud How to : press left CTRL to activate and press again to deactivate Purpose : makes the enemy AI perception update be shorter range when in it, but will activate if the enemy AI come in contact with the Shroud Other Blueprints : None
Player Mechanics
Object Highlight : Create Post Processing Volume Rendering Features → Post Process Materials → Add to Array → Add HighlightMat Set Infinite Extent (Unbound) to True Open Level Blueprint and create a reference to the Post Processing Volume. Cast from the GetPlayerCharacter() to BP_Player From BP_Player create a reference to each highlight color (Type Highlight from pin. From highlight pin → MakeWeightedBlendable(Weight: 1) → MakeArray() → MakeWeightedBlendables → SetMembersInPostProcessSettings() Plug the Post Processing Volume Ref into SetMembersInPostProcessSettings()
Character Footsteps : Add tag to SM Dirt Mud Water add Heavy tag (if heavy, if light don’t add tag) Concrete Hardwood
Post Mortem
What Went Right
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Modular Shop - The shop modularity turned out amazing, I am very proud of how I created it. I made it in pieces. The shop widget itself was it’s own widget that I hooked up to the pause menu and I created a widget base for all possible upgrades. The upgrades get added to each widget and I set the modular values inside the shop widget. I want to create all future systems to be modular in this sense so that planning for the future may be an easy feat.
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Fixing Save/Load System - The previous milestones I was heart broken because all the hard work figuring out how to create my save/load system felt as though it was in vain. I was about to give up on it when I decided to rework the one aspect that was giving me trouble in total. I had problem with reloading the coordinates the player was at which was problematic because we also needed to know which level the player is in. This required me to load the level, and then load all the saved values. I had well over 30 different inputs to save and load between. It was a lot to save and load as well as manage. Fixing this was one of my happiest moments throughout the project.
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Integrating Shop Upgrades - While the shop was created itself it did not mean that it worked right out the box. I had to actually go into each upgraded segment and create values that each upgrade could scale off of, or a flag that prevented them from utilizing the specialized abilities until they are purchased. The war combo system, conqueror arrow pierce, Famine alternate attack, and death’s shroud.
What Went Wrong:
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Push/Pull VFX/SFX - This was such a pain to integrate and I struggled with the event firing as I wanted it to. It would either play the sound/visual effect one time or continually without a break in between so it was inaudible sounds and the visual effect was overly stimulating. I think I’ll have to add this to the movement event with a do once and a delay inside of it and give the base for moveable objects a particle that is visible only when moving instead of spawning one.
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Plague of Lepers - This was a bit ambitious to try and achieve within this milestone as it was practically a brand new feature, I had part of it created from the second month in GSI, but had never finished expanding upon it until this month. The plan was to have them follow conqueror and attack enemy AI as they get near them. I decided this will be a feature we will have for when we publish the title, as it’s still very relevant to the gameplay.
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Energy Pulse Indication - This was very annoying to work with. I will have to eventually rework how it displays the energy to the player as the method I tried did not work. I intended for the current value to pulse as it would catch the players attention as it progressively goes up over time. I tried using animations for this, and the animations looked amazing, but the problem was it wouldn’t update the widget like it should. I will have to generate the same effect within the blueprint using a timer instead of the animations which is unfortunate, but it isn’t the end of the world.
Conclusion:
This final milestone had me concerned for many reasons. Just as everyone probably felt, we all didn’t think we had completed what we wanted. I was concerned the levels wouldn’t get their assets integrated fully, which was valid and didn’t quite happen in the short time frame, and that the assets being created were not going to be completed; I think only 1 actually is finished. I was pleasantly surprised by how well my team was able to integrate the assets they had. It turned out really nice for the short period of time we had to achieve the asset integration and I am grateful for all the hard work everyone put into the game. I wish our designated artists put more time into his craft as it felt like his pace slowed down dramatically after the second week. I don’t feel like he understood what little time we actually had to implement his assets, and he didn’t make a single UI asset we needed. Frankly, I would have rather him created the UI assets as that we more integral to the games affordances. Unfortunately we still have assets that are not our own and likely are not free use, so we need to get them replaced before we can even publish our game. I had many ups and downs this project, more ups than downs, but that being said I don’t think I could have asked for a better team; I know we had dealt with a lot individually and together. At the end of the day, I still am very proud of everyone’s work and effort. Thank you Team Funny Bunny for this amazing experience.