Battering Knight
Animator, Programmer
Unreal Engine 4, Maya
This is a demonstration project, a proof of concept prototype rather than a complete game due to limited time and manpower. I utilized animation sets from Mixamo, then animated new actions for the knight to achieve the intended gameplay. This project helped me to learn animation pipeline from Maya to Unreal, and animation setups within Unreal.
Gameplay
The core gameplay of this game revolves around “breaking through obstacles.” The player character, a valiant knight that does not yield to any obstacle, will charge headlong to his destination like a battering ram. But there will be different kinds of obstacles that require different methods to overcome.
A slender object can be cut through with his sword, but a bulky one needs to be bashed open by his shield.
A broken bridge could be jumped over with a sprint, but if the knight chooses to lay low, he can crawl through the tunnel underneath the bridge.
Lastly, the deadly ballista is constantly firing toward the knight, he can block the bolts with his shield, or doge it by jumping or crouching. The ballista is destroyable, like most objects in the game.
Idle animation recieves full damage
Damage is reduced during attacking animation
What is important to this straightforward gameplay is the interaction between the different actions. While attacking (slash or bash), the knight is unable to move, but he will receive less damage due to positioning the shield to cover his body during the animation, and a different “damaged” animation will play to indicate lower damage received.
While blocking, he can block any attack around the shield at the cost of mobility, but they can freely crouch down while blocking to enter a lower blocking position to counter attacks aimed at his feet.
A shield bash requires the strength of full-body; thus, the knight cannot perform it while crouching, but he can still effectively slash through an object in crouch stance, and quickly switch back to a defensive blocking stance.
In mid-air, the knight can re-balance his body to perform a plunging attack, destroying the ballista at a higher or lower position. The entire body is exposed to attack during this animation, thus he shall take full damage.
Original Anmations
A “Shield Bash” animation for breaking solid obstacles
A “Crouch Walk” loop to go under bridges/floors
A “Jump Slash” animation to break objects higher/lower position
Animation State Machine
One of the major challenges for this project is to set up a complex animation state machine that allows a smooth transition of animations in every scenario. I set up a throughout connection between most of the animations, and give them proper conditions to enter their states. Admittedly, it still could use some cleanups, but in its current state, it will allow a smooth prototype presentation without causing any game breaking bugs.