Next up is a Fallout 3 quest.  I’ve already got a basic quest outline, and it looks like it’s going to be some good fun.  The Fallout world gives a little more freedom story-wise for me to play around with.  (Yes, I realize I’m being vague.  I’m just starting this one and don’t really want to give anything away yet, seeing as nothing is set in stone.)  The basic premise is solid, and tying it in with the rest of the game is going to be fun.

Ok, I have to get back to unpacking stuff, so I will post more later when I get some more work done.

The quest demo is coming along nicely.  I’ve never really done much with matinee before, so it’s a little of a learning experience for me, but it’s all very straightforward.  I haven’t really encountered any problems so far.  I kind of wish the version of SpeedTree that comes with the UDK would let me export the meshes so I could use them for a terrain deco layer, but no.   Thankfully the demo area is small, so I don’t think it will cause much of a performance issue if the background trees aren’t static meshes.

Ok, snack break is over.  Back to work…

So my little demo is coming along, as you can see.  I went ahead and messed around with SpeedTree, which I’m liking very much.  I’ve got more objects to get in place before I start really getting the lighting and terrain textures to their final states, but I wanted to show that I’ve been working on it.

(I just noticed that it looks like there is a face in that smaller headstone texture, which I totally didn’t do on purpose, but looks kinda freaky, so I’m leaving it.)

I think it captures the mood nicely, don’t you?

Speaking of zombies…

I’ve been working on my campaign.  Chapter 2 isn’t at the screenshot stage (unless you want to see a lot of empty rooms), but I’m also going back and doing some minor fixes on chapter 1 as I get more feedback.  So stay tuned to both here and my portfolio, as I’ll be posting some new stuff soon.

Yes there will be 2 doors, and the glow is just me testing a texture effect.

As you can see, I’m starting to rough out the starting area.  I’ve already imported a good number of the assets I’ll need, so things should be progressing steadily.  I’m aiming for having the level built (environment, lighting, etc) by the time I head out for GDC.  Then once I get back I’ll work on implementing the gameplay.  I’ve never done a non-FPS mod in Unreal before, but I’m confident I can figure it out.  I always do.

Level Design theory books are tasty.

She can be very insistent.  Probably gets it from the German Shepherd half.  That and her ability to open jars of mixed nuts if left alone with them for short periods of time.

Anyway… back to work now.

Chapter one of my campaign is now complete and ready for playtesting.  I’m happy with how it looks and plays right now, and after some feedback I’m sure I’ll be making some small changes, but it feels great to have the map at this stage.  Now I’m moving on ahead to the next chapter, which will be completely indoors.  I have to say that starting with an outdoor, rural map was a little challenging.  I think I realize why there are a lot more indoor, or at least enclosed urban maps in the game itself.

I’m really enjoying telling the story of this campaign, and I think everyone will be pleased with what’s coming up in the future chapters.  I have some panic events planned that should be a lot of fun.  I’ll post a sneak peek at the next chapter in the next few days.  In the mean time, check out the screenshots, and if you’ve got any questions about the campaign, feel free to leave a comment!