Games Flow
For this year, my group and I will be creating a Card using Unreal, we will also be using the CCG toolkit to create the game which contains the basic functions we need to complete the project.
For our project we will be creating a Cyberpunk themed deck which consists of two Factions: Punks and Mafia (The faction names may change during development). Each faction specialises on different abilities and buffs; right now we have two special cards for each faction and we will be adding more later on.
To start the factions off, I will be listing the theme of the factions. For Punks they will be Anarchist/Chaotic themed; as it suggests, they like to cause mayhem to the opponent's deck, this includes stealing enemy resources to use for their own as well as revealing a certain enemy cards for a certain amount of time. As for the Mafia deck, they are "Family" themed, in layman's terms, they take care of one of their own! This means that each loyalist from the deck can be spawned multiple times from their deck to help out with the enemy.
Each faction has different types of focused attack; for punks, it is brute force, an attacker that can dish out major, but not too significant damage to the enemy, they are as loud as they can be! Mafia is the opposite in this regard, they are stealth focused i.e. hiding any revealed cards that the enemy revealed as well as distracting an enemy attacker from attacking for a certain amount of time for one round (this is also subject to change; balancing issues).
Each have unique stim specialty that buffs cards to increase offense and defense. For punks is focused on the offensive; buffs to increase the overall attack damage as well as giving weaker attacker cards to "flurry" their attacks. Mafia is on the defensive stance; buffs to increase the overall health of their attackers as well as decreasing the time for the hacking special card.
The factions have unique special cards that they can play, these can only be played once and cannot be "resurrected" from the graveyard deck (may also be subject to change). Each of them can attack and debuff the opponent. Firstly, I have listed out the two special cards for each faction; we will add more during development. For the punks' first special card, a viral card that takes up the opponent's space do decrease the enemy cards that can be played. For the second special card will be The Brute. The Brute will cause very significant damage to the opponent if left alone and not eliminated quickly.
The mafia's special cards consists of hacking and temporary immunity. The first one to be shown is The Hacker, this one can render enemy cybernetics to be less effective in combat as well as stealing their health and transferring onto themselves (this will be balanced in future development). As for the second special card, temporary immunity just does what it says on the tin: no damage can be done from the enemy, however it can only be played for one round; useful if the enemy has played The Brute.
The descriptions listed out for the cards and their factions are merely a concept and have only entered their first development stages. Obviously, they are subject to change, and will be refined as well as renewed during the duration of this project. For the next task, my team and I will be creating the 2 page pitch.
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Two-page Pitch
My team and I have recently developed a two-page pitch that outlines the project and what the finished product will deliver. We have worked together as a team to give an idea of what the concept of the project is and what the will be about. We have also taken upon the liberty of adding unique selling points that we believe will make the game stand out. The title of the project is still TBD; once we have finished the final concepts, then we can work on the project title. The link for the project pitch is as shown below...
2 Page Pitch link: file:///C:/Users/jsiri/Downloads/2PgPitch%20(1)%20(1).pdf
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
GDD Concepts and Final GDD
This is our first GDD, everything is purely concept and a work in progress. However, this is what our team is using as a basis for our other improvements and final GDD outcome. For now here are the two links for both GDDs the first is the concept and the second will have the rules and abilities listed down, we plan to make some other changes for these as well.
GDD Concept 1: file:///C:/Users/jsiri/Downloads/GDDCardGame.pdf
GDD Concept 2: file:///C:/Users/jsiri/Downloads/GDDCardGame2.pdf
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Card List
Here is the card list, originally, I was going to make these at a word document, but once I used excel it was much easier to make especially the mana curve. This list may go through a few changes as feedback is received, we plan to improve other areas too like the mana curve to accurately portray both aggro and control for both punks and mafia respectively. Here is the link below...
Card List and Mana Curves: https://uwloffice365live-my.sharepoint.com/:x:/g/personal/21405210_student_uwl_ac_uk/EYT6a6nmt8VPlIWTE6D6LVoBIUum8TnXCWfHcYmzQiuXQQ?e=V5aPQY
Card List and Mana Curves (Alternative Link): https://uwloffice365live-my.sharepoint.com/:x:/g/personal/21405210_student_uwl_ac_uk/EYT6a6nmt8VPlIWTE6D6LVoBIUum8TnXCWfHcYmzQiuXQQ?e=V5aPQY
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Peer Review Questionnaire
The link below is the questionnaire for our game, we have updated it to fit the current state of the alpha build. The questionnaire was made using Google forms. This was quick and simple to use, we also found it quite intuitive in terms of counting the average of people's answers. We found out that the results were 'mixed' in terms of answers some found too hard, and some found it too easy. Below is where you can see for yourself how the results vary from people to people.
Questionnaire: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScLr8n3PvbtocNhSq_odxx7-3VrWS-JYoh9voV8Ad3JTSsJQg/viewform
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Gameplay Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChCfG8UZVDY&feature=youtu.be
Making of the CCG...
For this part of the module, I will be presenting the alpha build of the game, outlining some of the scripting, implementing the art and icons within the game as well as the final stages and improvements made post-beta. I will also be presenting the Gameplay Video here, as well as some In-Game Screenshots and Images of the Arena, Cards, and Icons created by our art team.
Developing the Alpha
Before getting to the Beta stages of the game our team, we had to develop an alpha to accommodate our needs. The main developments we implemented were applying the basic structure of the game. For this stage, we applied the art and the card list to our game, we've also taken the liberty of applying a basic mana curve for the game. Although it was fairly unbalanced, it will be altered as further development continues to better suit the overall and balanced gameplay.
These were the placeholder images used during the development stages
Further Developments: Adding a new ability
The next step for the project requires our knowledge of unreal scripting - adding new abilities required this trait. The new ability I was going to add was "Adding 1 Attack to friendly Minions". Scripting can be a challenge for our team but with the knowledge we have gained from the documentation and other learning materials, we have managed to implement the ability to our game.
At first, the ability has to be called, so creating a function called 'Ability - Minions Gain 1 Attack' was necessary to creating the foundation of the ability. After the ability was called, we created 2 indexes one an object: 3D Object named 'CallingCard' and integer called 'AbilityIndex'. The calling card will then be connected to the board state and the 'Break Ability_Struct' node. Connecting the Board state to the Loop as an array, It will now identify 'MINION' cards to increase the ability. That loop is then connected to a true or false node and if it selects the 'TRUE' value, whatever card has the ability will have the chance to increase the attack by one.
Further Developments: Adding a WEAPON
Before adding the scripting to the weapon, we must apply a new enum to the card type list. This is because Weapons are a new and improved card type. On the content browser > CCG Toolkit > Blueprints > Enums > Gameplay_Enums and opening CardType_Enum will reveal all the enums relevant to the game's card types, clicking 'New' will add a new Display Name that will be named 'W e a p o n'. Adding the new enum isnt the final stage of this process however, more steps need to be taken in order for the card type to show up during gameplay.
To make the card show up in the game, editing the card the Card Placement, on the Comment section of the of the Construction Script, we added a new boolean called bWeapon, it was then attached to the compile supported card types node. After doing so, the compile supported card types now needs a new pin for the make array node, adding a new node and new select node, selecting the true value to be 'W e a p o n' and connecting the newly added bWeapon boolean to the index will implement the new card type into the game.
After doing these steps, it is now time to script in the Weapon cards into the game. First in order was to add new nodes to the CardInteraction_Function Library. They can be seen on the Gallery above. Basic weapon scripts consists of the weapon and player taking damage when it attacks a card, has charge, and has it's own separate card placement tile.
This newly added placement tile will be labeled 'Weapon' in the arena (Arena_Classic will be used in this case) and this is where this specified card type will be placed. Since it was already added into the game through the Card Placement, it's only a matter of copying and pasting the other placement tiles and unticking the boxes excluding the Weapons through the supported card types. For the final step, setting player one's player index to 1 and player 2 to index 2 will allow both players to place weapons on their respective tiles.
Further Developments: Arena Setup
Arena Setup is one of the more simple things to implement into the game. For the Arena we used assets from Soul: City pack, specifically a building and a bridge, another asset used was a 'road' texture made in Photoshop and applied it onto a plane poly. The arena used was 'Arena_Classic' in this instance. The game fully functions as expected with one major setback: the second player's perspective. When playing as player two, the placement tiles will not show up for them, therefore the only solution was to place a physical placement moved slightly underneath the original placement tiles. Above are the images taken from the engine demonstrating the placement of the physical tiles, they were named 'Marker'
Concept Art
Arena Buildings concepts
For the Concept art, we had an array of arena ideas to give the game. Our art team made Maya models of the concept buildings. Due to technical issues with the Maya models, we were unable to implement textures onto the building through Unreal so we have decided to use the Soul: City pack instead. For the illustrations, our art tea also decided to give the game the proper aesthetics, therefore the proper art is needed for the game to fit the overall look, the cyberpunk look is what out team strive to achieve, most of the art will be hand drawn and then drawn digitally after the process has been completed. Above is the gallery of the concept art that will be finalised as further developments goes. The drawings consist Card Backing art, The Arena and the Card Art itself.
Art Concepts
Final Designs
Card Art
The images opposite are some of the final designs for the card art. We have delved into the cyberpunk-esque aesthetic as well as post-apocalyptic and neo-noir aspect. A variety of designs is exactly what we strived to achieve. More details can be found within our FINAL GDD (See link above). As you may have noticed, some of the card art do not have the same exact art style, this is because they are simply STOCK IMAGES found using Google image search. We decided that some of the art will have taken up time constraints for our team and the game will not be finished within the expected outcome
The best solution was to find some images within the internet to reduced such constraints, however we plan to use as much original art as possible without having to sacrifice too much relying on Google Images. The artwork we found needed to fit the theme of the game, using simple Photoshop tools and techniques, the art team was able to redesign and filter the images to make it blend within the game. With that in mind, the game will now have the appropriate images for the overall card art.
the images found and used for the game will referenced down below.
Arena
As noted previously, the arena concept caused some technical issues within the engine, the maya textures would refuse to appear once imported, so our team has decided the best course of action was to use a 3rd party product for the arena. we decided to use Soul: City. The perfect aesthetic has since been achieved without having to sacrifice with a messy look for the game.
Card Backing & Frames
Icons and Logos
Font Samples
These are the Card frames, backing, logos and icons. We thought it'd be appropriate to use these logos and icons to our game to fit the sci-fi aesthetic as well. The fonts we used were 'Cataclysmo' and 'Excluded' The Main Menu fonts consist of 'Excluded' and the card font consist of 'Cataclysmo'. These designs were created by our art team with a minor adjustments made by yours truly!
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Screenshots & Gameplay Video
Here is the Gameplay video, the link is listed down below...
Here is a screenshot of 13 images taken from the game, ranging from the deck builder, cards, board as well as general gameplay.
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Appendix
Feedback Response
Below is the link for our Peer Review response, we have done 2 pages of the more major key points that need (or don't need) changing. Some we agree with and have recently been addressed post-beta, and some we do not. I have recently discovered most of the points we both angree and disagree with are mainly based on balancing, we have provided more in-depth response for the game whether the game needs updating or not. Click the link below:
Feedback Response: file:///C:/Users/jsiri/Downloads/Feedback%20Response%20(1).pdf
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Credits
John Sirilan: Developer, General Documentation
Joshua DaSilva-Monteiro: Artist/Concept Artist, General Documenation
Kyran Rai: Artist/Concept Artist, General Documentation
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
References:
HD wallpaper: street, art, artwork, digital art, futuristic city, darkness (n.d.) Available at: https://www.wallpaperflare.com/street-art-artwork-digital-art-futuristic-city-darkness-wallpaper-cvfkb (Accessed: 24 October 2020).
HD wallpaper: city lights wallpaper, car video game screenshot, night, futuristic city (n.d.) Available at: https://www.wallpaperflare.com/city-lights-wallpaper-car-video-game-screenshot-night-futuristic-city-wallpaper-hxm (Accessed: 24 October 2020).
HD wallpaper: night, artwork, futuristic city, cyberpunk, science fiction (n.d.) Available at: https://www.wallpaperflare.com/night-artwork-futuristic-city-cyberpunk-science-fiction-wallpaper-cuhbh (Accessed: 24 October 2020).
HD wallpaper: digital art, Photoshop, concept art, futuristic, futuristic city (n.d.) Available at: https://www.wallpaperflare.com/digital-art-photoshop-concept-art-futuristic-futuristic-city-wallpaper-cufgg (Accessed: 24 October 2020).
HD wallpaper: cyberpunk, neon, futuristic, science fiction, neon lights, futuristic city (n.d.) Available at: https://www.wallpaperflare.com/cyberpunk-neon-futuristic-science-fiction-neon-lights-futuristic-city-wallpaper-zgdvq (Accessed: 24 October 2020).
HD wallpaper: digital art, futuristic city, artwork, science fiction, fan art (n.d.) Available at: https://www.wallpaperflare.com/digital-art-futuristic-city-artwork-science-fiction-fan-art-wallpaper-cwkkg (Accessed: 24 October 2020).
HD wallpaper: cyber, science fiction, digital art, concept art, cyberpunk (n.d.) Available at: https://www.wallpaperflare.com/cyber-science-fiction-digital-art-concept-art-cyberpunk-wallpaper-udwyl (Accessed: 24 October 2020).
HD wallpaper: 3D city game wallpaper, colorful, science fiction, abstract, helmet (n.d.) Available at: https://www.wallpaperflare.com/3d-city-game-wallpaper-colorful-science-fiction-abstract-helmet-wallpaper-tqyw (Accessed: 24 October 2020).
HD wallpaper: black and red car, artwork, futuristic city, science fiction (n.d.) Available at: https://www.wallpaperflare.com/black-and-red-car-artwork-futuristic-city-science-fiction-wallpaper-jpj (Accessed: 24 October 2020).
HD wallpaper: cyberpunk, purple, fantasy art, city, fantasy city, concept art (n.d.) Available at: https://www.wallpaperflare.com/cyberpunk-purple-fantasy-art-city-fantasy-city-concept-art-wallpaper-cvfaq (Accessed: 24 October 2020).
HD wallpaper: red full-face helmet, women, digital art, cyberpunk, futuristic (n.d.) Available at: https://www.wallpaperflare.com/red-full-face-helmet-women-digital-art-cyberpunk-futuristic-wallpaper-sbqao (Accessed: 24 October 2020).
HD wallpaper: night, cyberpunk, futuristic city, artwork, digital art, concept art (n.d.) Available at: https://www.wallpaperflare.com/night-cyberpunk-futuristic-city-artwork-digital-art-concept-art-wallpaper-pvrwe (Accessed: 24 October 2020).
HD wallpaper: digital, digital art, artwork, neon, lights, neon lights, pink (n.d.) Available at: https://www.wallpaperflare.com/digital-digital-art-artwork-neon-lights-neon-lights-pink-wallpaper-udybi (Accessed: 24 October 2020).
HD wallpaper: man in hat illustration, science fiction, cyberpunk, artwork (n.d.) Available at: https://www.wallpaperflare.com/man-in-hat-illustration-science-fiction-cyberpunk-artwork-wallpaper-ppwgz (Accessed: 24 October 2020).
Lacuteanu, M. (n.d.) Gangs of the World #4. Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/422986590000430182/ (Accessed: 16 January 2021).
Stylianides, T (2013) Gang. Available at: https://www.deviantart.com/sttheo/art/Gang-361731783 (Accessed: 16 January 2021).
Peyravernay, C (n.d.) Gepetto. Available at: https://cedricpeyravernay.artstation.com/projects/4Xzzn (Accessed: 21 January 2021).
Fisher Z.G. (2013) Cyberpunk Boxer. Available at: https://www.deviantart.com/zgfisher/art/Cyberpunk-Boxer-374180653 (Accessed: 21 January 2021).
Sergei Torbinsky (n.d.) Available at: https://splintercell.fandom.com/wiki/Sergei_Torbinsky (Accessed: 21 January 2021).
Pillon, K (2014) CyberWestern. Available at: https://www.deviantart.com/klauspillon/art/CyberWestern-428940163 (Accessed: 16 January 2021).
Schleger, K (2010) Cyborg. Available at https://www.deviantart.com/odinoir/art/Cyborg-191615849 (Accessed: 21 January 2021).
Mikezzzzz (2020) Cyborg Bodyguard. Available at: https://www.deviantart.com/mikezzzzz/art/Cyborg-Bodyguard-848209082 (Accessed: 15 February 2021).
naughty_dog (2011) Uncharted 3 concept art – Agent. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/naughty_dog/5509886170/in/album-72157626096451321/ (Accessed: 21 January 2021).
Mohrhauser, M (2014) Boss4 DrMohrhauser. Available at: https://www.deviantart.com/mitchellmohrhauser/art/Boss4-DrMohrhauser-480127405 (Accesse: 21 January 2021).
Kim, S (2015) ninja.m. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/aoy82 (Accessed: 16 January 2021).
Battlefortess (n.d.) Available at: https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Battlefortress (Accessed: 16 January 2021).
Lee, P (2015) the support team. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/VJo8P (Accessed: 21 January 2021).
Sanders, J (2019) Attack Jeep. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/dO9YX3 (Accessed at: 16 January 2021).
Sanders, R (2017) Yakuza Club Barman. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BRGzRryFsXb/ (Accessed: 15 February 2021).
Epic Games (2018) Soul: City. Available at: https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/soul-city (Accessed: 11 November 2020)
Game sound, bright sparkle or twinkle tone, positive, gain award or achievement 6 (n.d.) Available at: https://www.zapsplat.com/music/game-sound-bright-sparkle-or-twinkle-tone-positive-gain-award-or-achievement-6/ (Accessed: 18 January 2021)
Science fiction gun blast, single shot 3. (n.d.) Available at: https://www.zapsplat.com/music/science-fiction-gun-blast-single-shot-3/ (Accessed: 18 January 2021)
Heavy sword impact, fast whoosh into wood hit with a thud and loud cracking sound. Version 3 (n.d) Available at: https://www.zapsplat.com/music/heavy-sword-impact-fast-whoosh-into-wood-hit-with-a-thud-and-loud-cracking-sound-version-3/ (Accessed: 18 January 2021)
2 x swords hit, impact 2 (n.d.) Available at: https://www.zapsplat.com/music/2-x-swords-hit-impact-2/ (Accessed: 18 January 2021)
Dark magic spell, powerful electric energy whoosh, pass by 13 (n.d.) Available at: https://www.zapsplat.com/music/dark-magic-spell-powerful-electric-energy-whoosh-pass-by-13/ (Accessed: 18 January 2021)
Benelli, Nova, shotgun, pump action, 12 gauge, full cycle loaded mag (n.d.) Available at: https://www.zapsplat.com/music/benelli-nova-shotgun-pump-action-12-gauge-full-cycle-loaded-mag/ (Accessed: 18 January 2021)
Gameplay Video Link: https://youtu.be/lE3XcLs1zVE