CGMA Assignments

Each week Shane asked us to make an assignment with a very well defined theme and objective related to explore. I combined every assignment here so they are easy to navigate. For each week we should also create a reference board with PureRef.

Week 02 - Assignment

During the week 2 the objective was to make an Ancient Egyptian Tomb. Should be take inspiration on the movie “The Mummy”.

The goals for week 2 are:

• Make your own PureRef Reference Board
• Get more familiar building LINEAR spaces
• Start identifying key shapes
• Imagine a story or gameplay taking place
• Blocking out a simple level to move around in
• Continue getting familiar with Blueprint Character (ALS V4)

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Week 03 - Assignment

For the week 3 was requested to build a Jungle Temple Ruins based on games like Uncharted and Tomb Raider with a open spaces with linear path.

The goals for week 3 are:

• Make your own PureRef Reference Board
• Get more familiar building Semi - LINEAR spaces (Mixing Open and Linear)
• Think about Environmental Storytelling
• Imagine a story or gameplay taking place
• Blocking out a simple level to move around in
• Continue getting familiar with Blueprint Character (ALS V4)

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Week 04 - Assignment

On week 4 the theme was Floating City focusing on platforming and traversing. It was suggested that we used a different character, but he was very difficult to get on high positions, since he didn’t “jump” but could only float keeping the height. I took the decision to change the character to a robot that was repairing a exploded (?) space station.

Goals for this week’s assignment include:

• Make your own PureRef Reference Board.
• Blocking out a new level to move around in and the character can explore.
• Get more familiar with Platforming by blocking out spaces that require jumping.
• Make some unique compositions to show off a stylized environment.
• Try a new character. Let’s have fun with a new Blueprint.

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Week 05 - Assignment

At week 5 we started to create some documentation for what we would be designing and expanding on week 6. The documentation should be just one page outlining some important questions around the map.

After the document was done, we should be doing a mock-up of the footprint of the level. The idea was to keep things rough and focus on districts, landmarks and POI. The major objective was to understand the size

Goals for this week’s assignment include:

• Make a document outlining your one-page World Map idea (Includes reference)
• Create a more Open World Level where players can explore
• Create a mock-up level that shows the footprints of your world
• Design your different spaces that become Districts but keep detail minimal
• Concentrate on large elements rather than shiny details this week
• You’re free to use any character blueprint of your choice

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Week 06 - Assignment

During the week 6 we started to build upon the basic planning that we made during assignment for week 5. The idea was to outline and refine upon what was built on the last week by adding more details to interior and exterior.

Goals for this week’s assignment include:

• While you don’t need to submit any Pure Ref documents this time, continue to reference your sources to add personality and detail to your level.
• Create a believable space that allows players to explore both interiors and exteriors, giving them the freedom to choose their path.
• Develop distinct districts that evoke different feelings and have a cohesive visual style.
• Implement environmental storytelling elements that enhance the player’s understanding of the world.
• If possible, consider how the player would traverse outside of the main zone.
• Reflect on why you chose your specific character blueprint and ensure your level utilizes the character in a meaningful way.

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Week 07 - Assignment

This week we should focus on create a mission from the horror game. For this week I should focus on try to get more attention from people and try to make a good pitch using more imagery than text.

I tried to keep much more smaller and concise than the other weeks. Got some inspo from Demonologist and Phasmophobia, both games I have more than 30hrs of gameplay. My main focus on this was to think about the Valves and Air Locks that I could be creating through the level. Its veeeeeery straight forward with 2 long corridors, but I think they are necessary and make sense on the contexts. Test as first person, but also test as a third person. I don’t know which one is better on this case. I would love to know your opinion! On the pureref file will be the pitch with the used references

Goals for this week’s assignment included:

• Create a Powerpoint or image gallery describing the pitch of the mission
• Also include a chart in any style showing the intensity and beats
• Design a layout that allows you to create pacing
• Create a goal for the player that will help them beat the level
• Build a level layout that supports the mission’s objectives and narrative.
• Consider the flow of gameplay, the placement of key elements, and the overall progression of the mission.

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Week 08 - Assignment

For week 8 we had the opportunity to play with Scale, we should create a environment with a big scale to be explored by the player. It was suggested that we explored VFX/SFX. My personal goal this week was to befriend with Unreal. I got couple of bad weeks fighting with her, so I stepped back and took some time to learn more about her since not much of my Unity knowledge was passing. I took some time on the market place and got some packages from Humble Bundle. I got a package for procedural generate books piles and flags. On my last job I had to place all items manually on shelfs and this took me hours so you can imagine how happy I was with that! The map itself is very bland for gameplay, but the objective was to understand more about how to use/construct: materials, light, post processing. I did some alterations on the particles that I imported, it surprised me how much different the particle system are on Unreal compared to Unity. Also surprised me how little free particle packs are on the store.

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Week 09 + 10 - Assignment

Last assignment! The theme for this week was open, so I took the opportunity to combine the jungle temple and the sci-fi on the same map. I did some major modifications since giant spiders don’t feel a good transport inside a jungle, now we have some frog fairy spaceships . The map got really big, really fast, so will take some time to load, even if it can be easily sliced up for background loading, for now I don’t know how to sooooo 1 step at a time… Some areas need more attention still would improve a lot, specially on the combat zones, but without a real combat mechanics I feel like don’t have much to plan and play, so it is what it is.

Since it was my best work during this course, I did some recordings after the course ended and made a video about it.

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Contact Info:

E-mail: pamabeltrani@gmail.com

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