Twisted Guardians

As a final project for university student we were tasked with creating a vertical slice of a game to be showcased at GameX, the university showcase.

The Concept

As a team of five, we came up with a concept for a modularly built game set in a fantasy world filled with magic and mystical creatures. The player would take the role of a powerful mage and travel through the forest, defeating corrupted creatures and magic.

Animation

Aside from designing, my main task was animation. While the character and creature models were being sculpted, I created a set of custom rigs. Due to time constraints, the bird boss was later scrapped.

The biggest challenge was with the player character. The initial design contained a large amount of straps and accessories going across the body, along with a split skirt. This made the rig and later animations hard.

I added several supporting bones to the thighs to support the fabric and keep it moving properly with the legs. If I had the time or were to redo the rig, I would like to try out Unreal's cloth simulation as I believe this would have been a cleaner way to rig it.

Level Design

The level design went through several iterations before ending up at the final design. Initially, the tutorial and main level were going to be separated by an animated cutscene. However, due to time constraints and issues with other parts of the project that required more attention and time than initially planned, the levels were combined. Now the areas lead into each other without the need for a loading screen.

My aim was to create a visually interesting world for the player to explore and get lost in.

Character Animations

Critter Animations

Bickering Birds

Game Trailer