001: The Enigma Chronicles
The project was developed for my dissertation topic "Addressing and Mitigating Cognitive Bias with Serious Games", this game was made in Unreal Engine 5. In "The Enigma Chronicles" players embark on a challenging journey through a series of floating crystalline platforms, aiming to reach a designated endpoint while navigating various obstacles and hazards.
The duration for completing this project was two months. This project showcases my ability to understand a game engine and make a game from scratch.
Game Loop:
The game is divided into two parts: The tutorial part and the Time challenge. The tutorial part walks through different hazards which can be seen over the game like avoiding boulders, dodging spikes and jumping on platforms. It also helps in getting an idea of the respawn portal function. After the tutorial comes the timed challenge where players are made to complete the game in as minimum time as possible. The timer doesn’t reset when the players fall from the platform making them complete the game with fewer risks and fewer errors.
Project Gallery:
Rolling Boulder
Collecting Checkpoint
Spikes
Project Highlights:
The project was designed with the requirements of mitigating biases. This was achieved by using "Learning Mechanics - Game Mechanics" of the game and also a post game survey was conducted. The environmental hazzards introduced in the game like moving platforms, rolling boulders, spikes etc. had their own learning curve and also addressed biases.
Known Bugs/Future improvements:
There is a bug in menu interface which occurs when the game is paused and players head to controls page. This can be fixed by properly managing the menu system to keep track on which menu is drawn.
Future improvements could be adding audio cues to various hazzards which can also help in creating awareness. Another Improvement can be more UI added to the game which helps players to know which direction they need to go after respawning. Apart from that a new character model and more levels can be introduced to make the game fun and challenging.