A simple walkthrough of the map I made in SDK (click the link to view)
Thursday, 16 May 2013
Expanding my experience with SDK
Due to my familiarity with Source as a map creator I've managed to start experimenting and expanding my idea. Originally there was little game-element to my planned studio work. But with SDK I can start to include triggers and objectives. For example I can lock off an area, requiring the player to explore his environment or pick up a key item before the area opens up allowing the player to continue.
In addition to this I am experimenting with particle effects and different func. utilities in the engine, allowing for more atmospheric maps. I can fill rooms with smokes, cause sound triggers to fill the environment to provoke responses in the player. I want a solid experience that is both audible and visual. This I feel is key to the concept I am attempting with my map. The effect on the player is much more powerful if I am invoking more than one sense at a time.
In addition to this I am experimenting with particle effects and different func. utilities in the engine, allowing for more atmospheric maps. I can fill rooms with smokes, cause sound triggers to fill the environment to provoke responses in the player. I want a solid experience that is both audible and visual. This I feel is key to the concept I am attempting with my map. The effect on the player is much more powerful if I am invoking more than one sense at a time.
Switching from UDK to SDK
In my Learning Agreement I said I was going to create my studio work in UDK, however I have decided to change to using the SDK. I am trying to create a floor of an apartment complex, where each apartment on this floor is an environmental example of an abstract concept, ie loneliness.
I was having too much trouble with UDK. I am unfamiliar with the engine and the tools at hand, even with the use of tutorials. I had trouble keeping things to scale, none of the interior environments looked how I wanted them to look and every step was taking twice as long as I had to keep rechecking guides as I went along. Using the SDK however is much easier. I have experience with it, which lets me experiment with new lighting methods, triggers and sounds. The familiarity of SDK means I can create a more enriching experience and hopefully provide more depth to the abstract concept I am trying to put across within my studio work. So that is why I am choosing to abandon UDK in favour of SDK. Obviously there are still downsides to this. I originally wanted to use UDK because graphically its a much more impressive engine. Its also more widely used in the industry and the computers at the university where I study all use it. However I feel the benefits of using the SDK outway the benefits of sticking with UDK.
I was having too much trouble with UDK. I am unfamiliar with the engine and the tools at hand, even with the use of tutorials. I had trouble keeping things to scale, none of the interior environments looked how I wanted them to look and every step was taking twice as long as I had to keep rechecking guides as I went along. Using the SDK however is much easier. I have experience with it, which lets me experiment with new lighting methods, triggers and sounds. The familiarity of SDK means I can create a more enriching experience and hopefully provide more depth to the abstract concept I am trying to put across within my studio work. So that is why I am choosing to abandon UDK in favour of SDK. Obviously there are still downsides to this. I originally wanted to use UDK because graphically its a much more impressive engine. Its also more widely used in the industry and the computers at the university where I study all use it. However I feel the benefits of using the SDK outway the benefits of sticking with UDK.
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