Third person adventure – Template for the Blender Game Engine , février 14th 2009  5

Hi,

here is a 3rd person adventure template for the Blender Game Engine that I started developing one month ago.
It is intended for beginners like me to use for educational purpose, but I also would be glad to see great games made from it.

I must add that I only discovered Blender in november and the Game Engine (+Python) in january so you may find that some things should have been made another way.
It’s a basic template, please add your own improvements.
I got much help on my thread, especially PhilB who really worked a lot on it.
Thanks to the people who contributed by submitting a script or answering some of my questions.

Please see .blend for credits.

ps : Don’t touch the red platforms.

DOWNLOAD

 

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d e s c r i p t i o n

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Features

  • Servo motion moves
  • Mouseview : camera rotating around the character
  • Character only rotates (using mouse) when moving.
  • The camera rotates independently when movement keys are not being pressed.
  • No collision camera setup
  • Friendly names are used for sensors/controlers/actuators better understanding
  • Basic Teleporters
  • Basic Jumpers
  • Right click zoom in first-person view (+moves = Mirror’s Edge like )
  • Death state (red cube = Game over message)Red platforms will kill you -> Death State -> Game over message -> Scene restarts
  • AutoJump (can easily be disabled. Instructions in the _ReadMe)

 

  • The player becomes transparent if the camera is too close (Alpha Ipo)

 

  • States

 

Notes

  • AutoJump : you can adapt the auto jump function to your level design by changing the value of the ‘high’ sensor. (Deciding whether the auto jump is activated or not (stairs = no jump, cliff = jump)
  • If you need to append the character, go to « Group > Full_Character » and then you should be able to append all the objects needed by the character, and use it in your own file

Known issues

  • Moving platforms : I got much help on my thread to solve this issue but I couldn’t find a good method to make the character follow the platform, walk and jump on it (problem with speed) like a basic platformer (cf Mario).

Any contribution would be appreciated!

 

Requested features

Things that could be added, any contribution would be really greatly appreciated :

 

  • Ledge Hanging like in Yo! Frankie
  • Swimming state

Credits

Credits are given in the _ReadMe (Text).

If you use this template please give credit to the developers (Names are given in the resource section, including PhilB and Cray – myself).

I hope you will find it useful.

Framerate, level design and efficiency , janvier 28th 2009  0


FIGURE 1. The visibility spectrum in a portal-enabled visibility engine. In camera A and C, the visibility spectrum is closed off using a door that disables the portal. In camera B, transition zones keep the player from seeing into the next area. The very small visibility spectrum in B lets us place a highly detailed statue that we could not afford in the other areas.

More informations on Eric Chadwick’s website :
Beautiful, Yet Friendly Part 1: Stop Hitting the Bottleneck
Beautiful, Yet Friendly Part 2: Maximizing Efficiency

States with the Blender Game Engine , janvier 28th 2009  0

Tutorials on BlenderArtists :
State Machine Tutorial: Latest Apricot Builds:Finished

How the State system can help you

Resources : Fire, Rain, Water, Seasons in the Game Engine , janvier 28th 2009  0

Night and Day


Day to Night in Blender from Andrew on Vimeo.

Some discussions on BA :
link

More resources needed.

Real-Time Fire in the Game Engine

particle basics, particle flame, particle fire and particle smoke.
Direct link to tutorials : link

Quotes from BA members :
for a random fire simply add an empty and make it so that each frame (like 1-10) it’s in a different location. then make it so it’s always playing the ipo and it’s always adding fire particles. hope this helps =D I’ve played with fires in the GE a lot.

Interactive storytelling , janvier 18th 2009  0

Interactive storytelling
photo by ktylerconk

I’ve found a very useful tool that can be used as a writing framework.
This tool is called SWAT and is provided by Chris Crawford.
After a quick look, I think i’ll give it a try for my next children’s book and game project.
You should take a look and find if there is something for you.

Notes taken from the website.

What is Interactive Storytelling?

Interactive storytelling is a new medium of artistic expression. It utilizes the greatest strength of the computer interactivity while drawing on the traditions of classic storytelling. The result is a unique experience where you play the protagonist of a virtual story. Interactive Storytelling provides all the drama and emotional complexity that one expects from a good story, and additionally invites you to influence the unfolding of the narrative according to your own thoughts and emotions.

Lot of useful informations in the rest of this entry