UpRising

Unfortunately, this project didn’t turn out as we had hoped, mainly due to scope planning issues. Even though the assignment was to create a vertical slice, we tried to do more than what was realistic for the time we had. While we already had some experience and had learned from previous mistakes in Pilgrim’s Path, we still ran into new challenges. Many tasks were things the whole team was doing for the first time, which slowed us down and left the project feeling imcomplete and unpolished.

It was our first time working with 3D and Unreal Engine 5, and the learning curve was steep, but the entire team came away with important and valuable lessons that will strengthen our future work.

Personally, where I feel I struggled the most was in Level Design. I wasn’t able to create an engaging level, which made the gameplay feel unfun, with poorly used mechanics and an uneven difficulty curve. This experience taught me that designing a level is much more than just creating a space for the player to move through, it’s about guiding the player, balancing challenge and reward, and making the most of the game’s systems. Looking back, I recognize these mistakes as part of the learning process, especially since it was my first time doing level design for a 3D game, and my knowledge of level design was still quite limited.

Where I felt I succeeded the most was in areas I had already gained experience with during Pilgrim’s Path, such as game balancing, content design, narrative, research, and other areas. Having a stronger foundation in these tasks allowed me to contribute more confidently and effectively to the project.

Note: This project was created as part of the 3D Game Project a university curricular unit, where students work in small team to develop a vertical slice of a 3D game using Unreal Engine 5.