UNREAL ENGINE 5 // SPRING 2024
Trailer for puzzle-platform video game Timber where players can experience first-hand the disastrous effect of what a world without trees might look like.
My Role
Project Manager, Lead Level Designer, Trailer Editor, Sound Designer
Project Length
13 Weeks
Team
Deliverables
Final Trailer, Annotated Portfolio
Nailing The Narrative
Timber is set in the not so distant future where rogue robots have cut down the majority of Earth’s trees. The story depicts the impacts of deforestation through a compelling narrative and immersive environments. To properly convey this message, we experimented with different stories and endings to identify which narrative connects best to our goal of demonstrating the consequences of a complete loss of trees.
Visual Direction
To ensure the right look and feel for the environment, a variety of online images were sourced for inspiration of different colour schemes for the game’s overall aesthetic. These colours were considered, but ultimately discarded as they made the environment feel apocalyptic, not toxic as was intended.
Direction One
“Too cyberpunk”
Direction Two
“Too similar to inspiration game Inside”
Direction Three
“Too dystopian”
Direction Four
“Too hellish”
Creating The Soil Erosion Effect
Throughout the game, the player encounters a variety of environmental hazards such as soil erosion, floods, acid rain, water pollution, and animal extinction from the lack of trees. A major contribution of mine was creating the soil erosion effect, which can be seen repeatedly throughout the trailer. All footage featuring this effect in the trailer was shot as real-time gameplay.
“I used Unreal’s built in fracture system to divide the base 3D models used for the ground into hundreds of smaller pieces. The breaking was controlled by a blueprint provided by Unreal called FS_MasterField. From there, I used a trigger to spawn the masterfield which moved horizontally across the floor at a set speed, giving the effect that the ground is breaking under the players feet.”
Creating The Soil Erosion Effect
Throughout the game, the player encounters a variety of environmental hazards such as soil erosion, floods, acid rain, water pollution, and animal extinction from the lack of trees. A major contribution of mine was creating the soil erosion effect, which can be seen repeatedly throughout the trailer. All footage featuring this effect in the trailer was shot as real-time gameplay.
“I used Unreal’s built in fracture system to divide the base 3D models used for the ground into hundreds of smaller pieces. The breaking was controlled by a blueprint provided by Unreal called FS_MasterField. From there, I used a trigger to spawn the masterfield which moved horizontally across the floor at a set speed, giving the effect that the ground is breaking under the players feet.”
Constraints
The original goal of the project was to complete a fully playable game, however after considering these constraints, it was determined a teaser trailer was a more realistic goal for the scope of the project.
Unreal Engine
First time using Unreal Engine.
Visual Assets
Limited experience with creation of visual assets and 3D modelling for games.
Scope
Short deadline to complete the project.
Ressources
No budget, only a team of two.
Benefits of Real-Time
One benefit of working in a real-time engine is the opportunity for creative experimentation. When editing this trailer in Premiere Pro, I used a mix of gameplay and environments built specifically for the trailer. The last shot featured the games antagonist, a human-made robot responsible for cutting down trees. While exploring different camera angles, I had the idea to incorporate the support beams in the foreground to create a seamless transition from our character running through the warehouse to the reveal of the antagonist, ensuring a cohesive flow.
Key Learnings
Unreal Engine 5 Pipeline, Blender Texturing, Adobe After Effects, Video Editing, Sound Design
This project was a significant challenge and succeeded in pushing me well outside of my comfort zone. Despite not completing the goal of a fully playable game, it was gratifying to see the project through to completion while gaining invaluable experience with a new game engine. I developed a solid understanding of working in Unreal Engine and feel better prepared to undertake a similar project in the future.
Like What You See?
Check out some of my other projects.
Reclaimed Playtime
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A young blind adult is having a hard time sustaining a relationship because all his girlfriends die.