P3: Make something that feels like this!
For your third project, you should create a simple 3D world game toy (as with P2, this is not really a game, since there are no objectives).
The project is due at 5pm on Friday Sept 27.
The world should be a large flat surface, which a texture of some sort on it so you can see the 3D space, distances, etc. The world should have some objects, such as a bunch of cubes, in it. In this way, it is similar to the simple world in Example 1-1 from the book (see the runnable example on Swink’s webpage). Unlike example 1-1, you should not use a 1st person view, but rather a 3rd person view of an avatar composed of a few primitive objects (spheres and/or cubes, for example). You can use a similar avatar as P1, or change it as you desire, but please stick to a few primitive shapes (i.e., no animated 3D models).
As with the first project, in this project you should focus on creating an avatar that can move around in the world, and jump on and off the cubes you’ve scattered throughout the world. The avatar should move around using a combination of the ASWD keys and the mouse, and use the space bar to jump (or do some other “in character” movement).
The main task of the assignment is to create a single avatar behavior that would be described by someone else as having one of the following characteristics:
- scared
- dreamy
- joyful
- aggressive
and be associated with one of the following creatures
- shark
- monkey
- meerkat
- yeti
Remember, atmospheric effects are secondary to the way the character moves and interacts with the world (and how the world reacts), so you should only use those effects to reinforce the feeling you are creating. You should structure your world to facilitate those interactions; holes to hide in, objects to be near, water to swim in, trees to climb.
Assuming that the behaviors and interactions convey the feel you want, you should use textures, graphical effects, and sounds (background sounds and/or sound effects), as you see fit: do whatever you can to create the most compelling experience for the player.
Unlike P1, you are free to use the physics engine if you want. However, you should carefully consider if you want to do that, or if you want to control the animations as you did in P1. The choice is yours (as is the responsibility!)
You will turn your project in two ways, as in P2 (on the blog, and on t-square).
Is it ok to use the SmoothFollow script (http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/153710/smoothfollow.html) from the standard Unity packages for our camera controls in 3D space? This is a JS script.
Yes, you can use scripts like that. Camera control is one of those things that is easy to do poorly, and hard to do well. If you want to do your own, go for it, but there is plenty to spend time on with this assignment without doing that yourself!