(Logo done by Jason)
Around the middle of October Myself, Matt Lane, Jason Pook, Phillip Maclennan and James Cook decided to make a game that we could hopefully showcase it at Platform Expos. The idea for the game we came up with was inspired by a game called micro machines which is quite old now so we thought it would be good to create a modern version of it. The basic premise of the game is that it’s a table top racing game were you compete against friends (4 players) and attempt to stay on the track as long as possible. If you fall or get knocked off the track you get eliminated, the same happens if you fall too far behind the other racers. Once only one car was left that player would get a point and all the cars would respawn at the nearest checkpoint and the race would continue from there.
The initial map/track we came up with was a toy/model workshop, this idea came about because it would seem like this is where the cars was built. I think it’s a fun, faced paced, competitive game that is just easy to pick up and play. After we had decided on the basic premise of the game and some mechanics, like pick ups such as speeds boosts (only one implemented), glue, nail gun etc we started brain storming names. After quite a few name suggestions (some awful) we obviously ended up deciding on the name about Rush ‘n’ Crush, I think the name nicely summed up what the game is about. From here we got James (UE4 kid) working on the game mechanics in UE4 whilst the rest of us (3D artist guys) worked on an asset list:
Primary: RC Car, Truck, Mustang, F1 Car, Table’s (for racing on), Room (Walls & Floor), Pickup’s (Projectile, Glue, Speed Boost, Super-Size), Ruler (Maybe a couple of types), Nuts & Bolts, Cogs, Books, Vice, Lamp, Table’s (for racing on), Fan, Paint Brushes, Paint Pots (Different types), Pens & Pencils, Rubbers, Screwdriver, Mug, Chair, Bin, Hand drill, Cutting Board (Perhaps a decal), Magnifying Glass (Multi sub, Render glass in engine), Model Buildings, Glue pot, Alphabet cubes, Tires & wheels (For toys), Plants, Stool
Secondary: Tape measure, Scissors, Clothes, Empty boxes, Chest of drawers, Glasses, String, Bucket, Dust pan & Brush, Extension leads, Soldering Iron, Phone, Craft Knife, Plastic Tubes (Can drive through?), Sketch Pad, Tool Holder (Wooden frame), Tool Box, Parts of Toys (Can use bits of model cars), Bits of wood, Pencil Case, Hammer, Plyers, Saw, Hoover, Paint pallet, Glue Gun, Broom
Tertiary: Football, Needle and thread, Scrunched up paper, Computer screens, Clock, Empty Pots, Radio, Set Square, Cello tape, Cricket Bat, Xylophone, Fish Bowl, Cutlery, Sweets, Plug extension sockets, Toy Bike, Heater, Wire Coil, Ear Protection, Chisel, Slingshot, Ears phones, Ipod Quite a long list really for the amount of time we had to produce them, so understandably not all of them were completed. we each picked a car, I chose the F1 Car and a handful of assets to get started with. We didn’t get chance to use our custom cars in the version we displayed, we simply ran out of time. Instead we used the default UE4 buggies and had them as different colours which worked fine. We had free rein over our cars so decided to loosely recreate a McLaren MP4/4 for my F1 Car. Here is my F1 car:
It took me around 2 weeks on and off to complete and Matt helped me with the model a little bit. The other assets are created for the game were:
- Bins
- Books
- Broom
- Chisel
- Craft Knife
- Hammer
- Mug
- Nails
- Nuts and Bolts
- Rubbers
- Saw
- Stool
- Tool Box
- Plastic Tubes
- Wood Planks
Here is an in engine image of my assets:
Overall I was satisfied with the quality of assets I produced for the game, all are relatively low poly and fit for the purpose of the game. After a busy week of crunch time getting things produced and getting the level set we was ready to display it at platform.
The event ran on Friday 14th and Saturday 15th in the Horncastle building on the Hull College campus. There were some initial issues Friday morning like hauling a TV across there in the rain only to find one already there, losing the USB adapter to one of the controllers and some screen resolution issues. But after we had set up and got everything working the event went really well, better then expected really, we knew our game was fun but you can never be certain when you are the only ones playing it really. Probably the best feedback we was getting was from the younger audiences but also a lot of people between the age of 18-30 were enjoying the game as well. The game was been played pretty much none stop throughout the two days and one group in particular probably spent a good hour and half playing it . Here are some images and videos that Jason and Phil took:
The overall experience of creating a product and showcasing it at an event was really good and invaluable. Like getting to talk to other developers from independent studios like Blimbu Games and Smashed Crab Studios and seeing and playing their games. Even though there was interest in the game and people wanting to know if it would be released, it most likely won’t continue. This is due to software licensing and the fact we are all busy with work in our modules.
