Well after a long 7 weeks of production, Infestation Z is complete and published. The game is now available on Itch.io ( https://the94gamer.itch.io/infestation-z ). Overall it has been a very up and down experience but in the end, I managed to complete a project that I am happy with.
Overall I feel that I did achieve what I set out to do from the start of the project. There are somethings that I managed to overachieve and add extra content into the game. The player has an extra gun that they can use (the sniper) and the shotgun was changed into an smg.
I also managed to add in two extra zombie types to the game; the fast zombie and the tough zombier.
Finally, the level looks more like an actual level that what I originally planned. The level has proper looking buildings with textures instead of the basic shapes that I planned on making.
However, there were certainly some parts that I wasn't able to implement or were changed. The zombie A.I changed from a mindless zombie that would roam randomly until it saw the player to an enemy that would constantly move towards the player. While I did end up using the Unreal behavior trees as planned, I would’ve liked to have expanded upon it more.
The biggest disappointment and most glaring issue is the lack of C++ code in my project. Initially I planned to make the project predominately from C++ code. Shortly after I realised that this would not be achievable to learn both Unreal Blueprints and C++ ocde so i changed to making almost all the game from blueprints and using only one or two functions of C++. I did manage to write a bit of C++ code that would speed up zombies for a given period before returning to normal speed. However, this function ended up being too problematic, causing the game to become unstable and cause it to crash randomly. Unfortunately, I was unable to find or fix the issue before the project was submitted, so it ended up being removed from the project.
Despite this, I have gained a lot of knowledge of using the Unreal Engine and using the blueprint system. From this project, I have managed not only learn the basic of it but have managed to build quite complex systems such as a multi-enemy wave system and an gun inventory system that stays the same upon player death and respawning. While it would've been hugely beneficial to learn more about c++ and actually have it inside a finished project, I did manage to learn the very basics of c++ in Unreal and can use this knowledge to learn more and experiment more with c++ in the future. Blueprints are also something that is relevant in the industry as well. Games such Brimstone Brawlers and Dead by Daylight either completely (Brimstone Brawlers Dev Team, 2019) or heavily use blueprints (Rowe, 2016)(Almo, 2018) within their games. This means that have knowledge in blueprints can still give me opportunities within the industry.
References
Almo (2018, December 10) Do industry professionals building games using UE4 use Blueprints at all, or do they use C++ exclusively? Retrieved from Stock Exchange - Game Development: https://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/166075/do-industry-professionals-building-games-using-ue4-use-blueprints-at-all-or-do
Brimstone Brawlers Dev Team (2019, August 10) In person discussion during the GO423 event at the Brisbane Powerhouse.
Rowe, B. (2016, October 26). Living Through Dead by Daylight. Retrieved from Unreal Engine: https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/developer-interviews/living-through-dead-by-daylight