What Happened End of Week 2?

Hello

So, last week ended with the second class of my studies, the webinar covered an assignment overview and project planning. My project is essentially planned and ready for development. Which I technically started last week.

What Happened on Week 3?

I have realised recently that time does fly, one moment you're just starting the course, and in the next instant you're already three weeks in. This week was a bit uncertain. The webinar on Wednesday went over theoretical perspectives and methodologies. As soon as the recording goes live I will re-watch it and begin exploring potential research methodologies for my paper. I need to figure this out before end of week 4, as it may require me to add some data collection features within my project.

Also this week I have begun writing my Abstract as well as a gantt chart to help stay focused and on track for this module. I should have my Abstract done and written by the end of Monday next week, the gantt chart should be done by end of today. Then on Monday, or when the abstract is done, I will be able to move onto the next task which to my knowledge is the presentation.

23 SEP 2025

What's the Project?

The Project Unity Engine

In the Beginning

Hey everyone, here is an update on my master's programme. Today, I met with my learning supervisor for the course, and we had a nice lengthy discussion regarding my project and the programme aswell. He gave me a lot of great advice and pointers regarding the project. Even a base concept for the game which is easier and even better than my original plan.

The OG

So, I will explain what the orginal idea was before explaining the new. The orginal idea is simple, it was meant to be a survival game with building, fighting and surviving the enviroment. It was to be built within Unreal Engine. However plans have changed.

The Brand-New

Onto the good stuff. The brand, new, cooler project is a fantasy style, story-rich game which utlises a slow-time feature, presenting players with the perfect opportunty to take control of the scene and control their foes in this lovely story about a son on a quest for revenge and redemption.

This project is planned to be made within Unity Engine instead of Unreal, as I'm more familiar with Unity and so it'd be easier to create the project in the short amount of time given. With this new project in mind I do need to find a new research question for my master's written element.

The Team

This is a university project, however we do have the start of a small team. It's me, as the programmer and game designer. Then we have Tristan (my cousin) also know as TJ, as the 2D/3D artist, and another Game Designer.

The Progress so far

So far, I have managed to get a simple movement script up and running, with WASD and Jump mechanics. I've also managed to create the slow-time mechanic which works great. Just need to add more to the game to get enemies and players working together.

I think next development session, I may try and implement an attacking system, enemies and perhaps a tutorial system

And now on to TJ's work. He started working on a house building's exterior for one of the levels. All he has left todo is the roof and finer details on the exterior.

Next development session, TJ will be finishing the house and if there is more time he'll move onto working with one of the characters.

Conclusion

So, overall development is off to a great start. A few key features implemented, and the modelling of to as splendid start as well. I'm excited for this game to be ready for viewing.

17 SEP 2025

Welcome to "Behind the Masters"!

First Post Welcome

Hey everyone, and welcome to the first official journal entry for "Behind the Masters", this is a space where I will be sharing my educational journey throughout my masters degree in games programming. The course title is "Msc Proffession Practice in Games Programming", this course is hosted by the SAE Institute.

About SAE Institute

The SAE Institute is a global leader in creative media education, offering a range of programs in fields such as audio, film, and games. With campuses in major cities around the world, SAE provides students with hands-on experience and industry-relevant skills.

They have 40 campuses world wide, providing their educational skills to 21 different countries. I personally highly recommend the SAE Institute to anyone looking to get into the creative media industry, as they provide a great learning enviroment and have a strong focus on practical skills and industry connections.

About the Course

It is going to last a year, with 3 trimesters, each trimester requires a submission of work.

The trimester plan is as follows;

"Project Planning & Theoretical Principles"

"Professional Development Scheme"

"Creative Media Major Project"

Each trimester will have a mix of practical and theoretical work, with a focus on developing skills in game development, programming, and project management. The course is designed to prepare students for careers in the games industry, with a strong emphasis on professional practice and industry standards.

My Plans

Now let's quickly highlight my plans for the end goal of this course.

For the end of this course I aim to craft and construction a survival game within Unreal Engine. I have chosen the unreal engine because I am not familiar with it in the slightest and I want to expand my knowledge of game engines. Before this course I began a self study regarding Godot and learning the basics of that. And so for this course I wish to study Unreal engine and hopefully grasp how to craft games through this powerful tool.

I plan to create a 3D survival game within unreal to be played on many platforms so that I can observe and study what the people enjoy about each platform or if people enjoy survival games on certain platforms more than others. I have a question which I will be aiming to ask but before I reveal it here, I need to make it more direct and focused on a particluar study.