Sleeper Agent
Genre: Stealth FPS
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Team Size: Solo Project
Duration: 2 Weeks
Platform: PC
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Team Size: Solo Project
Duration: 2 Weeks
Platform: PC
Introduction:
The goal of this project is to create a first-person stealth game reminiscent of the very first games in the Splinter Cell series.
In the game, the player takes on the role of a sleeper agent in an enemy country. This choice is important not only for the plot, but also for the gameplay, as the player's arsenal will be very small and will not reward a shooting style of play, regardless of the few shots available.
Pre-production:
At this stage, by studying the early chapters of the Splinter Cell saga, I outlined the cornerstones of the project I was working on.
First, I had to decide what the mood and style of the game would be, so I chose a realistic style with an initial training "mission".
For the level, I decided to use the structures created for C.Q.B. (image on the right).
This way I have the possibility to divide the zones according to the type of "training" to be performed.
A key aspect I had to consider was the interaction with doors. In this kind of game you often come across closed doors and there are several ways to open them.
In my case, I decided to create two mini-games:
One of the macro systems I had to design was the combat system.
This includes both what the player can do during a fight (silent executions, interrogations, etc.) and the behavior of the enemy AIs.
Production:
Shooting system
As for the implementation, I started with the most important aspect, which is the shooting system. Given the "realistic" nature of the game, firefights can end in a few shots.
If the player manages to hit an enemy in the head, they will succeed and eliminate him with one shot. Also, to facilitate movement, near obstacles or corners, the player will be able to lean to the right or left.
Finally, if the player wishes, they can also disarm the enemy. This will make him surrender and he can be easily knocked down.
The goal of this project is to create a first-person stealth game reminiscent of the very first games in the Splinter Cell series.
In the game, the player takes on the role of a sleeper agent in an enemy country. This choice is important not only for the plot, but also for the gameplay, as the player's arsenal will be very small and will not reward a shooting style of play, regardless of the few shots available.
Pre-production:
At this stage, by studying the early chapters of the Splinter Cell saga, I outlined the cornerstones of the project I was working on.
First, I had to decide what the mood and style of the game would be, so I chose a realistic style with an initial training "mission".
For the level, I decided to use the structures created for C.Q.B. (image on the right).
This way I have the possibility to divide the zones according to the type of "training" to be performed.
A key aspect I had to consider was the interaction with doors. In this kind of game you often come across closed doors and there are several ways to open them.
In my case, I decided to create two mini-games:
- The first consists of finding the code for the corresponding door, which can be found by interrogating enemies.
- The second is to pick a lock. In this case, the player has to move the pegs to the correct position with the help of sound and visual effects.
One of the macro systems I had to design was the combat system.
This includes both what the player can do during a fight (silent executions, interrogations, etc.) and the behavior of the enemy AIs.
Production:
Shooting system
As for the implementation, I started with the most important aspect, which is the shooting system. Given the "realistic" nature of the game, firefights can end in a few shots.
If the player manages to hit an enemy in the head, they will succeed and eliminate him with one shot. Also, to facilitate movement, near obstacles or corners, the player will be able to lean to the right or left.
Finally, if the player wishes, they can also disarm the enemy. This will make him surrender and he can be easily knocked down.
Animation
As can be seen from the previous video, enemies react according to where they are hit. To do this, I made use of physical animations.
By creating two settings based on the area hit (lower or upper body), the enemy's animation blends between its current animation, e.g. idle, and the physical animation.
Lockpicking
Following the design, I have implemented the two minigames for the closed door. First I created the different parts of the lock and the key pad so I could customize the model to my liking.
Once the different parts were created, I created the different blueprints to make everything work; in the first case, the player has to be careful while picking the lock, as time is not stopped and a mistake could alert the enemies.
In the second case, the player must to enter the correct sequence to open the door, and if they fail, the nearest guard will go to investigate.
Tutorial
Using what I have developed so far, I created this first level where the player is able to learn about the main mechanics.
In the video below you can see a gameplay of this tutorial
Documentation
