Beta Milestones and VFX System Prototyping

This sprint focused heavily on gameplay systems and milestone progress in my Game Development course. I hit both Beta 1 and 2 deadlines, which included building a functional title screen, implementing an intro cutscene, and adding in-game dialogue. I also created a draft outro cinematic and worked on integrating it with gameplay flow. These elements helped define the narrative structure and allowed me to test cutscene triggers and camera behavior in engine.

On the art side, I continued developing a Niagara particle system to serve as the game’s main visual interaction cue. I created a dedicated test level to prototype it, using triggers and Blueprint logic to simulate activation states. This system includes multiple emitter stages and uses material variation to emphasize movement and energy. I’ve been mindful of optimization—limiting texture sizes to 1024x1024 and keeping materials under two per emitter where possible.

I also added to the environment by refining props and expanding set-dressing. Many smaller models were created in Maya, while ZBrush was used to sculpt detail meshes like broken pillars, debris, and ornamentation. These assets added more variety to the rooms and gave me the opportunity to push contrast and composition. With more rooms near completion, I’ve started looking ahead to final lighting and gameplay polish.