In this evaluation, I will identify what I learnt, why it's important, the problems I faced, what I would like to improve and what I would do differently next time.

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Starting with the context, I heavily based my idea off of a horror game called "Forewarned", I wanted to create a product that gave a good atmosphere and had realistic and engaging mechanics, especially with the torches. Based on the research piece of the Forewarned gameplay footage, I feel like I made a product similar to my idea and goal as the product came out looking and playing better than I originally intended, not only adding everything I wanted to from the beginning, but also adding additional features and making an engaging atmosphere. Now that my product is complete, I have a better understanding of the type product I wanted as well as what I'm capable of.

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During my research, I decided what I needed to research based on how far I was into the project. For example, researching the game to get my context and general idea for mechanics, map and atmosphere followed by researching actual tombs to find out what interiors usually look like then getting peer feedback to make more adjustments, all helping bring the project to completion. I think that my research was thorough enough to help me well enough during my project as I never ran into any problems due to lack of research throughout. I used it to inspire my designs, models, map and many more aspects throughout my game, allowing me to create something new by building off of information from others. Decals on the walls is a prime example of this. The types of rooms were another thing inspired by research, having separate rooms for hierarchy of the people in the tomb as well as a jail cell and room full of traps let the player always have a fresh experience in every room.

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My planning and production was produced very well; using Trello as my main tool not only showed me what I've done and had to do for the entirety of the project but also showed me what I have to do next, meaning I could be efficient with my work. This method of planning was the perfect balance of usefulness and thoroughness as it allowed me to create sub-notes or checklists on specific tasks I had to complete, it gave me full control over my project. In future projects I will definitely be using Trello again in a similar format.

The only thing that didn't go smoothly in production was at the very beginning when first creating my lists, as there were a few things I forgot to add to my lists, however, when I realised my mistake I would add it and move it up in priority order, therefore, not affecting the time the project took.

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Some of the main problems I encountered while creating my project were related to the modular assets and textures of those assets not being as seamless as I had hoped. As well as this, the main problems came from programming; particularly with widgets but also with decals, animation sound effects and level blueprint code. Widgets were the main issue as they are hard to implement in a level with different game mechanics (e.g. player movement) when I need to not be moving and have my mouse, it took a lot of research and trial and error before I could come up with a system that works, using code like "add to viewport", "show mouse cursor" and "set player mode Game and UI". I found the most effective way to solve problems would be to research more into what I'm trying to achieve and if that wouldn't work, finding similar code I already implemented and trying to create something new from it. Through this process I've developed my knowledge of a larger range of UE4 blueprint modules. For example, I now understand how to use custom events to only play a sound once during an animation timeline or how to disable decals affecting certain assets or lighting as well as making my cutscene smoother than my last one, adjusting the level in the cutscene and changing it when the game starts.

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Practical wise, I've developed lots of skills with programming, level design, lighting, texturing and complexity. In the last project I did, a lot of the feedback of what I would do better next time came into play during this unit. Now this unit is coming to a close, I think that I've gained a far larger understanding of Unreal Engine as the game I created is far better than the last one. I was also able to utilize the resources available to a higher standard than ever before, combining my current research with my previous skills allowed me to get much better with the program to a visible quality. Overall, I would say my most valued development would be learning how to use basic custom events and code in more advanced environments. An example of my practical skills increasing would be the larger amount of high quality content inside my game compared to my previous attempt in Unit 7.

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I wanted to present my work as a horror/adventure game where you would have to explore the darkness underground collecting treasure - a genre like that requires heavy atmosphere so when presenting my game, audio, timing and lighting are incredibly valuable. Having a menu and cutscene that the player views before going into the game allows the player to prepare and know what they are going into, allowing them to get right into the exploration and keeping the player immersed in their game. Feedback towards my game was always very positive as an experience with any improvement suggestions being minor bug fixes or gameplay tweaks the player would like to see, this influenced me to create a timer to let people speed run, a minimum coin amount to leave and other small adjustments, the feedback I received greatly passed my expectations and I gave time near the end of the project to implement the suggestions I received.

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To conclude, the strengths of my final project are mainly in the code of the game, having innovative and unique gameplay mechanics; rarely seen except in tradition of the niche Egyptian tomb genre. I really like the torch mechanics of walking close to a torch to light it as well as flipping a switch to either see the door open slowly or hear the whole tomb rumble from a door that opened the other side, the game's lighting also immerses the player in the feeling that they are underground and lets the players mind wonder over what could be inside the tomb with them; it's much more atmospheric than I originally intended. Improvement wise, I would definitely start with the texturing, making the models remain seamless when transferring from 3Ds Max to UE4, luckily the lighting made it hard to notice in most cases. I would also create more assets that I could place in the level as the pots, planks and bowls got repetitive. Peer feedback heavily affected my end product, I devoted time near the end to work on feedback, adding a timer, fixing bugs and adding many other features; making my product better than originally created. I think my product is well-suited for its intended audience as the main source of inspiration was a game from the same genre that heavily influenced my idea, and feedback from others agreed with the emphasis on genre being noticeable. I agree with the audience response to my product as it is definitely a game that succeeds at its goals, however, has very clear strengths and weaknesses that I noticed and agree with when others were asked.