Who Are You Running From?

Project Type:

School Project - Unreal Engine

Period:

Aug 2024 - Sep 2024 (4 weeks)

Link:

Itch.io

Role

Programmer
- Enhanced player controls
- Implementing animations and UI
- Player's mechanics
- Enemy AI behavior
- Carpet, Wood and Glass floor mechanics
- Door Functionality
- Music and SFX implementation
- Environment-based sound mechanics

Level Designer
- Creating the entire world
- Hand placing and detailing the world

- Description -

You’re on the run. In a desperate attempt to escape the law, you dive into what looks like an abandoned building—only to realize you've just walked into a nightmare. Welcome to "Who Are You Running From?", a first-person survival horror game where every step could be your last.

The building is a theater, filled with dark corridors, eerie rooms, and lurking dangers. Your goal is simple: find a way out before The Guard finds you.

The Guard is always listening, always watching. Move too fast, and it will hear you. Shine your flashlight at the wrong moment, and it will see you. It’s a relentless hunter that learns your tricks, grows smarter, and won’t stop until it catches you. But you have a few tools of your own—find batteries to keep your flashlight alive, pick up keys to unlock new areas, and use the environment to outsmart your pursuer.

The deeper you go, the more intense the horror becomes. The Guard becomes faster, the building more dangerous, and every choice more critical. Will you be clever enough to survive, or will you become just another lost soul in the darkness?

"Who Are You Running From?" is a vertical slice horror experience that plunges you into a tense game of cat-and-mouse. Dive in, and see if you have what it takes to escape… before it’s too late.

- Project Overview -

Genre: First-Person Survival Horror
Setting: Abandoned, dangerous building
Core Mechanics: Stealth, evasion, environmental interactions
Objective: Escape before being caught by The Guard

Game Structure

Introduction: Fleeing from the police, the player enters an abandoned building and finds a map marking the "Engine Room" as the exit.
Building Layout: Maze-like structure with key areas (Entrance Hall, Palladium, Storage rooms). Features hiding spots and noise traps.

Gameplay Mechanics

Player: Walk, run, crouch, jump; manage flashlight with limited batteries; interact with objects.
The Guard: Patrols, pursues if noise or light is detected, and learns player strategies over time.
Environmental Interactions: Doors and traps can reveal the player; hiding spots provide temporary safety.

Objectives

Primary: Escape by reaching Palladium, grab the key, and find the exit
Secondary: Find batteries (for flashlight)

Game Flow

Tension Increases: The Guard becomes more aggressive; resources are scarce.
Failure: Caught by The Guard

Art and Atmosphere

Visuals: Dark, realistic, decayed environment.
Sound: Ambient noises and minimalist music heighten tension.

- Contributions and Learned Skills -

In this project, my primary focus was on programming and level design. I handled a wide range of tasks, from enhancing player controls to creating unique mechanics that add depth to the gameplay. Some of the features I implemented include a stamina system, flashlight depletion, and environment-based sound mechanics that added a layer of strategy to player movement. For instance, walking or running on the carpet was quiet, while glass and wood surfaces made distinct sounds, requiring players to be mindful of how they moved.

One of the major challenges we faced during development was getting the AI to function properly. Every member of the team tried different approaches, even going so far as to rebuild the AI from scratch multiple times. The real issue, however, turned out to be the Nav Mesh shifting unexpectedly when the game was played. After spending about a week troubleshooting the AI, we finally identified and resolved the Nav Mesh problem. Once that was fixed, the AI started working almost too well, becoming a bit too "smart" for the type of game we were aiming for. We then had to dial back its behavior and make adjustments to strike the right balance for the gameplay experience.

It was Additionally, I worked on door functionality, allowing both players and AI to interact with the environment naturally, contributing to the immersive horror experience.

As for level design, I created the entire game world from scratch, carefully hand-placing every asset and detail. The goal was to provide players with a mix of exploration and tension, so I added hiding spots around the map to give players ways to escape when being chased by the AI. Overall, this project allowed me to enhance my understanding of Unreal Engine, particularly in areas like Blueprints, UI integration, animation, and sound design. It was a rewarding challenge that pushed my problem-solving and creative skills while understanding how AI functions in Unreal Engine.