Gameplay Trailer
Background
Radiance is a student project by Masters's students from Birmingham City University created over the course of 3 months in Unreal Engine 4.27.2. A professional-level vertical slice, it was made by a joint team of programmers and artists from the Video Game Development Course alongside designers and a producer from Video Game Enterprise, Production and Design.
The objective of the production was threefold:
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Showcase our ability to create a fun product
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Showcase the feasibility of the project; that we can solve technical, artistic, design, and production challenges that arise
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Showcase the proficiency of the team in their respective disciplines
To that end, 90% of the game is written in C++ with the remaining 10% being done in Blueprints. In addition, the game features a combination of in-house and outsourced assets - The Main Hub and Laboratory being almost exclusively in-house.
Overall, it has been a blast to work on and I hope you enjoy playing it as much as we enjoyed working on it!
Roles and Responsibilities
Main Roles
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2D Level Design
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Player & Enemy Design
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3D Whitebox
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Asset population, lighting & set dressing
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Gameplay & Puzzle Design
Additional Work
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VFX creation - Player death, enemy death, shadow doors
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QA Test
Overview
Radiance is a third-person action-adventure game set on a space-bound research vessel under siege from mysterious, dark forces. Players take the role of Clarus, a test subject who has been infused with experimental G-Light - a substance that allows him to manipulate gravity and shoot bolts of damaging light. The vessel's lead researcher - Julia - tasks Clarus with activating the escape pods, allowing them to escape the doomed vessel.
Players can explore a section of the vessel (the Erudition), but they'll need to do it quickly, because Clarus can only exist outside G-Light for a period of time, after which, he'll fade away and reappear at the beginning of the level. Only Clarus and enemy spawns are reset, though; puzzle progress remains, meaning players can solve puzzles across multiple loops.
Features
Defeat the Dark with light-powered weapons and abilities
Bring the power of your G-light manipulator to bear against the forces of Darkness and blast your way through a series of intense combat encounters.
Use telekinesis to solve fiendish puzzles across multiple lives
Manipulate G-light objects to move them around and open the way forwards. But be fast! You cannot stay in the dark for too long before needing to return to the light, and the Darkness grows ever stronger...
Explore the Erudition and uncover its secrets
Delve into the underbelly of the Erudition Research Platform to uncover your mysterious origins, and to understand your assailants.
