Internship Weekly Blog – Week 2

Day 1 – Finalizing Blockouts & Prioritizing Ideas

We kicked off Week 2 by revisiting our paper level blockouts. We made several refinements to improve gameplay pacing and increase the overall playtime. Afterward, we reviewed all previously brainstormed ideas and carefully filtered them down to what could realistically be completed within our tight timeline. This helped align the team on priorities as we entered the production phase.

Day 2 – Blockout Begins: The Bridge Section

Today, I got back on my PC after a week and jumped into Unreal to start the actual 3D blockout. I focused on a key part of the level called the bridge. I worked on its basic structure and layout, making sure the scale and spatial flow supported our gameplay mechanics—especially co-op traversal and ragdoll-based interaction. It felt great to finally begin translating paper ideas into playable spaces.

Day 3 – Level Progress & Gameplay Blueprinting

I made solid progress by completing two more zones and beginning work on a third. Alongside level blockout, I implemented several gameplay features using Blueprints—such as vents and falling spikes. These mechanics were part of our original plan and adding them gave our level more depth and interaction, bringing the experience closer to what we had envisioned during ideation.

Day 4 – Visualizing Design Through Interactive Blockouts

The focus today was on making the blockout more readable and dynamic. I added Blueprints and gameplay-specific obstacles directly into the layout to better communicate our design intentions—not just to the dev team, but also to the concept artists. This allowed the visual team to understand how environments will function in the final game and gave us a shared language between design and art.

Day 5 – Gameplay Implementation & First Co-op Test

A highly productive day! I completed more Blueprints and added several new obstacles across additional zones in the map. The biggest highlight was that our lead developer completed the first pass of the co-op player system. We were finally able to start testing the core mechanic of our game. It was incredibly fun to see everything in motion, and we picked up a lot of insights through testing and iteration.

Summary

Week 2 was where things started to come to life. From blocking out environments to implementing interactive gameplay elements and even testing our co-op system—we made major strides this week. The communication between design, programming, and art improved significantly, and we’re steadily transforming our initial ideas into something real and playable. On to Week 3!


AAKASH NADADUR | LAB 3 GAD

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