Technical Designer | Chatsworth, CA | 2020-23
This was my first professional experience with Unreal Engine and Blueprints. I was part of a super-talented Tech Design team on the Jedi project and was immediately entrusted with two major features: BD-1 and Stinger Mantis. In addition, I provided scripting support for the cine team and handled several gameplay elements from prototype to ship.
- Maintained BD-1 and scripted new features like Electro Dart, Koboh Grinder, flying, and custom behaviors.
- Technical owner of the Mantis – responsible for planet travel, hyperspace cutscenes, on-board experience.
- Provided scripting and technical support for transition, triggers, and cleanup for over 45 cinematics.
- Prototyped and polished other tech like ziplines, Koboh turrets, shrine entrance, and the Tanalorr flashback
Gameplay Video Credits: patologTV
BD-1
BD-1’s logic was complex and split between proprietary code classes, blueprints, animation blueprint, injected behavior trees, and custom POI systems. In addition, he was a key actor in most of the cinematics and had to transition seamlessly back and forth from gameplay.
One of the first few things I did was re-organize all of the scripting into modular sections based on different gameplay features. Over the course of the project, BD-1 alone required me to work closely with engineering, animation, design, rigging, hard surface, vfx, audio, and cine teams.
Some of the new BD-1 features I shipped for this project include:
1. Electro Dart
- I set up the projectile and target logic which would enable level designers to use this as a lock & key feature.
- I worked with an engineer to extract the post-physics result of the projectile movement and split it into various chunks to draw a prediction arc.
- This array of points on the arc was initially used to prototype various visual styles varying in size and length. Eventually they were used to drive the Niagara system that powers the final visual of the arc.
- The prediction arc logic was also made into a modular component that we ended up using on multiple throwable objects on the project.
2. Koboh Grinder
- This was the second projectile that could be unlocked as part of the systemic BD-1 gameplay. I also implemented the animated unlock sequence of this ability.
- The Koboh matter and burn interaction with Koboh lasers was driven by code. I handled the projectile, firing mechanism (full-auto vs single for electro dart), and exposing relevant parameters for the designers to adjust.
- Since it was a continuous stream that persisted, there were lots of gameplay considerations for the surfaces that could be tagged with this material.
3. BD-1 Flying
- Cal is extremely mobile, so when BD-1 is at distant POIs he will fly back to you instead of trying to run back.
- BD-1 will also adjust his height if Cal is standing in the way between BD-1 and the POI.
4. Custom behaviors
- BD-1 dismounts during a fall death and will also mourn you on full death:
- Custom animation state where he scoots over to your shoulder when you’re sinking in tar:
- Minor easter egg where BD-1 tucks himself into the backpack of the Wanderer torso piece when sprinting:
Stinger Mantis
The Stinger Mantis spaceship was another cross-functional feature that had a complicated setup and required constant collaboration between multiple departments.
There were three major aspects of the Mantis that I was responsible for:
1. Landing Pad configuration
- Planet specific placement and ramp configuration for every destination including multiple landing pads for certain planets.
- Working with narrative tech design for progression based placement and availability of NPCs.
- On-board interacts with special considerations like the workbench and meditation/save point.
- Lockout states for the Mantis and planet travel based on story and combat requirements.
2. Planet Travel
- On-board galaxy map and planet selection.
- Takeoff animation for each planet that preserves player control.
- Contextual dialog triggers and enabling hyperspace tunnel (except when between Koboh and its moon).
- Approach sequences with custom visuals for each destination.
- Level switch and landing sequences for each location.
3. Mantis/Hyperspace Cines
- Several cinematics involved the Mantis and would often override systemic gameplay or planet travel choreography.
- I created hooks in my planet travel logic so that we could transition smoothly in and out of these cines while still preserving the base planet travel behavior.
- This would often involve taking performance and streaming into account and there were several ad-hoc fixes and workarounds to get around those budget limitations.
The following videos showcase the features detailed above:
Cinematics
I assisted the cinematics team with scores of engine implementations, especially the ones that relied on seamless transitions in and out of a narrative moment. A lot of them were related to the Mantis and Planet Travel since that was my domain, but I also helped out on planet-specific instances.
An example of this work is this moment from Coruscant – right after the fight, BD-1 hops off Cal towards an interact prompt that’s actually the trigger for the grapple unlock cinematic:
Misc. Systems
I worked on loads of other technical features but some of the highlights include:
1. Tanalorr Flashback sequence
This was a fun technical challenge where I loaded part of Tanalorr while we were still on Koboh. The player has full control while getting teleported to specific points in the environment for narrative beats. There are fallbacks for unexpected player behavior and this whole section is bookended by cinematics taking place on different levels.
2. Zipline Launcher
This was the very first technical feature that I implemented on this project. It ended up being a new shortcut template that we used on every destination:
3. Koboh Shrines
I protoyped this entrance that would gate the entry to all the shrines in the level. It went through several iterations before arriving the version that we see in the game. Since it was High Republic tech, it didn’t behave like a typical door and needed a special tuner to activate them. This tuner is a tool that Cal uses when interacting with any of these doors. The tuner was also utilized in a narrative moment where Zee uses it:
4. Koboh Laser Turret
Another fun contraption out of the Koboh tech was the turret that was a combination of the Koboh orb-driven laser and a pedestal that could be controlled freely by the player: