The House Where They Dwell
Software: Unreal Engine 4. I was the primary programmer behind the mechanics I show here.
Throughout the Winter and Spring of 2021, I acted as a designer and gameplay scripter for The House Where They Dwell, an independently developed video game being made by our team at Half Brain Games. The House Where They Dwell is an arcade thriller playable by up to two players. Players traverse a mansion with randomly generated rooms while working together in an attempt to complete tasks and beat the scenario they have been placed in.
Our trailer is on the left as of 5/13/21.
Here is a gameplay video.
Here is a demo of some of the mechanics I made (programmed and helped design).
Main menu focusing (for gamepad functionality) visual scripting
Spraying spiders mechanic visual scripting
Creating breaker box minigame menu visual scripting
Playing breaker box minigame visual scripting
Nest destruction and spider spawning visual scripting
Random item spawner visual scripting
Voodoo doll splits damage and healing visual scripting
Reviving players and downed state functionality visual scripting
Uploading footage at the computer station visual scripting
Computer station damage visual scripting
Credit: Emma Wooding
Instagram: @muh_does_art
The demo video on the left is from 2/24/21. The commentary was provided by our animator Brandon Colley. Scroll down for updates.
Update for 4/19/21:
Downed state and reviving.
Downed and Reviving 4/19/21
A player being at 0 health disables their movement and puts them in a crouched position. They cannot move until another player revives them.
Update for 4/17/21:
Showing off the breaker box minigame, which is completely playable with a gamepad.
Breaker Box Minigame 4/17/21
Players are required to take part in a minigame where they must set the power output at a breaker box. We wanted it to function like a certain puzzle from the Resident Evil 2 Remake. Here I have a video showing that I have scripted it to function with a gamepad and work for both players.
Update for 4/6/21:
Showing off the updated spray can. The functionality was done by me, but NOT the particles.
Updated shrinking mechanic 4/6/21
An update showing the functionality I programmed with the spray particles created by our project lead, Jacob Levine. Sound has also been implemented by our sound designer, Logan Hardin.
Update for 4/3/21:
Just an update showing my work with prototyping a minigame for turning on the power. The final result will use an actual 3D model. This was simply a prototype I created using widgets in Unreal.
Minigame prototype 4/3/21
This is a prototype of the minigame that players will encounter when they attempt to turn the power on. Players need to get both the left and right dials to hover over the red marks in the respective meters.
Turning a switch on (green) moves the dials a positive amount (right) and turning a switch off (red) moves the dials a negative amount (left).
Update for 2/24/21:
Shrinking mechanic 2/24/21
This mechanic is fully functional besides a couple of things: the particle system has not been implemented and the range limit for it has not been established quite yet.
Random Items Spawning 2/24/21
I've created a blueprint for spawning random items throughout the level. These items will first spawn at the beginning of Phase 1 (i.e. when the game begins).
Destroying Nests 2/24/21
By dousing a nest in lighter fluid and then throwing a match at it, you render the nest unable to spawn spiders. Animations, particle effects, and meshes for the items involved still need to be implemented.
Update for 2/15/21:
We are well into the production of the game and I have done a lot of work. I've compiled some of what I've made so far in the video below.
Quick update
Picking up spray cans, shrinking spiders with the spray can, recording evidence, testing computer station health damage, and uploading footage.
As of 1/16/21, we are currently in our first production sprint. As of now, the only scenario we are focusing on creating is called the "Spider Witch" scenario (NOTE FROM 4/6/21: We initially were going to have multiple scenarios, but we had to scale down the project, so it's now composed only of the Spider Witch scenario.).
Shrinking mechanic 1/16/21
I am currently working on the functioning of the spray can. I have to make it so that the spray shrinks the spider (right now I have a placeholder cube for the spider) and the amount of spray fuel the player has drains as the spray can is used.
Multiplayer and controller support
I have been working on tweaking our two-player split-screen and gamepad support system originally created by one of our other programmers. There are still some issues we are ironing out as the game is still in its early stages. This placeholder menu was created by and integrated with our split-screen system by me.