Task 1 - Basic Matinee Sequence

Task Introduction
It was the first assignment of the new semester for Games Scripting two. The assignment required a custom level to be constructed in UT2004, a game engine that regrettably I’ve not used since a long summer and a semester ago. The level had to take on the similarity of a museum or at least give the audience the feeling of a museum.

Initial plan
Before any practical work took place I had the idea of a walk-in museum, where each room would represent the era of the featured displays within that space. Knowing that there were certain limitations with this project, such as time and the types of static meshes available, enabled me to have a good mental image of the result I wished to achieve without the need for detailed plans, further more because the level is purely to facilitate the single matinee sequence.

Map creation
Aware that it had been awhile since I last constructed a level in UT2004, I began with small steps, simple rooms with the intention of adding the detail via static meshes and building into the confined space with geometry.

I came across several static meshes that depicted certain themes, far Eastern and Egyptian, along with the obvious futuristic models. From that stage I had essentially three rooms to fill with themed objects and displays. More room was given to the Egyptian zone due to the superior number of static meshes within UT2004 and because I wanted to retain a believable scale.

There were no issues with creating the actual rooms however, due to using a vast amount of static meshes to decorate the rooms, left very few unique items to display, as a typical museum would.

The lack of unique static meshes available proved a problem for this assignment as it would be difficult to persuade the audience that the environment is a museum of sorts without feature displays. To combat the issue I reduced the amount of decorative statics within some of the zones, converting them to exhibits, aiding the overall image of the level.

Matinee creation
After creating a rough run-through of the level, using various techniques and timings I adapted quickly to the procedures involved. Utilising the knowledge I had on matinee sequencing in UT2004 I managed to create a sequence that I was pleased with and used for my final piece.

Conclusion
Upon reflection there are parts that I would like to add/change, I believe that’ll always be the case with level creation. For example, I could/should have had more signage to help convoy the look of a museum. I should have added an entrance which would have provided an ideal starting location for the first camera sequence. Alternatively I could have converted the camera into a character (surveillance cameras, floating recorder, security guard), anything that would have given the matinee sequence more significance. Adding more displays to the level would have improved the project too.

In the end, I am satisfied with the outcome and it has been a good way of re-familiarising myself with the toolset, so future projects can be completed quicker and with more planning.