Description
Jackal Engine is a Custom engine Build over half a year to support VR games, specifically 3D Strategy games like Homeworld. The engine includes three editors (Scene, Unit and particle) and an asset importer.
info
Platform: PC (HTC Vive)
Engine: Jackal Engine
Year: 2017
team Size: 9
RESPONSIBILTIes
- Tool development
- R&D VR Gameplay
- Basic VR UI Design
LEARNING ACHIEVEMENTS
QT Editor
In the first half of the project, when we were with 4 people, i focused on getting a scene editor working for our game. In this editor the user could place and move items around, just like the Unity3D engine. To create the editor we decided to go with QT, a C++ framework to help and simplify our tasks. During the first 2 months I learned the basics and of the framework, as well as how to create a connection between QT and a seperate Application.
Exploring Virtual Reality
After the first half, our team grew in size, and there were new learning opportunities. With our teachers requiring us to support the HTC Vive, there was a need for us to research what our Engine needs for supporting strategy games on the Vive. I explored different control schemes, UI designs and gameplay interactions. With multiple prototypes that focused on moving squads of ships and interacting with a menu, i set out to create a basic demo to try a to get designers and artists on board at the end of the second half, so that we can continue it into the next block to actually build a game with the engine. While the controls were not perfect, and the UI was confusing to most first time users, it allowed me to help Design and Art in future projects on what to avoid and what works well. This exploratory phase of the engine also allowed us to focus our efforts on a Fleet and particle editor on the engine side.