Overview
Phanom Veil is a Third-Person Parkour Platformer developed in Unreal Engine 4. The level is a parkour course with the player having to navigate their way over, under, and through various obstacles.
For this project my key focuses were on the level and gameplay design. I designed the map layout, implemented the basis of the parkour system which I then added to and expanded on for my own system and created the particle system effects. The character model is taken from an asset on the Unreal Marketplace.
Currently, Phantom Veil is still in development.
Parkour System
The parkour system is capable of allowing the player to vault, climb, slide, sprint and wall run across the various obstacles. All of these are housed in a Parkour Component attached to the player character, which changes the current "mode" of the player depending on their current action.
When moving ordinarily, the player is set in the "default" mode. If they attempt to input a certain action, or come into contact with an interactable object in the level, a check is perfomed that checks their current mode, then switches to the corrosponding parkour mode of the action they wish to perfom. When finished, the player will either return to default, or switch to the next action.
Phantom Mode System
The Phantom Mode is a particle effect triggered in a blueprint when the player enters the "sprint" parkour mode and can be utilised while performng other actions. While active, it increases player speed and jump distance, allowing the player to Wall Run and Slide faster and over longer distances, clear larger gaps and traverse longer, more difficult obstacles.
The Phantom Mode is linked to a meter that decreases with use, leaving the player to replenish it by collecting "Phantom Cube" pickups as they progress.
Level Design
The level was designed like a parkour course, with the idea to keep the player constantly moving and having each movement and obstacle flow into one another. The level starts with small, indivdual sections to introduce each form of movement, before going through areas that combine multiple actions and obstacle types.
Areas are split between normal-paced courses and higher-speed courses that better utilize the Phantom Mode. Because of the speed increase Phantom Mode provides, players must time their movements correctly in order to keep moving quickly and efficiently without being stopped by an obstacle.
