Project Kane
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360
Studio: UTV Ignition
Engine: Unreal Engine 3
Released: 2̶0̶1̶2̶ Canned
Project Kane is a 3rd person action-adventure game with a rhythm-based combat system. I joined the project just after it was rebooted, and the scope was stripped back to target the consoles via their online PSN and XBLA stores. Prior to the reboot, the game was known as WarDevil.
Much of my work here involved Level design using UE3; working closely with environment artists and code to realise the director's vision. Re-purposing existing levels and structures. Prototyping & implementing new gameplay mechanics and puzzles. Scripting events using Kismet and Matinee.
Unfortunately the publisher canned all of their development studios in 2011, due to the financial climate. As such, the game was never released and all materials shown here are very much early prototypes/work in progress.
WiP camera sequence
In this footage of an early playable prototype, I was involved with setting up the Matinee actions for the collapsing scaffold structure, and set up the camera transitions. During the collapse sequence, invisible blocking volumes are enabled to ensure the player is safe whilst giving them a sense of panic.
The camera flies around the action, and settles in its new position. From here, the camera pivots around following the player until they have completed the platforming section, where it smoothly transitions back into a standard 3rd person player-controlled cam.
Although it achieved the right look, the fixed pivoting camera actually caused problems for some players who struggled to control their character's depth. For this reason, I revised the pivoting cam in the next iteration.
WiP lava sequence
The caves section follows our hero in a climactic decent towards the antagonist's final lair, seen towards the end of the section.
Although not entirely cliché-free, the lava platforming provides a tried and tested way of building the player's suspense before the final battle. The pacing of the level increases in intensity as the player winds their way through sections of exploration, navigation and combat.