Creative Industry Response
Introduction
I have been given 4 months to complete this project for the client, Marketing Nottingham. I have been asked to produce a unique artefact to promote the many attractions Marketing Nottingham has under its showcase. This artefact has to be catered to the primary audience from people between the ages of 16-25. Throughout the project I must present a clear and comprehensive plan for all stages of my artefact’s development, that demonstrates effective research and includes project specification and limitations.
Time Management
This is the GANNT Chart I have created for the pre-production and ideation of my artefact. I will abide by this chart to the best of my ability to ensure efficient time management and organization. Throughout pre-production I will come back to the GANNT Chart and utilize it to gauge where I am along the chart with updates of overall progress.
At the beginning of the project I think it is important to establish an idea as quick as possible, therefore I am going to use the first week of pre-production to research the client and generate some initial ideas for my artefact. An important aspect of pre-production is gathering feedback from piers and colleagues. Regulating feedback via surveys is important as it provides reasoning behind the decisions I make. I plan on progressing through the project daily, spending around an hour a night working on it. This will ensure efficiency and prevent burnout.
Risk Assessment
This is the risk assessment I have produced acknowledging the potential risks I could encounter throughout my project, providing solutions and work-arounds. These solutions are created to ensure my GANTT chart is not affected and I still have sufficient time to complete artefact production. I will also be slightly altering the GANNT Chart throughout to ensure it is custom fit to my schedule.
SWOT Analysis
This is the SWOT Matrix I have produced for this project. The matrix allows me to assess my strengths and weaknesses that can be applicable to this project. By constantly keeping my SWOT Matrix in mind I am able to be aware of what I am good at and what I may need to take more time doing. Knowing these strengths and weaknesses prior to starting the project allows me to plan ahead and potentially give myself more time on an area I may not be as good at.
Brief and Client Research
I think it is extremely important to begin research on both the client we are producing work for and the brief I am abiding by.
An extract from the brief above states that the project needs to “demonstrate the philosophy and theme surrounding Nottingham.” This completely subjective phrase throws the possibilities of this project in the air. My initial goal I have taken from this snippet of the brief is to narrow down what I think the philosophy and theme of Nottingham really is.
After taking an initial look at Marketing Nottingham’s website it appears there is a lot of extremely useful information already located on the client’s website. Showcasing visual tours, high resolution images and a long list of visit-able sights to obtain real, in person images of the artefact I want to produce. Below is a list of promotional videos showcasing some of Nottingham’s most iconic destinations, along with its most synonymous character, Robin Hood.
​This can all be found here: (https://marketingnottingham.uk/nottingham-toolkit/)
My initial ideas are to create some kind of experience in one of these environments they showcase on their website, to demonstrate the beauty of Nottingham. I will however to far more research before I begin thinking about generating ideas.
After this first interpretation of the client’s website and brief, I have created a 1 question survey as to what environment people may be interested in. These 4 environments include: Natural, Urban, Steampunk and the recreation of a historic monument located in Nottingham.
The responses to the survey indicate to me that people like the initial idea of a natural setting. With some votes for an urban and historical setting. I will conduct more in-depth research, with similar examples that exist on the market, on the urban and natural environments before my next round of feedback.
Natural Environment
The natural environment in video games has been seen at the forefront of gaming since the mid 90’s. The use of nature in scenes can achieve all different kinds of looks. In some video games the use of vegetation demonstrates affluence and status, when in other games the overgrowth can imply that the scene has been abandoned, creating this dystopian atmosphere. A game that achieves this duality in the way they present their environments is Destiny 2. The use of different colour palettes in both these scenes, achieves two very contrary atmospheres. Even thought a lot of the assets are the same in both images.
However, it is important to conduct relevant research. Due to the brief requesting a product for young people to entice them into living in Nottingham, I think it is more important to focus on the environmental game genre and how they promote ecological consciousness through play. An effective way of advertising or showcasing something to young people is to educate them. A quote from an article defining an environmental game: “Environmental games are games that drive players to manipulate gameplay elements to alter and impact their in-game surroundings or conditions” - chaostheorygames.com (https://www.chaostheorygames.com/blog/20-environmental-sustainability-video-games-from-the-last-decade-2021)
In a study on Serious Games on Environmental Games (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2210670716301834?fr=RR-2&ref=pdf_download&rr=78b6ee30ed3f88c2) from 2017, researchers studied a sample of 25 environmental games developed from 1994-2013. The following list is the demographic of those 25 games:
Some well known examples of these environmental games include Eco (2018), Beyond Blue (2020), Lumino City (2014).
Creating an interactable and educational environment fits the brief extremely well and is very appropriate for the 16-25 age range. I think educational games as a whole will need to be researched further, but gaining that initial understanding of the blend of both the environment and the educational aspect of video games is crucial at this point of idea generation.
Urban Environment
The urban environment in video games has been a vital part of the industry since its conception. It is unclear to understand when urban design in video games was first introduced as it has been seen since the beginning. Urban design can be done in many unique ways in game design. From recreation of entire real-life cities to the detailed design of your own. Upon further research into the deep subject of urban environments in video games it appears that a lot more work is required to become an expert in urban design than I previously thought. Wired.com conducted an interview with Konstantinos Dimopoulos, an engineer with a PhD in urban planning and geography who moved into full-time game development and consulting in 2010. (https://www.wired.co.uk/article/fallout-half-life-2-urban-design-video-games) He described what it takes to be successful in the deep subject of game cities. “Rigid engineering knowledge and an understanding of sociology have to be combined with the humanities, the economy, art, politics, and popular culture, and that's before even adding anything related to games and game design to the mix.”
There are so many games and franchises to take inspiration from in the field or urban city design. An applicable example in this case would be the Assassins Creed franchise. An area they seem to specialise in is the recreation of historical cities and landmarks in their own unique style. This style creates an authentic atmosphere to the time period and has inspired people in the past to visit some of these locations, which is the goal of this project. One of the games that sticks out to me for this project is Assassins Creed Syndicate.
​Based in London, this game captures iconic locations with the use of historically accurate assets. Achieving this kind of atmosphere in my final product is crucial to its success. Therefore, I will be visiting historical sites in Nottingham to gather images of objects, materials, and the overall environment. Doing so will help in my artefacts authenticity and will positively affect the final artefact.
I think that the combination of an urban environment and the recreation of a historical location, especially in Nottingham, would be a great route to go down due to the array of sites located near the city centre.
Reflection
It has been 1 week since the start of my project, therefore a good time to reflect on how I have spent my time in the first quarter of my pre-production. This GANTT Chart has proved effective as I am making good time and I am on track according to the chart. The red circle indicates where I currently am in terms of each individual task that needs completing. The next step is to gather initial feedback and begin fleshing out the ideas gathered from my research. I have encountered no setbacks during this first week of pre-production, therefore did not have to adjust the GANTT Chart at all, proving I planned well.
Surveys and Feedback
The next step for me in the idea generation process is to gain some sort of initial understanding from my peers and colleagues. In this survey the information I want to obtain is their age range, utilize their creative minds and the platform that they would like to see the artefact showcased.
As previously said it was very important for me to establish the age range of the piers taking the survey. This is because the artefact has to be catered to 16-25-year old's according to the brief. As you can see the majority of those who took the survey fall under the correct age range.
The second question of the survey asked the participants which setting they would find the most interesting and appealing in a showcase of Nottingham. This was the question previously asked in my 1 question survey conducted previously. This question was kept in the survey just to reinforce the general idea I already had when generating the right environment for my artefact.
This question is to simply understand why the participant chose the topic they did. As you can see a lot of the answers imply they picked the topic that sounded the most creative and fun. It is interesting to notice that the reasoning behind the participants answers in the previous question were influenced by a particular place or building in Nottingham. It is important to always keep the city of Nottingham in mind when deciding which of these themes best cater to the brief.
The penultimate question in my survey was one of the most important. I deliberately left it until the very end because I wanted the participant to have every other consideration in mind before deciding on which type of artefact was best fit. Based on the answers I am able to dial in on the 3 main topics that gathered interest in the survey. I will conduct more in-depth research on these 3 topics to make an informed decision on which one to eventually move forward with.
My final question was to provide insight into the platform my audience may want my artefact to be presented on. The results clearly show the participants would like to see my artefact presented on PC. This question was just to enforce and reassure what I already had in mind.
Market Research
According to their own website Marketing Nottingham is a non-for-profit business here to help grow the economy of the region, attract business and leisure visitors, increase employment, productivity and ultimately the quality of life for residents. Marketing Nottingham’s goal is to attract people to the city in one way or another. Therefore, I think the next portion of my research will be into what the people of Nottingham are interested in. Gathering feedback from people that live within the city/county on a daily basis will be extremely valuable to my final delivery.
The next step for me in the idea generating process is to conduct research within the market. Gathering information from trends seen in the past is crucial when understanding what makes a good product now. I will start with research on Marketing Nottingham itself, using reviews at different ‘sponsored’ sites around Nottingham, to deduce which were the most enjoyable. I can use the website trip advisor for this information.
​This review of Sherwood forest implies how magical the atmosphere feels. If I were to recreate such a historical environment capturing every aspect of the area, including how it feels to be there in real life is very important. Perhaps incorporating Robin Hood would appear the most enticing for the youthful target audience.
This review of Wollaton Hall, once again highlights the historical importance of such a site. As the enjoyment in a lot of these reviews is coming from the deep history within these environments, adding an element such as the educational experience into one of these recreated environments may be a route to go down.
I then began conducting targeted research on certain aspects of the brief to ensure I cater to every aspect of the client and brief. I started with gathering information regarding trends within the age range 16-25. This is because that is the target audience for this artefact, as stated by the client. I took a look into the genres and trends this age rage typically takes to. ‘Newzoo.com’ spoke about millennial engagement in video games and stated that 60% of people between the age of 16-25 consume online content. This enforces the information gathered from feedback to create a game.
I then took an interest in the platform on which the targeted demographic consume content the most. Another article on the same website ‘Newzoo.com’ stated that an overwhelming 73% of millennial gamers consumer their content on a mobile phone. This is an important piece of information to obtain as it implies that my game may receive better reception via a mobile device.
Mind-maps and Mood-boards
At this early stage of idea generation, it is very important to display as many of my initial thoughts as possible, to ensure that no ideas are looked over. I will create two mind maps, one being for the environmental aspect of my artefact, with the other map being focused on the type of artefact I could create. I will also create some mood boards to present reference images of what I have in mind for this project.
I began with mood-boards. Documenting my initial ideas into a collage of pictures. This part of ideation was just to help with converting my early thoughts into images I can annotate and analyse.
My first mood-board was for the natural environment, more focused on the forest. I tried to gather a combination of images for the general atmosphere, along with items you could find within the natural setting. You may find certain animals and historical items etc.
The second mood-board was for the urban environment. I gathered images of the buildings and architecture, along with some of the different roads you will find in different areas of the urban setting. I also gathered a couple images of interactable items such as a bench, trach can etc.
My final mood-board are images of some iconic/historical locations in Nottingham. In have contained images from Sherwood Forest, Nottingham Castle, the city centre and some of the architecture at Nottingham Trent University. These images allow me to apply knowledge from the previous mood-boards to create a good picture in my head as to how I move forward.
Reflection
It has been 2 weeks since the start of my project, this marks the half way point of pre-production. This is an excellent point in time to evaluate my progress and refer back to the GANTT Chart. The red circle indicates what I am working on currently and how I am working through each task. The next step for me is to take photos at some of the historical sites that have received good reception in my feedback. I will then use these photos to influence the planning of my prototype.
Photos/Analysis
Below is a collection of photos I took myself upon visiting two of the most historical locations in Nottingham, Sherwood Forest and Wollaton Hall. I tried to capture atmosphere in all of the environmental photos I took. I included images of some items you can find in the forest and in one of the grand rooms in the hall, along with close up texture shots to capture the materials in detail that i may need to replicate when trying to capture one of these locations in my interactable environment.
In this group of photos, my main goal was to capture the environment of the location. I think when the end goal is to create a life-like interactable environment, capturing the correct atmosphere will aid to the authentic feel I am going for. As you can see from these photos, they are mainly wide shots attempting to capture as much relevant image as possible.
In the photos of Sherwood Forest, these atmospheric photos were mostly captured using the large trees and foliage surrounding the whole area. Obtaining images of accurate vegetation to the area will be very important when I am designing large portions of my environment.
With the images taken at Wollaton Hall, I tried to capture the architecture on the walls, fireplaces and structures etc. This is because I believe that to truly capture this kind of environment, the accuracy of the architecture in terms of the time period is extremely important. Wollaton Hall was built in 1580, therefore I will conduct research into the time period and discuss the architecture and style used back when the hall was built.
I will use these images to assist me in further research. I will also utilize these images during production, when I am creating these large assets to surround my environment with, these images will give me a reference point to take inspiration from.
Materials and Textures
​This next group of images are different textures I found in each area that I thought could be valuable to my research. I ensured to take close-up, detailed images of each material so I have the best chance of achieving the realism I want throughout my artefact.
These close-ups were taken in Sherwood Forest, I have images of the tree bark under different light and weather conditions. One being damp and the other being dry and flakey. I have images of the grass and moss, again under different light. I have also taken pictures of some of the rocks and stones that I saw, making sure to get close-ups of these as they have very intricate detailing I would like to implement in my environment.
These are the Wollaton Hall close-ups, I captured photos of the mosaic-like carpets, the different kind of wood with its different levels of condition. Some wood being more worn and chipped with some being pristine and polished. Different wallpaper was also gathered. The material of furniture can also be seen. There were a lot of textures to choose from in Wollaton Hall, I made sure to obtain at least 1 image of each type of material.
These close-up images will assist production greatly as the details in an interactable environment are what matter and achieving that level of detail will transform my environment to another level.
Surveys and Feedback
After analyzing these photos, I think it is important to gather opinions of my piers. This view from the outside will prevent any bias from myself, as I may lean towards one location in comparison to another. This will be the final round of feedback I conduct before production. This feedback will assist me in making my final decision as to which environment I will be recreating. This survey will obtain reasoning from my piers as to why each photo was effective, and if any more photos are needed to assist my research.
Software Considerations
Before I begin production of my prototype, I will breakdown and assess the different software I will be using to complete this project, discussing potential limitations that come with them, with contingencies to combat this.
Unreal Engine 5 – I will be using Unreal Engine to create the interactive environment itself. I will ensure good practice when it comes to file organization within Unreal, as I understand this can drastically effect time management negatively. When in blueprint I will also make sure to keep things tidy, using comments when necessary, enabling me to navigate my project with ease.
Photoshop/Photopea – I will be using Photopea and Photoshop to create the UI for the environment. I will also need this software to create textures for most of the assets that will be used throughout the project. The reason I have included both Photopea and Photoshop is because I do not have access to Photoshop at home so will need to source a free version. This software is what I am least confident with in this project. Therefore, I will be allocating more time for this aspect of development to compensate for my lack of confidence in the given field.
Maya/Autodesk – As I am focusing more on showcasing my mechanical skillset through this interactable environment, I will not be producing a lot of my models in house, I will be looking to outsource some of the environmental assets from third party vendors. I am able to use Maya both in college and at home. I do plan on making some of these assets such as the small objects that can be found around the environment, however I do have a contingency in place if I do not have enough time i will outsource all of my assets. This is something i am willing to do because my goal for this artefact is to showcase my mechanical skill.
Legal and Copyright Legislation
For this product it is extremely important to represent Nottingham well. This is why I must consider the legal and ethical factors of creating an artefact designed to attract people to a certain location. For example, In the year up until September 2021, there were 714 serious offences recorded across Nottinghamshire that involved a knife, it would then be insensitive and offensive to create a game based in Nottingham where the goal is to stab people. Understanding these constraints and knowing how to work around them will erase the possibility of bad audience reception and result in a better final product overall.
Reflection
It has been 3 weeks since the start of Artefact Pre-production, I am nearing the end of the 4 week period. I am happy with my total progression and see myself completing pre-production with time at the end refining my work. During this week I did however encounter an issue with the SD Card in the camera I used to capture images of some historical sites in Nottingham. I was unable to extract the images for around 2 days due to me being inexperienced with camera equipment. This stunted my progression for this week by around 1 whole task.
As you can see in the comparison above, I have altered the GANTT Chart slightly to accommodate for this. The red circle on the first chart indicates where I should have been by the end of the week, while the blue circle on the second, newly edited chart is where I currently am with the progression of pre-production. I have pushed the Final Concept portion of my work 2 days forward, while also planning prototype creation on those days. Working on these 2 tasks in one day allows my schedule to be bumped back to normal accordingly. This slight change will allow me to complete pre-production at the rate I previously anticipated and my time management is now where it was before this slight hiccup. Fore the rest of pre-production my plan is to write up my prototype proposal, and begin creating my prototype. I will then reflect on pre-production as a whole.
Proposal
After effectively planning each aspect of my artefact production, gathering feedback at certain milestones, reflecting on time management to ensure efficiency, and presenting effective market research with existing examples, I am now happy with the pre-production I have presented and have a very good image in mind as to what my prototype will demonstrate.
For my prototype, I will be coding an extremely important mechanic in any interactable environment, the ability to pick up objects and ‘inspect’ them. Allowing the player to rotate the object in hand. I will then later use this for the objects I implement into my interactable environment that I build around this core mechanic. Again, this prototype is for proof-of-concept purposes, and I plan on building upon this mechanic in later iterations and versions of this artefact.
Prototype
Below is a packaged version of my prototype, along with a YouTube video demonstrating the mechanic I created.
Overall Reflection on Pre-Production
As seen above I have successfully demonstrated the mechanic I set out to create. This is a great baseline for future development when we begin Artefact Production. In terms on reflecting on pre-production as a whole, I think it has gone extremely well and am very happy with the work I have produced. I would have liked to obtain more images of the historical sites I initially had in mind just to ensure I made the most informed decision I could, but I am still happy with the photos I took. I am happy with all the examples and references I used and demonstrated effective decision making and research as best as I could.
Now that the production of my artefact is underway, my plan of action is to discuss time management with a new GANTT Chart and weekly sprint sheets starting from the first day of production. I will then gather feedback from my prototype as quick as possible, as I did not do that at the end of pre-production. This feedback will then dictate how I move forward.
Artefact Production
Introduction
Now that I have worked through the pre-production stage of my artefact, I will now commence production. Within this segment I will present an artefact which has been planned, monitored and implemented to meet the needs of Marketing Nottingham in a suitable file format alongside all supporting documentation and wider paperwork.
Time Management
Above is the Trello page I will be abiding by throughout CIR Production, I created different categories including a 'To Do' list, 'Doing' and 'Done' category, along with some individual sections for completed sprint sheets and feedback to ensure my Trello is not cluttered and I have a clear set of tasks to complete weekly. Throughout my project I will use my Trello to understand which aspects of my game require improvement and completion, which also assists with time distribution. Each week I will conduct Trello reflection to ensure I am keeping up with tasks and not falling behind.
File Management
Throughout production I will be conducting efficient file management and version control. This is to prevent clutter and outline the path of creation I took to achieve the final product of CIR. I will be storing all files for this project on my computer, with appropriate file names and paths, categorized accordingly. Within my weekly reflection I will also be conducting weekly feedback, for this I will need individual packaged versions of my game ready to be downloaded directly from my website. I will be using Google Drive to store these versions in a orderly fashion.
Google Drive URL :
Week One Tasks/Trello
This is the first segment of Trello reflection within the production of my artefact. I will come back to this weekly and update it with completed tasks, documenting any setbacks encountered. Weekly feedback on the current build at that time will also be gathered, with a sprint sheet alongside it, for the week ahead. This week i will complete my initial production log, ironing out a timeline in which I will complete tasks, along with finishing the inventory mechanic I demonstrated in my prototype. At the start of each week I will create my sprint sheet and gather my feedback, therefore in each reflection, they will already be complete for the week ahead.
Production Log - Version 1
Inventory Mechanic
I began by creating a Blueprint Component, naming it accordingly.
I then needed a way to control my inventory within the game, so I created a variable, and set the variable type to an Array of Strings. This way we will be able to control the inventory by the name of the item itself.
I created a Function called 'Add Item to Inventory' and plugged it in alongside the variable we just created. What this is doing is passing the new item directly into the inventory. I then proceeded to add a Print String node to ensure that the item (string) is being created and subsequently being added to the players inventory.
I proceeded to add the Blueprint Component we were just working in as a component to the First Person Character Blueprint for later use, as seen second from the bottom of the component list. I then created the item that will be added to the inventory.
Within the Item Blueprint, I created a Static Mesh titled 'Model' setting the model to a basic cube for now, then downscaling it to an appropriate size.
I also created a Sphere Collision under the Scene Root, naming it 'Trigger'. This will detect the player and trigger the script to add the item to the inventory. I adjusted the size of this sphere and ensured 'OverlapAllDynamic' was the preset for the components collision. This allows the sphere to overlap all actors by default, preventing the collision from not functioning in certain situations.
I then went into the event graph of our Item Blueprint and created a variable, type string. I ensured the eye was enabled, making it accessible in different graphs later on in scripting. This variable will define the unique item the player is picking up.
I created an Interface to allow the player to pick this item up. An interface is a way of communicating through blueprints without having to cast directly to a specific class. I then renamed the function already created within a new Interface. I needed to add an output as this will be the item that the player picks up. I created the output, naming it 'item', type string.
I then went back into the Item Blueprint and implemented the Interface I was just working within. This then allowed me to enter the 'Pickup Item' function and add a Print String to produce the text 'ItemPicked' once the player has picked up the item. I then made the target in the Return Node the Item variable we created at the beginning.
I proceeded to then create the script to check for overlapping actors and added the appropriate arrays to each pin, with our new interface being the target. This script then allows the player to pick up the item in game and print the text 'ItemPicked', proving our script is functional.
An advantage to using an Array in situations like these is that you are able to edit the name of the item directly on the details panel, so if you have multiple items the player can pick up you can edit the name of each of them and that is the name that will appear in your inventory.
I then created a custom event within the Item Blueprint graph that will destroy the actor with slight delay. This means that the item will disappear 0.1 seconds after the player has pressed the key assigned.
I had to then create a Widget for the inventory to be displayed. I designed a basic Widget with a vertical list with the title of 'INVENTORY'. I ensured all anchors were placed to accommodate different screen sizes etc.
This is the script that allows my Widget to be displayed with the push of the 'I' key. I created a flip flop that sets the inventory Widget to either visible or hidden on the press of the key. I then set the mouse cursor to visible if the player was in the inventory widget, this may have purpose later on when we develop an interactive inventory HUD.
Within the script above, I promoted the return value of the Widget creation node to a variable, named 'Inventory', with its type being the Inventory Widget.
I then created another Widget, which contained an 'item name' which I turned into a variable. This Widget is overlapping the previous Inventory Widget in the top left corner of the screen. This widget will be the list of items the player has collected and put in their inventory.
I had to go back into the first Inventory Widget I created to promote the Vertical List into a variable and create a custom event within the graph. This custom event adds a child to the Vertical List, adding items to the list.
We can now go back into our 'AddItemtoInventory' function, within our Blueprint Component, and add script to add these items to the list.
Inspect Mechanic
I began with the creation of my item, named 'InspectableParent'. I then added a Static Mesh in the form of a sphere. I made sure to add a tag in the details tab named 'Interactable'. This is because I will be referencing this tag within my code later on.
I then entered Project Settings and created an Action Mapping under the Input tab. I made an Interact input and bound it to 'F'.
I am now able to reference this input within the graph of our First Person Character. What this line trace is doing is essentially drawing a straight line forwards from the First Person Camera. This is so that when the player is close enough and looks at the inspect-able object, they will be able to interact with it.
This portion of the code allows us to interpret the item the player is looking at, and if they are able to interact with it or not. Within our Actor Has Tag node, I have referenced the tag previously mentioned when creating the item. These two Branch nodes are checking if we have hit an object we can interact with.
I then entered the Viewport of our First Person Character and added a Child Actor Component under the First Person Camera. To test and edit the position and size of the item I assigned the component a class, being the 'InspectableParent' we created at the beginning. I would then later clear this path so the object is not visible to the player in game.
I added an Arrow to the Viewport just as a reference as to where this object is. I set the location of both the Arrow and the ItemActor to the exact same place. This will allow us to reference this position later within the graph.
I have added some code to this portion of the graph which checks which class the object we are looking at falls under, and whether or not we are able to pick up and inspect the object.
I also need to make sure that the player is picking up the object from the correct location. To do this I need to convert world location into a local location. This turns the current items location into a relative location, allowing me to spawn it in on my Blueprint, where I want it to be. I then added a Destroy Actor node, connecting it back to the Hit Actor pin.
On the other half of the Sequence node, we need to add a Delay just so the code below has enough time to tick, then add a Branch to detect if we are already inspecting the object. I created a Boolean, named 'Inspecting?' with the default value being false. This allows me to set Inspecting to be true if the player is inspecting or set it as false if they aren't.
I proceeded to add a Timeline in which the player picks up the object. This Timeline is named 'PickUpItem'. I then had to set a start and end location for the object. I did this by adding a Lerp (Vector), and creating a 'StartLoc' and a 'EndLoc' Variable.
I went into the Timeline and added a Float Track, and set the Track length to 0.5 seconds. I created two keys on this Track, one being at the beginning with a value of 0, the second one being at the end of the 0.5 second Track with a value of 1.
This then allows me to plug in the Track I just created into the Alpha pin on my Lerp node. So the object will be going in between the values of A and B using the Float Track I have just created on the 'PickUpItem' Timeline.
I now need to setup where my 'StartLoc' and 'EndLoc' are actually located. To do this, all I need to do for my 'StartLoc' is reference the item itself and get its Relative Location. For my 'EndLoc' I need to reference the Arrow added to my First Person Character Viewport earlier on. Then retrieve its Relative Location and set that as my 'EndLoc' location.
The next step after I have successfully setup picking the object up, is now creating a way to put it down. I created a Branch and added it to our previous code above, with the condition being our Boolean 'Inspecting?'. To put the item back on the ground I need to respawn it as it was 'destroyed' once interacted with. I then reverse engineered code previously created when I was creating a way to pick up the object. I will be converting the Local Location into a World Location.
I then promoted the return value of the 'SpawnActor' node to a Variable, named 'PlacedItem'. This has been done because we want to be able to access this return value and I think that promoting it to a Variable is the easiest way of doing that.
This portion of code is resetting the class to nothing, as the 'Set Child Actor Class' node has no in class value. Then I referenced a Custom Event made previously, enabling us to pick up another item once you have stopped inspecting the first one.
To ensure that the item is placed back on the ground wherever the player stops inspecting it, we need to create another Line Trace. I have referenced the actors location then subtracted vectors with the Z value at 1000, this is to prevent the object from staying in the air once the player puts the object down. This line trace projects a line at a value of 1000 on the Z axis, pushing the object back down to the ground. We also want to add the Placed Item Variable in our Actors to Ignore Array, this is because the 'Ignore Self' pin being ticked is only referencing the First Person Character, as that is the graph we are currently within.
I will then proceed to add a Break Hit Result node and promote the Location pin to a variable, naming it 'NewEndLoc'. Once a 'NewStartLoc' variable is created and set to the Actor Location, I can then create another Timeline for the putting down of the object, named 'FixLoc'.
This Timeline will be identical to the previous. On a Float Track I have added two keys with one at the beginning with a value of 0 and one at the end of the 0.5 second Track Length with a value of 1.
I then added a Lerp (Vector) node, with A being our 'NewStartLoc' and with B being our 'NewEndLoc'. This Lerp works identically to the one used to create the picking up of the object, with our Float Track being plugged in to the Alpha pin. I then set the actor location with the target being our Placed Item.