challenges of the ancient empires (2022)
unreal engine 4.23 / 5.0
"Challenge of the Ancient Empires Remastered" is a remastered version of the video game Challenge of the Ancient Empires!,
by The Learning Company in 1990. It is designed to improve history, logic, and problem solving skills in children ages 7 to 10.
I have fond memories of this game, as I played it a lot as a child. I used the opportunity to learn more on Unreal Engine,
and what it takes to develop a game from the ground up. Later I continued doing so in Unreal Engine 5, but stopped shortly after.
My work on "Challenge of the Ancient Empires Remastered" included:
- Level Creation:
- Developing level tools using Unreal Engine Blueprints, to block out levels quickly
- Blocking out the levels, based on the original design
- Full prop- and set dressing
- Full lighting pass using static lighting
- Asset integration and material creation
- Blueprints & scripting
- Scripting enemy AI movements and attacks
- Scripting all player abilities
- Full save & load system
Credits
The Learning Company, Marika Schanz, Epic Games, Quixel
Challanges of the Ancient empires was a fun introduction to developing a game for Unreal Engine. I gained a lot of Blueprint and scripting experience, character setups, and what sort of level tools I could develop for myself.
I had initially planned on remastering the entire game about with about 17 levels across five different locations:
- Near East
- Egypt
- India & China
- Greece & Rome
- Ancient World
Due to copyright it seemed unfeasible to release so I eventually pursued other projects instead.
Videos
- The first video is the initial prototype in Unreal Engine 4.23
- The second shows the art version in Near East
- The later videos are the Unreal Engine 5 versions
