Home

"Home" is an abandoned orphanage set in the late 1900s. This was the project I submitted as my final year assignment and received a first-class grade for it. The game's premise was that you played as a detective, attempting to unravel the mystery of why this orphanage was abandoned. To solve this mystery, the player needed to find all of the paper cranes scattered throughout the environment which each told the player some information about its abandonment. Despite the challenges that came with this project, I had a lot of fun working on it and would love to create something on a bigger scale in the future. All the environments, models (some) and textures were made by myself using MAYA, Substance Painter, and Unreal Engine 5.

Behind The Process

When creating this environment, I took heavy inspiration from Capcom's Resident Evil 2, particularly it's orphanage. It features three distinct sections: the entrance hall, bedroom, and kitchen. I undertook the modeling and texturing of the environment of most assets, except for a few models sourced online, which I then retextured. Throughout the texturing process, I maintained a consistent theme of age and wear, ensuring that it conveyed the abandoned, aesthetic I was aiming for. Although I made considerable efforts, I feel I could have further enhanced the aged and worn aesthetic by incorporating more damage and wear directly into the geometry.

Gameplay

This project wasn't game-focused, so I didn't spend too much time implementing mechanics. The game featured three main mechanics: picking up objects (keys), using those keys to unlock previously inaccessible areas (doors), and reading information on a UI by clicking on objects (paper cranes). The goal of the game was to find all the paper cranes scattered across the environment. Each crane contained a letter or written document providing the player with information about why the orphanage was abandoned and being able to piece together what happened, once the player had found them all. Although I could have made the game more immersive and implemented various narrative techniques, the main focus was on the environment and I feel satisfied with the minimal yet effective gameplay decisions I made.