Environment Development
During weeks 6–8, I focused on building the futuristic café environment in Unreal Engine based on our group task division. This location is important because it is where the first scene of our story takes place, where the alien interacts with a human in a public space.
I began with a white box layout to block out the basic structure and scale of the café. This helped define the spatial arrangement before adding detailed assets.
Asset and Material Setup
After establishing the layout, I added environment assets and began developing the visual style of the space. The design direction was a futuristic cyberpunk-style café / pub, which fits the narrative setting of a future society.
I applied materials using Unreal Engine’s material system, connecting UV nodes and materials to ensure that textures worked correctly on different objects. Smart materials were also used to help achieve a consistent visual style across the environment.
Scene Integration
Once the environment was complete, I integrated it with the motion capture animation. I produced the first major shot of the project, showing the alien character interacting with a human inside the café as part of the test scenario.
Reflection
This stage helped me develop my workflow in Unreal Engine, from environment blockout to final scene setup. It also showed how environment design supports storytelling and character performance within the motion capture project.
