GAMEPLAY / ABILITYAbility use in the playable prototype
Ability targeting, projectile effects and feedback in the original Unreal prototype. Designed and implemented with Blueprints.
02 / SOLO PROTOTYPE · UNREAL ENGINE 4fATED.
fATED.
Azaroth
I wanted to move beyond an isolated ability test and make a complete playable loop.
This prototype connected combat, missions, rewards, a menu and upgrades. Getting progression to persist between levels was the important technical hurdle.
Unreal Engine 4BlueprintsGameplay loop
ORIGINAL / PROJECT ARTSeeing the whole loop changed my approach.
I started by testing individual combat abilities. Once I connected the menu, missions, rewards and persistent upgrades, I began designing how each system supported the next, rather than treating them as separate mechanics.
IMPLEMENTED GAME FLOW / HIGH-LEVEL SCHEMATIC
01HUB / MENU
Choose where to go and which upgrades are available.
02MISSION
Use abilities and complete objectives in a playable level.
03REWARD
Collect currency through the designed reward loop.
04UPGRADE
Spend rewards and carry changed values into the next level.
↶ UPGRADED ABILITIES FEED BACK INTO PLAYBUILT AS A PROTOTYPE
Making progression survive a level transition.
I had previously built abilities in Blueprints. This was my first attempt at maintaining upgrade values across separate levels. Understanding Game Instance variables, widgets and level flow became the key to connecting the systems I'd designed.
It wasn't enough for an ability to look good in a test map; the game needed to remember what the player had earned.
DESIGN → IMPLEMENTATION → DEBUG
DESIGNPersistent demonic arts
Upgrades should carry through the loop.
IMPLEMENTATIONBlueprint + Game Instance
Variables and menus share progression state.
PROBLEM SOLVINGCasting and purchase conditions
Debugged the logic needed to make an upgrade work.
Power with purpose.
The narrative theme shaped the weapons. A destructive protagonist attempting to save a world needed abilities that felt both capable and morally uneasy.
GAMEPLAY / ABILITY
PROTOTYPE / REWARDRewards and returning to the hub
The playable mission loop returns rewards to the hub. The footage supports in-session progression, not save persistence between restarts.
From menu to mission.
Footage from the original prototype, showing mission entry and moment-to-moment ability use. The reward return demonstrates in-session progression, not save persistence across restarts.
04 / DESIGN QUESTION
Can destruction be a form of salvation?
Azaroth explores the tension between saving a world and the damage caused along the way. The narrative gave me constraints for mechanics rather than being added after them.
WATCH THE ORIGINAL GAMEPLAY ↗