Creating a 3D Side-Scroller Level

Currently, I and a group of 3 other students are creating a small 3D side-scroller in Unreal Engine 4. To split up the work in a fair way, we have each created our own level that will be combined in the final build. I personally was in charge of creating a starting or tutorial area. Before designing my level I took inspiration from platformers such as Mario, Shantae, and Shovel Knight.

Before even using Unreal, I had to sketch out a basic outline for the level. I ended up changing a few sections but otherwise I followed my idea fairly closely.

The level itself was not super hard to create in Unreal 4. The basic grey box layout barely took over a day to copy-paste cubes in their places. Once all the platforms and walls were in the level it was time to add some moving platforms. I'm ashamed to admit that it actually took me a little time to remember how matinees worked.

Once I created a platform that I needed to move, I created a new matinee. From there I had to create an empty group which I could name whatever I wanted. I tended to name them after the direction the platform was moving. I then had to go back into the viewport to select the platform. In the matinee I right clicked and selected "Add selected actor". Finally I created a movement track and added keys to the areas I wanted the platform to move. One issue I ran into was that I had to make sure the matinees played on level load and looped. Fortunately both can be checked off on a box in the detail editor.

The next thing I made was what I lovingly call "Death Water". It was originally going to be fire but the fire had added too much lag to the project. My lovely "Death Water" is a simple cube with a water texture. What makes it death water is a kill box that is a little bigger than the water. Its just a simple KillZVolume that I sized. I also added a short delay, a little message to say "Game Over", and a respawn.

I still need to work through some bugs and add doors and keys. I also want to add some AI if I have time. Tune in next week for a continuation if you're curious.