Captain's Log | Stardate: 10-14-14
I have discovered a strange and new obsession with this blueprint system of scripting. I believe this entity, this Unreal Engine 4, has finally become accustomed to my presence. We understand each other; I request of it one thing, and it does it. Moving ahead, I shall continue to explore strange new features of this engine.
Science + Science Fiction = That ->
Neurons, axon, dendrite, synapse, action potential, myelin, etc., these are words I now know inside and out. Hours of research on the brain, coupled with hours of scripting work has yielded us our first pass at a genuine level within Code Mushroom, which I have recorded here!
While you watch this, keep in mind that this is prototyping-designer level art, lighting and scripting. In the future, these systems will be expanded upon and optimized while more arty art stuff will beautify the scene.
Credit to LadyOfHats on Wikipedia
The Science
Our primary focus, since we are using Multiple Sclerosis (MS) as our inspiration, is on the neurons within the human brain. These biological circuits create and transmit electrical signals called action potential (AP). These transmitting APs represent... well... everything. Every thought you've ever had, every thing you've ever done, can be traced back to these impulses. As such, they are quite important.
MS attacks the exterior mylein sheath of the neuron and prevents AP from being transmitted to other neurons. If a neuron cannot fire, it may as well be dead. Using that as inspiration, I put the player inside of a neuron and gave them the purpose of repairing damaged microtubual segments and cleansing infected ones. Because neurons are very decisive (either on or off, no in between), I made sure the player knew just when they had succeeded.
Overall, I would say that the level is very successful in allowing us to further express our vision. In addition, we now have a world space to continue to edit. No more are we working in the realm of imagination!
The Science Fiction
Nanobots, a swirling collection of shiny new technology. With meshes and shader work by our own Adam Zemany, we have achieved a look unlike anything else we've seen done before. Our testers thoroughly enjoyed it, let's hope our class does too!