Level Planning

This is my level planning, at first I drew out a level which could be level 1, you can jump from train to train and there would be an ending point, but then I done some research on endless runners, and I decided that my idea was silly with a planned out level and I should just randomly generate it instead so it can go on forever, with no end, and that’s where the title of an ‘endless’ runner comes in.
So instead of level planning, I decided I would think more about how I’m going to have everything laid out.
I’m going to have the player run forward, and the camera behind the player, I was going to have it zoomed out enough that you can see the obstacles in front of you but not zoomed out enough to see too far ahead so you can’t plan ahead.
I was playing around with the camera in Unreal Engine to find the values which I think would work the best.

This is my first idea for a camera position that I’d like, it’s just above the players head and you can see clearly in front of you, one thing which I think is really annoying is the fact that I’m developing this game on PC so the screen is going to be widescreen, and most endless runners are vertical, not horizontal. 
I then set the camera mode onto Orthographic, and I really liked the results.

I felt like with the current settings this was too zoomed in, so, I pulled the camera back a bit.

This didn’t help so much, which left me in confusion, so I looked more into the camera settings and realized I just needed to adjust the camera settings.
After playing around with these, I found the perfect camera settings which I really like, and it gave me this result.

Here are the final camera settings which I’m going to use.

I personally feel like these settings are perfect for an endless runner since the bottom of the camera is just at the players feet, and you can see in font of yourself pretty well so it’s possible to avoid obstacles.

In my art class, we learnt about drawing roughly over 3D objects to achieve perfect perspective, this would really help if I had some landscape plans for my own game, but unfortunately, since my games levels are randomly generated, there isn’t much planning I can do for the landscape, the only planning I can do would be the UI and how I want the screen laid out, where I roughly want the train to be and what the background is going to look like.

Background (Skybox, parallax background)

I was looking around for a good background for my project, and I found a few which I like the look of.

Firstly, we have a Parallax Desert Background (2017) by Cryptogene on gamedevmarket.net.
This is a Parallax background which could work in my game, but then again, I’m really not too sure since it is a 2.5D game which has the camera behind and above the players head, there wouldn’t be much view from the background, but the asset does look amazing, and it fits in with the low poly style which I want to go for.

Why I like it - How it does fit with the theme/game: Overall, I really like the style of this parallax background, it’s colour is bright and really makes you think of deserts and western right away due to the use of saturated oranges and yellows and purples, these tones are very warm, and that is what a desert is, boiling hot, so it really sets the atmosphere, I also really like the use of the big sunrise and the morning sky beginning to peak over the horizon.
It fits the theme since our theme is western, and western is set usually in deserts and deserted cities and areas.

Why I don’t like it - How does it not fit with the theme/game: The use of many canyons and cactuses makes the background not feel that lonely and deserted, which isn’t really what we are going for. We are looking for a vast open desert land, which this is most definitely not. It is also 2D, which would be very hard to include in my game since my game is 3D, so it might end out looking weird if I were to use this.

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Next we have Desert (2016) by AndrewBelyi on turbosquid.com.
This is a texture which is applied to a plane to give the bumps and hills on the ground.
I’m not a big fan of this one since I think i looks far too harsh, and not realistic, the texture as well is lacking since it doesn’t look realistic at all, but it does fit in with the style which I want to go for.

Why I like it - How it does fit with the theme/game: I like this because it looks like a fun area to explore in due to the high hills, this could make fun gameplay with the player running up the hills on the trains and rails, I also like how all the maps are included in this image so you can edit the bumps and how harsh they are. It does fit with the theme western, since it is a desert and many deserts tend to have hills of sand.

Why I don’t like it - How does it not fit with the theme/game: I don’t like this since I feel like the hills are too sharp, usually sand hills are smoothed out and another reason I don’t like this is because the texture on the sand doesn’t look that realistic, it doesn’t fit with my game since the player would only be running straight ahead, not up hills, the player would also see the texture on the ground, and this texture looks very plain, so it wouldn’t look that great in the game.

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Next we have Arab Desert (2009) by choly kurd. I like this one since it is basic and not exaggerated at all, it would be perfect to use for my game.

The textures are lacking slightly, but since the player isn’t going to be focusing on the ground whilst playing the game, I think it’s fine.
It fits in well with the low poly theme which I was going for for my game.

Why I like it - How it does fit with the theme/game: I like the textures on the ground of this desert, and I also like the hills and bumps on the ground, this is a lot more of a realistic terrain then the previous desert, it really shows a desolate vast desert which is exactly what I’m going for, it fits the theme of western and it would be perfect for my game since it’s not too bumpy but not too flat either.

Why I don’t like it - How does it not fit with the theme/game: I don’t like the colour of the sand since it looks quite unrealistic with how bright it is, this makes it look cartoony, which is somewhat what I’m trying to go for, but I don’t think this colour would work well, but I can change this.
It doesn’t fit with the theme since I would imagine western deserts to be more orange and it wouldn’t fit with the game since the bumps may get in the way.

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Next, we have Desert Landscape (2016) by lacomap. I think this one is perfect for my game since there is plenty of flat land for the train to run through, but, that’s a negative as well since there is too much flat land and I feel like there needs to be more variance, since the player will only see the sides of the landscape, it’s also not as cartoon and low-poly style as I want it to be, it looks more on the realistic style (Minusing the fact that the whole ground is flat which isn’t realistic at all)

Why I like it - How it does fit with the theme/game: I like it because it would be easy to work with, considering the ground is flat and there is a lot of props everywhere which will make the background look random and full of different things which is what you usually see in a desert, it fits in with the theme since I would imagine a western city would be built here since it’s a vast flat deserted land.

Why I don’t like it - How does it not fit with the theme/game: I don’t like it because of how flat and unrealistic it is, a desert isn’t usually this flat, and the land seems to have been placed out randomly which is inconsistant and doesn’t look too pleasing, another reason I don’t like this is because there is no sand material on the ground.

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Next we have a Desert (2014) by Alex38. Although the trees and pond and fish in this desert aren’t something I’d like to include on my project, I think the landscape is perfect, it’s not too bumpy and it’s not too flat either, it looks amazing for what I need, and it also looks low poly, which fits in with the style and the audience which I am going for.

Why I like it - How it does fit with the theme/game: I like this because it has realistic looking terrain, with bumps, not too many but not too little, this is usually what you’d find in a desert environment.
It fits with my game since the ground isn’t too bumpy so it would be easy to work with, and another reason is because it would work well with the style and audience I’m going for, a low poly game which will fit the audience of males around 7 years old.

Why I don’t like it - How does it not fit with the theme/game: I do feel like the sand colour is quite bright, and I would definitely get rid of the trees water and fish since they don’t really look nice, they look like they’re suited for a much younger audience, and the only thing in here which I really like is the landscape. It doesn’t fit the game somewhat as I feel like the sand could have much more detail in it, and not just a plain colour.

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Here’s a Landscape (2011) by bourloten. I like this since it’s not fully a desert, it’s land which I would expect to see in a western town, and I can easily insert rail tracks and a train through this.

This doesn’t really fit my low-poly plan that I was going for to fit with my audience though, since the textures are more on the realistic side and not on the cartoon side like low poly games are.

Why I like it - How it does fit with the theme/game: I like it because the texture on the ground looks just about the right detail I would like on my game and the mountains in the background look very nice to have in the back of my game, going across in a parallax fashion, framing my scene.
It would fit well with my game since I need flat land for the train to go across.

Why I don’t like it - How does it not fit with the theme/game: I don’t like how the land is very flat, similar to the Desert Landscape (2016) by lacomap from beforehand, it’s too flat to look realistic. It wouldn’t really make the player feel like they’re going through a deserted land and the game would have a sense of ‘Unfinished’ to it.

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This is Landscape Backgrounds (2016) by Gokhan Karadayi. They’re just what I need.
But I don’t think the player would be able to see them because of the position of the camera.
One con about this is the fact that it’s realistic, it looks really nice but it wouldn’t match with the low poly style which I want to go for in the game.

Why I like it - How it does fit with the theme/game: I like this one a lot since it is very realistic, the sand is textured perfectly to look like real sand, and it has the perfect amount of bumps in it to not be too distracting to the player and the game. It fits with the theme since the sand feels huge, and I can easily loop the background seamlessly and not many people would notice the infinite land. I also like it since the materials are easy to adjust to fit what colours and harshness I need.

Why I don’t like it - How does it not fit with the theme/game: I don’t like how realistic this is in a way, since it wouldn’t fit with my target audience and style of the game, but this can easily be changed if I change the material properties.

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I absolutely love this Polygon Desert Pack Free low-poly 3D model (2018) by runemarkstudio. It’s got everything I need in it so I think I’m going to end up using this since it looks really nice, and it perfectly fits in with the low poly style which I want to achieve with my game.

Why I like it - How it does fit with the theme/game: I like this since it is low poly and looks like this pack has a lot in it which I can use in my game, these would be perfect to scatter randomly throughout my desert environment to give the player something nice to look at in the background, if I were to adjust the background to have a bright saturated colour, I feel like these low poly models could work perfectly in the background of my game, it also fits the theme since seeing this image reminds me of the types of plants you would see around a western town environment.

Why I don’t like it - How does it not fit with the theme/game: I don’t like how the rocks in this image don’t fit the same colour as the desert ground below them, but in a way, you do see different shaded rocks in a desert, but I don’t like how the sand below the rocks is the lighter colour, that is probably something I would personally change to fit my game. It fits my target audience very well since it is bright and saturated, and almost looks like it belongs in a cartoon, which is somewhat what I’m trying to go for.

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Collectibles, Pick ups

This is a beer bottle - Oz Beer Bottle V2 (2018) by printable_models whenever I think of Western - I think of Cowboys, and whenever I think of cowboys, I think of beer, so I think this would be a perfect thing for a western character to collect, I can imagine a small beer bottle spinning around in circles on top of a train.

Why I like it - How it does fit with the theme/game: I like this because is isn’t too detailed and it’s clear to see that its a beer bottle from afar, it fits with the theme since in western america, there is a lot of saloons, and saloons have alcohol in them, so this is something a western person would want to drink, so I feel like it would be a good collectible. It fits with my game since my game is an endless runner, and this bottle of beer could be something which gives the player an advantage for a little while, or even a disadvantage. 

Why I don’t like it - How does it not fit with the theme/game: I don’t like the colour of the bottle, I would personally change this to a brown with more of a red tone in it, I do think in a western american saloon, the beers would be served in glasses instead of straight out of the glass bottle.

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This Coin (2014) by moddlestudios I feel would be perfect for a western-style game.
This is because, firstly, the date on it is accurate to when there was a Western America. And Western Americans would be chasing after money since they didn’t have a lot back then. -

Why I like it - How it does fit with the theme/game: I like this coin since it is simple and you can clearly tell it is a coin, it fits with the theme since the Wild West era is set around the date which is on the coin, so it makes perfect sense to have this gold coin be a collectible in the game.

Why I don’t like it - How does it not fit with the theme/game: I don’t like how the side of the coin looks like a hay stack, but the coins wouldn’t be huge in the game so it probably won’t be seen, I also don’t like how ‘realistic’ it is, it’s not too realistic but the style of the coin isn’t what I am going for, I feel like it would be better if I use a low poly coin which looks more obvious that it’s a coin in a low poly cartoon game which is aimed at children.

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And that’s the same for this 3D model below as well!

Bag of gold (2018) by printable_models

Why I like it - How it does fit with the theme/game: I like it since I feel like it would be a good collectible considering it’s a bag of gold, it would be rare for it to spawn, but when it does, it gives you lots of money, it fits with the theme considering people in the western times would put all their gold in bags, so this fits with the theme and time period.

Why I don’t like it - How does it not fit with the theme/game: I don’t like the textures of this bag of gold at all, the gold at the top doesn’t look too nice and the leather material on the bag looks low quality, if I were to use this model in my game, it would have to be a small bag of gold and I would need to adjust the materials and textures to be more of a brighter brown which draws the players eye.

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Obstacles

I think this Neem Twig (2017) by Splat Shop would be a perfect obstacle, since it’s small but is clearly an obstacle. I think if I have multiple of these branches blocking off the side it would be an obvious obstacle for the player to avoid.

Why I like it - How it does fit with the theme/game: I like it because it’s small, simple and clean and it has little details to it like the leafs on the branch, I also like how the branch is naturally bent, so it looks more realistic.

Why I don’t like it - How does it not fit with the theme/game: I don’t like how small and thin the branch is, it wouldn’t look like an obstacle due to its small size, it wouldn’t bring a threat to the player, and that’s really what I need in the game, I need to make it clear that the obstacle is a threat and it is going to stop you in the game, so ideally they need to be large and obvious.

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I think this Branch Rotten 15 (2015) by edikm1 would be a perfect obstacle to have on the top of the train where the player has to either jump over it or run around it, it’s big enough to take up the whole roof of the train width wise so it could be an obstacle that the player has to jump over.

Why I like it - How it does fit with the theme/game: I like it because it’s large, and it would be obvious to the player that the branch is an obstacle, it would clearly be in the way and the player would know they need to jump over it, I also like the detail in the branch, and how it is shaped like an actual branch, it looks very realistic with the textures.

Why I don’t like it - How does it not fit with the theme/game: I think it would be too big and repetitive to have in my game, and it doesn’t really make sense to have a branch on top of a train, especially one of this size. The texture is too realistic and it really wouldn’t fit in with the style of my game.

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I think this Canal Bridge (2017) by CHETAN110 is a perfect obstacle for my player to duck underneath of, but then again, I feel like it doesn’t fit the western style too well.

Why I like it - How it does fit with the theme/game: I like this since it looks like a bridge which you would find a train to go under, it has a lot of detail on it and there is actually a path way on top of the roof which could also be used as an obstacle for the player.

Why I don’t like it - How does it not fit with the theme/game: It doesn’t fit in with the western theme since the western bridges tend to be wooden planks or stone bricks arranged disorderly, since they didn’t have too much money to make anything decent, this structure looks neat and looks more eastern, or something you would see in an area with more money, the textures are too detailed for the style which I am going for.

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This Old Bridge (2015) by FxHellFire does fit the time period that Western is in, but it doesn’t fit the whole poor-western style. - I like this bridge though, it’s perfect for what I need it for.

Why I like it - How it does fit with the theme/game: I like this bridge because it looks realistic, and I really like the archway, and how this could also be used as an obstacle for the player to run over, or jump over, it fits with the western theme since bridges in the western era tend to be made of stone bricks or wooden planks which are built in a messy fashion, and this is exactly what I would imagine.

Why I don’t like it - How does it not fit with the theme/game: I don’t like how realistic it is, it won’t fit in with the style of my game, and I know I would need to scale this model to stretch it so the player and train can fit under it and the bridge pathway connects to the ground. It doesn’t fit in with the desert style which I’m going for in the game, I would expect there to be more crumbled rocks and sand in between the cracks of the bricks.

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This Bridge#2 (2012) by Qiwer is most likely going to be the bridge which I go with since it isn’t textured, and it’s just the right size that I need, and it’s very simple.

Why I like it - How it does fit with the theme/game: I like this because it looks very simple, it fits very well with the low poly style which I want to go for in my game, I can apply a simple flat colour to this and it would still work just fine, since low poly models don’t tend to have a lot of detail in the texturing. It would fit in well with my game, I may need to resize the model slightly to fit the size of the train under it, and make sure it will always reach the desert ground and not be floating above it but besides from that I think it would look fine in my game

Why I don’t like it - How does it not fit with the theme/game: I don’t like how neat it is, and how it is a curved bridge, which means I would need to scale it a bit to make sure it always is set in the desert ground, I do feel like it would be a little better if it were to have a texture instead of one flat colour around the whole of it, it doesn’t really entirely fit in with the western theme.

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Player

It was easy finding what model I wanted for my main character, I like this Tiny Cowboy FREE Free low-poly 3D model (2019) by runemarkstudio. It’s already rigged, and is very cute, it would appeal to my ideal audience immediately.

Why I like it - How it does fit with the theme/game: It fits in very well with the western theme since western era people wore cowboy hats and boots, and this is exactly what the character is wearing, it doesn’t have much detail in the body or the face, but that never concerned me considering the player would only see the back of the player, I think it looks adorable and really fits the low poly cute style which I was initially after, it would draw attention from my chosen audience.

Why I don’t like it - How does it not fit with the theme/game: I do wish that the character had more detail in it, or it was taller and fit more realistic anatomy, but not in a way that would make it look too realistic, but other then that, the character model is perfect for what I need him for.