Weapons for VR
Following the switch from the Unity Engine to Unreal Engine 4, I decided to create a series of weapons which could be comfortably used within virtual reality environment.
I initially started by modelling a mace, which proved fairly quick and easy too make and acted as a proof of concept. At this stage the weapon acted only as a regular object that could be picked up from any angle and at any point upon its length. Following the first successful test I created three more models a dagger, an Axe, a Sword and a Light Sabre. Once they had been tested , I textured each model within blender and render them before turning them into assets for Unreal Engine.
Once all the weapons were turned into assets for UE4, I set about optimising the user interaction with each weapon. I wanted the weapons to feel comfortable to hold and so instead of allowing the user to pick up the weapon however they wanted modified it so that upon picking up the weapon, it would jump to the optimal position for it to be wielded. In order to establish how each different weapon would be held I used sticks, toy weapons and cardboard mock ups to establish the positions and angles of how each weapon should be held. This then dictated how each individual weapon would be attached to the users hand when grabbed, i.e. with the sword being held at the top of the hilt and the dagger being held with the blade facing downward making it easy to use. I then created a series of objects with ‘destruction enabled’ to allow the user to utilise the weapons. This project was predominantly successful, as I was happy with the overall design and usage of each weapon. However, as at this point I was not used to the material creator within UE4 ,the majority of the models lacked texture which reduced the effect for the user. Another discovery with this project was the inclusion of weapons such as the great sword, because these weapons are meant to be used with two hands and I was unable to implement two handed usage within the experience.
