Another week in the books for our Unreal Engine project at Full Sail, and it's been a mix of solid progress on core systems and the usual technical adventures that come with game development.

AI Development Focus

This week was heavily focused on enemy AI implementation. I spent considerable time working on two main enemy types:

The RAT AI - Getting the basic behavior patterns established and ensuring smooth integration with our animation systems. There's something satisfying about watching an AI enemy come to life with proper movement and reactions.

The Soot Ball AI - This required more complex behavior patterns, including attack systems and player damage mechanics. By mid-week, I had refined the roaming behaviors for both AI types and implemented a spawner system to manage enemy encounters.

Technical Challenges Continue

The ongoing struggles with our development tools remained a constant theme. Unreal Engine decided to lose assets at one point, which led to some creative problem-solving sessions. Combined with version control hiccups and general software quirks, it's been a reminder of why having reliable backups and patience are essential skills in game development.

Side Projects and Playtesting

Had an exciting break from the main project to playtest a tabletop RPG I've been working on, complete with a companion Node.js campaign manager app. It's always refreshing to see players interact with systems you've designed, and the feedback was invaluable for future iterations.

Isekai Studios Work

Also handled some administrative tasks for Isekai Studios this week, balancing the academic project with professional responsibilities. The paperwork side of game development isn't glamorous, but it's a crucial part of the industry.

Week's End Progress

By Thursday, the AI roaming systems were functioning well, and the spawner setup was complete. Thursday afternoon brought the familiar ritual of preparing builds and submissions, along with the usual file management adventures that come with collaborative development.

Despite the technical friction, seeing the enemy AI systems come together and function as intended made the week's efforts worthwhile. Each small victory in game development feels earned when you've wrestled with the tools to get there.

Stay tuned. Bacon will Burn.
—Chris