Buoyancy Prototype
What
Sim. of objects reacting to water, incl. puzzles
Team Size
2 designers
My part
Blueprints, Puzzle Design
Engine
Unreal
Duration
2 weeks
I worked together with Emma Berg, and we were inspired by the buoyancy system in "Half Life 2".
We planned the first week of what we wanted to build and why. In the second week, we build the system, and a small puzzle game to use it in.
Multiple components for precision
We used force to push the object upwards if the object touched the water. A "buoyancy component" acts as a sort of pivot point, where the force is applied. The component uses line trace to measure the distance to the "ocean floor", and applies more force the deeper down it is.
Iteration 1
Using only one component would cause the object to spin around the component.
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Iteration 2
By having several components on the object, the object balances itself on the surface.
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Usage
The floating objects react well to other objects, as long as they have a correct weight set.
This makes the system perfect for puzzles as the objects both can sink or float realistically.
Floating objects cause other objects to rise if submerged...
... and still reacts to other physical effects (This example: the player)
Objects with low buoyant force cause other objects to sink.