- Ben Lesko
- Mar 19
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 13
Hermit: A Star Wars Story — Gameplay Prototype
An Unreal Engine prototype exploring physics-driven Force abilities, systemic interaction design, and navigation feedback systems.
The project emphasises building gameplay mechanics in C++ while exposing key parameters to Blueprint for iteration and designer control.
Role
Technical Designer
Engine / Tools
Unreal Engine C++
Focus Areas
Physics-driven Force interaction system
World-space navigation & compass logic
Systemic object interaction design
Hybrid C++ / Blueprint workflow
Force Interaction System
Force abilities were implemented using a trace-based interaction workflow that allows tagged world objects to become dynamically interactable. When activated, the system performs spatial traces from the player’s hand position to identify valid targets, attaching selected objects to a controlled interaction slot before applying directional physics forces for push and pull behaviours.
This approach enables designers to define interactable objects through tagging rather than bespoke scripting, supporting systemic gameplay experimentation and reusable mechanic design.
The implementation required applying vector mathematics and physics reasoning to ensure that object manipulation felt responsive and predictable across different interaction scenarios.
World-Space Navigation & Compass System
A navigation feedback system was developed to communicate points of interest through a world-space compass interface. The system calculates distance and directional relationships between the player and objectives, enabling icons to appear and fade based on proximity thresholds.
This design aimed to replicate the readability of navigation systems seen in open-world RPGs while maintaining clarity within a third-person action gameplay context. Integrating world-space logic with UI widgets required careful coordination between gameplay systems and presentation layers.
Physics-Driven Object Interaction & Slicing Research
Additional experimentation focused on environmental interaction, including research into slicing 3D objects and applying visual feedback such as decal projection on impacted surfaces. While not all approaches were production-ready, the process involved investigating geometry handling techniques and evaluating how such mechanics could support gameplay responsiveness and visual clarity.
Hybrid C++ / Blueprint Workflow
A key goal of the project was to establish a workflow where core gameplay logic was implemented in C++, while exposing relevant parameters to Blueprint for rapid iteration. This approach allows systemic mechanics to be tuned without requiring deep programming knowledge, supporting collaboration between technical and design disciplines.
Designing systems with this hybrid structure highlighted the importance of balancing architectural robustness with iteration flexibility.
What I Learned
physics-driven mechanics require careful mathematical grounding to achieve consistent gameplay feel
systemic interaction design benefits from reusable tagging and trace-based workflows
navigation feedback systems must balance spatial accuracy with UI readability
hybrid C++ / Blueprint pipelines support both scalability and rapid gameplay iteration
