Overview

A lively and competitive single-player party game prototype built in Unreal Engine 5.6. The player must chase, dodge, and tag AI-driven opponents. This project emphasizes gameplay systems and AI logic rather than visuals, serving as a hands-on learning experience with Unreal’s C++ programming, Blueprint scripting, AI decision-making (EQS & NavMesh), and the Gameplay Ability System (GAS).

🎮 Project Type: Solo – Prototype / Learning
🛠 Engine: Unreal Engine 5.6 (Third Person Template)
💻 Languages: C++, Blueprint
🤖 AI Systems: EQS, NavMesh, Behavior Trees
⚡ Key Systems: Gameplay Ability System (GAS), Primary Data Asset, AI Tagging Logic

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🎯 Gameplay Overview

The player controls a character and must tag AI-controlled opponents.
AI runners currently use EQS to locate the farthest point from the player and navigate with NavMesh. Recent updates introduced game over conditions and attribute tracking via GAS, making the core loop more structured.

• Core loop: session ends after a set number of tag exchanges
• Tag opponents to increase score
• Game over triggered when the maximum exchanges are reached (configurable in game.ini)

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🧩 Game Architecture

🎮 GameMode

• Responsible for choosing the initial “It” at the start of play
• Manages exchange count and win/lose conditions
• Configurable maximum exchanges using game.ini:

  [/Script/TagGame.TagGameGameMode]
  MaxNumberOfExchanges = 10
  

🤖 AI Opponents

• Normal AI: hides from others when it sees nearby characters
• “It” AI: directly chases the farthest player (current strategy)
• Controlled by Behavior Trees with EQS queries

📦 Primary Data Assets

• Store Gameplay Tag Types and their corresponding effect classes
• Centralize effect logic for easier scaling and system management

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🧠 AI Systems (EQS & NavMesh)

• Current:

  • Normal AI → hide when spotting other characters
  • “It” AI → chase the farthest player using EQS + NavMesh

• Planned:

  • Introduce more randomness and unpredictability
  • Adaptive AI behavior to create dynamic chase interactions

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🏗️ Maze System

• Maze spawning logic implemented using a 15x15 matrix
• Walls spawned via Instanced Static Meshes for performance efficiency
• Creates structured play areas for more engaging chases

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🎨 Visuals & Feedback

• Uses Unreal Engine’s Third Person Template assets
• Visual polish not a priority — focus remains on systems and logic
• Planned: score HUD, tag indicators, and simple particle effects for feedback

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✅ Features Implemented

• ✅ Initial tag assignment via GameMode

• ✅ Player movement & tag mechanic

• ✅ AI evasion using EQS & NavMesh

• ✅ Normal AI hiding behavior

• ✅ “It” AI chasing behavior

• ✅ Gameplay Ability System (GAS) integration

• ✅ GAS Attributes to track:

  • Number of times a character became “It”
  • Number of successful tags performed

• ✅ Game over system after configurable number of exchanges (game.ini)

• ✅ Primary Data Assets for centralizing gameplay tags & effects

• ✅ Maze spawning logic with 15x15 matrix & Instanced Static Mesh walls

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🚀 Pending Features

• 📊 Expanded gameplay attributes (stamina, cooldowns, speed boosts, etc.)
• 🖥️ Score UI system
• 🤖 Advanced AI evasive and chase behaviors
• 🌐 Multiplayer update idea: Hunter vs Prey gameplay mode
• ⏱️ Polished session loop with win/lose presentation

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📦 Assets & Licensing

Currently uses default Unreal Engine 5.6 template assets for prototyping. No external art or audio assets are included at this stage.

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🔧 Build Targets

• 🖥️ Windows (.exe) – []

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📬 Contact & Source Code

This game is currently a prototype for learning and experimentation. The source code can be made available upon request via LinkedIn.

💡 Thinking about expanding into a Hunter x Prey multiplayer game in future updates. If you have other ideas for improving the tag game, please let me know on LinkedIn.

🚀 If you like the project, please let me know and check out the repository!