Advanced Modeling and Animation / Final Project

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Advanced Modeling and Animation /Final Assignment

01.12.2025 - 30.12.2025 / Week 9- Week 14

GeXianjing / 0377636

Advanced Modeling and Animation  / Bachelor of Interactive Spatial Design (Honours) 

Final Project Blog: Interactive Futuristic Theme Park in Virtual Reality

Project Overview

This final project focuses on the creation of an interactive virtual reality environment set within a futuristic theme park. The goal of the project is to combine 3D modelling, animation, visual effects, and Blueprint-based interaction to construct a functional and immersive VR-ready space.

Building upon the foundation developed in Project 2, this stage expands the environment both visually and technically. Additional environmental elements, animated amusement rides, and interactive systems were introduced to create a more complete and engaging experience for the player.

Spatial Structure & Player Journey

The overall experience is designed as a guided spatial journey, allowing the player to gradually transition from a controlled entry point into an open amusement environment.

The player begins the experience by entering through a neon-lit tunnel, which functions as the starting transition space. The tunnel uses blue and purple neon lighting, immediately establishing a futuristic tone and visually separating the starting area from the main park.

At the end of the tunnel, the player encounters a visual portal placed at the entrance of the theme park. Although the portal does not function as a real teleportation system, it serves an important aesthetic and symbolic role. The swirling vortex texture creates a sense of movement and transition, marking the moment when the player arrives at the amusement park.

Once passing through the portal, the player enters the central play area, where all amusement rides are evenly distributed in a structured layout. The arrangement allows for a clear viewing order and smooth navigation, ensuring the player can intuitively explore the park.



Visual Design & Environmental Effects

The visual language of the theme park combines dark base materials with neon lighting and glowing effects.

The main ground layer uses a black glossy floor with ripple-like reflections, creating a clean and futuristic surface. Each amusement ride is placed on a neon-lit platform, visually distinguishing interactive zones from the surrounding environment.

To enrich the atmosphere, natural scenery elements are placed around the corners of the map to soften the mechanical appearance of the rides. Additionally, fireworks and light sparkle effects are included, adding motion and celebratory energy to the scene.

Around the boundary of the playable area, green fluorescent arrows are positioned to subtly guide player movement and reinforce spatial direction.

 
 

Amusement Rides & Animation Design

Multiple animated amusement rides were developed, each with distinct motion characteristics:

  • Rotating Swing Ride
    The seats rotate smoothly around a central axis, creating continuous circular motion.

  • Ferris Wheel & Rocket Chair Ride
    Both rides are fully animated to introduce rhythm and movement into the environment.

  • Rocket Chair Vertical Motion
    Based on lecturer feedback, the rocket chair was improved to include vertical movement in addition to rotation. The seats and mechanical arms move up and down, simulating real amusement ride behaviour.

  • Glass-Style Mechanical Arm Ride
    A newly added ride featuring rotating mechanical arms, introducing a different visual and mechanical language.

  • Multi-Ring Wave Installation
    A set of circular ring structures that move in a wave-like oscillation, contrasting with the rigid mechanical motion of the rides.



Interactive Lighting & Player Response

A smaller pink-themed play area introduces a softer, proximity-based interaction system. When the player approaches the area, pink glowing light spheres begin to flicker, and when the player moves away, the lights turn off.

This interaction is designed to provide immediate feedback and create a more responsive environment, encouraging exploration and experimentation.




Blueprint Implementation & Technical Workflow

Each amusement ride and interactive element was implemented as an individual Blueprint, allowing for modular control and easier debugging.

Animation Control

Most animations are driven using Timeline nodes, combined with Set Relative Rotation and Set Relative Location. This approach ensures smooth interpolation and stable motion during runtime.

For more complex behaviour, such as the rocket chair’s vertical movement, Timeline outputs were mapped to the Z-axis, allowing rotation and elevation to occur simultaneously.



Wave Motion System

The multi-ring installation uses multiple Timelines with offset values to generate layered wave motion. This avoids uniform movement and creates a more organic visual effect.

Proximity-Based Interaction

Collision boxes and overlap events were used to detect player presence. Material parameters are adjusted dynamically to control lighting behaviour based on distance.








Learning Process & Problem Solving

During development, several technical challenges emerged, particularly when combining multiple animations within a single Blueprint and maintaining smooth transitions.

For unfamiliar Blueprint logic, I actively consulted YouTube tutorial resources to understand animation workflows and node relationships. These techniques were then adapted and tested within my own project.

In addition, I frequently asked the lecturer for guidance during class, especially regarding Timeline structure, motion control, and interaction logic. This combination of independent research and in-class feedback played a crucial role in refining the final implementation.



Reflection & Future Improvements

This project significantly strengthened my understanding of Blueprint-based animation, interactive system design, and spatial experience planning within Unreal Engine.

If the project were to be developed further, future improvements could include:

  • More advanced player interaction with rides

  • Sound design integration for each attraction

  • Performance optimisation for VR deployment

  • More complex material animation using dynamic shaders

Feedback & VR Interaction Issue

During the final presentation, my lecturer gave positive feedback on the overall visual quality, spatial layout, and animation of the futuristic theme park. However, when I started testing the project in VR mode, I discovered that one of my interactive light setups was not responding when the player moved close to it.

Originally, the Blueprint logic for the light interaction was built for the standard third-person character, so the overlap events could detect the character and switch the material parameters correctly. In VR, the player is represented by a different pawn, so the existing Blueprint could no longer recognise the VR player entering the trigger box.

After discussing this issue with my lecturer, I was advised to reconnect the Blueprint logic to a VR-specific setup, and cast to the correct VR pawn / spectator blueprint. This means that in the next iteration, I will need to rebuild part of the interaction graph so that the proximity-based lighting works consistently in both the normal third-person view and the VR experience.





VR


🔚 Final Project Reflection & Feedback Summary

This project marked the transition from Project 2 development to the final VR-ready interactive environment, and it became an important learning process for me both technically and conceptually.

At the beginning of Project 2, my focus was mainly on building basic Blueprint interactions and simple animations. I tested rotation, movement, and emissive responses using collision boxes, aiming to make the scene feel reactive and alive rather than static. Through this stage, I gradually understood how Unreal Engine connects animation, materials, and interaction logic into a single system.

As the project progressed, I expanded the scene by adding more environmental elements, including a neon tunnel, animated directional arrows, and a darker atmospheric setup. These additions helped strengthen the futuristic theme and guided player movement through the space. However, during this expansion phase, several technical issues appeared.

One major problem occurred when I merged different levels together: all building materials suddenly disappeared. This caused confusion at first, as the models themselves were still present but their materials were missing. After checking with my lecturer, I learned that this issue was related to material references and naming, especially when assets are copied, merged, or reloaded between levels.

Another critical issue came from my emissive material setup. I had originally named some material parameters using Chinese characters, which caused the Blueprint and material system to fail silently during runtime and level merging. With the lecturer’s help, we identified this problem and fixed it by renaming all emissive material parameters into English. Once this was corrected, the material interactions worked properly again.

This experience made me realise how important naming conventions, asset consistency, and project structure are in Unreal Engine — especially in larger scenes or VR projects. Small details, such as parameter names, can completely break interactions if they are not handled carefully.

After resolving these issues, I was able to complete the final interactive setup successfully. The final scene now includes:

  • Interactive lighting triggered by player proximity

  • Rotational and wave-like motion inspired by lecturer feedback

  • A darker sky and atmosphere to enhance contrast

  • Neon tunnel elements and animated arrow lights for spatial guidance

Overall, this project helped me gain a much clearer understanding of how Blueprint logic, materials, lighting, and environment design work together in Unreal Engine. More importantly, it taught me how to debug problems systematically, communicate with feedback, and refine my work step by step.

This final outcome is not only a technical result, but also a reflection of my learning progress from Project 2 to the final VR-oriented scene.


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