Awakened Senses VFX
This was an effect I created while taking part in the INFINITY27 Unreal Engine 5 Skills Bootcamp (Tech Art Strand). The effect was made for the Awakened Senses spell in the game Samsara, which gives the player the ability to see enemies through walls for a brief amount of time. I enjoyed the challenge of creating an interesting but subtle effect that was visually appealing without containing too many components that could detract from the main purpose of the spell (seeing enemies). The effect also had to match the theme and style of the game as well as the spell's purpose, which is why a third-eye and bodhi leaf inspired particles were chosen as these are often linked with knowledge/awareness.
The effect has user parameters, such as lifetime, to ensure the various parameters in all the emitters work as intended when the duration of the spell is increased, as can be seen in the second half of the video (when the energy bar at the bottom of the screen is larger, the spell lasts slightly longer, as does the VFX).
Effect working in game prototype.
Eye emitter with custom texture. The eye opens at the beginning of the effect and scales closed at the end. There's an initial burst of sparks as the emitter begins before moving particles appear. The bright flashes indicate the effect is almost over.
Custom eye texture. To create the border on the eye in the effect, I duplicated the eye emitter and scaled it up slightly and changed the base colour.
VFX I made while working as a freelancer for Infinity27. This was for the activation animation before the main effect. The eye that appears above the players head in the main effect fades in and out in front the player, matching the movement of the arms.
Moving background material. This was created by using techniques picked up from online tutorials. I duplicated the main texture and gave it a darker colour so the effect is still visible against lighter backgrounds.
Activation VFX at 0.25 speed. As well as the eye texture, this effect shares several other elements from the main effect, such as bodhi leaves that trail the arm movements. These were created using Spawn Per Unit.
I used the blowing particles emitter as a start point and adjusted it to get the leaves to swirl around a central point. Leaves spawn green at the beginning and red towards the end of the emitter loop lifetime to warn the player the effect is ending.
Eye texture uses dynamic parameters and two types of material dissolve to appear slowly, then fade out quickly.
Custom leaf texture based on a bodhi leaf.
The lower half of the eye texture has a longer lifespan and fades in/out slower as it appears first in the effect and has to last longer.