I’ve always wanted to create video games; ever since I was a kid. In 2005, I decided to just go for it and apply for school at a really neat art school in Edmonton, Alberta. It was tough to get in, and it wasn’t cheap. Long story short, I got in, did well and graduated with a very solid understanding of CG, 3D and digital animation.
Edmonton wasn’t really the place for all the game design companies… most of them being in Vancouver, BC. So, I eventually picked up and moved out west. When I was in Vancouver, I got into the VFX and film side of CG, and started my career that way. It was great, but the itch to create video games always stuck.
A few years ago, I decided to start getting into video games and learning Unreal Engine. By this time, I had myself a tech savvy little 7 year old son (Ethan), who was very artistic and creative. Perfect. The idea of giving my son the actual opportunity to create a AAA video game really excited me! I would have done anything to have that opportunity at his age!
We decided to start coming up with ideas for making our own video game, which ended up being a really fun game about little green army men. The game kind of blew up and ended up becoming one of my companies’ flagship projects, and is now just about to hit the Beta stages on Steam! You can see a bit more about that project (Green Hawk Platoon) here - https://80.lv/articles/green-hawk-platoon-switching-from-ue4-to-ue5/
Ethan has been (and continues to be) a major contributor to ideas and inspiration for that project. But, he has always wanted to make his own game about dragons. So, I decided to set aside a few days per month to work on a really neat game with him. Sometimes borrowing assets and mechanics from other games we’re working on, but ultimately building the game he has always wanted!
There are major elements from some of his favourite games, like Ark, Sea of Thieves, Fortnite, No Man’s Sky and a bunch more! Things like taming and riding animals (like Pegasus’, Fire-breathing Dragons and other animals), playing as a Dragon, humans, elves, Orcs , etc, buying and sailing ships, and just a lot of overall exploring land, sea and air.
At this time, there is no title to the game, and no real plans as far as releasing the game. If that ever does happen (and that’s his call), any money raised will go to this little guy’s education, and supporting his creativity.
For now, here are some beautiful shots of the game so far…
#dragon #indiegame #gamedev #videogames #kids #children #unrealengine #ue5 #fantasy #flying #flight