[Overview]

Zephyrion is a Virtual Reality Experience created in Unreal Engine 5.3, set in a lost city where dragons have been exiled. The scene centers around the Temple of Dragons, a sanctuary where dragons coexist, surrounded by the crimson waters of the Sanguinem Sea. Using Unreal Engine’s water system, I crafted realistic red water to match the lore, while Niagara effects were used to create a dramatic fire effect when interacting with a dragon. The experience immerses players in a mystical world filled with rich visuals, dynamic interactions, and atmospheric storytelling.

[Challenges & Growth]

Creating Realistic Water:

• The challenge was to make the red water of the Sanguinem Sea look realistic and visually appealing yet calm. I used Unreal Engine’s 5.3 water system, tweaking settings like wave height, color, and reflectivity.

  
  

Dragon Interaction

• Implementing a meaningful interaction where petting a dragon’s foot triggers the temple to set on fire required Blueprint scripting and Niagara effects. I tweaked the fire to be optimized for performance in VR.

  
  

Atmosphere & Immersion:

• Building an immersive environment for the Temple of Dragons involved balancing visual detail with performance. I used UE5’s lighting and post-processing tools to create a mystical atmosphere that complements the story of what happened in Zephyrion and its doom.

Third person version

This is the third person version of the experience, where the player is moving around and interacting with keyboard and mouse instead of a VR Headset.

History:

Doom of "Zephyrion" consists of a fantasy virtual reality experience based in the destroyed city of Zephyrion, which is home to the temple of dragons. Where the dragons were exiled after the new dominion took over the kingdom of Candor. When dragon power was harbored back in 6000 BCE, there were five families. All families coexisted happily in what used to be "Zephyrion," now regarded as the lost city. After royalty feud, Zephyrion was divided into two kingdoms: Zephyrion and Caloth. Dragons were secluded as per the Calothian rule for utter control. Over time, the rest of the families moved away to faraway lands where they created their kingdoms.

Water Material

I modified the water system by adjusting the material properties to Material Editor, I altered refraction settings to give the water more real looking. Also changed the fluid simulation parameters, including wave height and velocity, to ensure that the water responded realistically to terrain and other environmental factors. These changes were made using the UE Water Body system and connected to the landscape via the Landscape Layer to allow the water to seamlessly integrate with the environment.

Fire Effect

For the fire effect, I used Niagara to create a more dynamic and chaotic flame. I modified the Emitter settings to adjust spawn rates, particle size, and lifetime to simulate more unpredictable flame behavior. The Initial Velocity and Rotation Rate were tweaked to add a more natural flicker to the fire, while the Color over Life module allowed the flames to shift in color, mimicking real fire behavior. I also added smoke particles, adjusting the Opacity and Velocity to make the smoke billow and disperse in a more realistic way, making the overall fire effect feel more authentic.

Event Box

For the event trigger, I set up a collision box around the character's foot to detect when it interacts with a specific object. This was done using Blueprints, where I created a custom collision component that tracked the foot’s position. Once the collision occurred, I used Blueprint Event Dispatchers to trigger the fire effect, activating the Niagara Fire System. I also used a Timeline to control the delay before the fire started, creating a smooth transition between the footstep and the fire ignition, making the event feel more responsive to the player’s action.

The result

The promotional video featured visually stunning shots of the project's setting and characters, accompanied by a carefully crafted voice-over narration that emphasized the significance and importance of Chaance. The video effectively conveyed the message and themes of the project and generated significant buzz and excitement among potential viewers.