How to Train Your Dragon Game

The 'How to Train Your Dragon' game is a 3D open-world style game made in Unreal Engine 5.5 for the Windows platform.

Before continuing, it is important to acknowledge that this game was developed in isolation from and is not associated with any DreamWorks production. The game and any associated files have never been released into the public domain however is available on request.

This game is based on the original 2010 animated version of the movie, and features three unique game levels, with each level having both a playable and cinematic version. The details of each level is detailed below:

1. The first level represents when the main protagonists first encounter a dragon in the 'dragon training' arena. This arena is situated on an island which neighbors but is separate the Viking settlement. Both the island and the arena battle where re-created for this game level. The arena, characters and foliage assets are all third party models, however the battle choreography and island design are my own work. This level also represents my first use of path-finding in a game, and its used for the movement of all the NPC characters (including the dragon) in the scene.
   
   The cinematic version of this level has the camera flying around the outside of the arena, with the battle taking place inside. This version offers some views of the island around the arena, as well as a spectator's view of the battle, with the camera moving slowly moving towards the middle of the arena as the fight progresses.
   
   
2. The second level represents the protagonist learning to fly the dragon they have captured. In the game the player starts as they take off from one island and must fly through a series of rings scattered around the scene in order to complete the level. As the player completes the level, the player gradually gains more control over the dragon which represents the learning seen between the characters in the film during this scene. This level also features custom and realistic flying mechanics. Once the level is complete, there is a free-fly version.
   
   The cinematic version of this level has the camera tracking and orbiting the player as they fly through the game scene. The cinematic version of this level is only accessible after completing a full play-through of the game level. This is because the game will record your inputs from when you last played the game level and use them here to 'play the game again' for you, allowing you to watch and enjoy an unlocked camera.
   
   
3. The final level represents the climax and resolution of the movie, with the protagonists fighting the main antagonist of the movie. The game mirrors this, with the player using the skills from the previous two levels here. The player must fly their dragon around the antagonist, dodging their attacks and returning the gesture. Here, attention was put on the level design, Niagara particle systems and NPC combat mechanics.
   
   The cinematic version of this identical to the approach used for the second level, except this time taking place in a different 3D environment.

This game was designed and programmed by Thomas Jebson exclusively, using the following third-party assets:

Models

• Hiccup
• Toothless
• Astrid
• Snotlout
• Tuffnut
• Training Dragon / Boss Dragon
• Grass
• Rock
• Arena

Textures

• Menu Assets
• Movie Logo
• Blood HUD Effect
• Lock Icon
• Game Icon (before editing)
• Esc Button Icon
• Space Button Icon
• Mouse Icon
• WASD Button Icon

This game was, as an academic project, hugely ambitious and successful. The game features three expansive and highly detailed unique levels, with two different cinematic fly-through strategies.

This game was developed as part of a second year academic project. For this assignment the brief was to recreate three scenes from a popular movie or film in engine. This game delivered on this to the point where, in the feedback, my lecturer pushed me to look into publishing the game. However, this game leans heavily into the 'How to Train Your Dragon' franchise - which would introduce complications due to it being protected property of DreamWorks. Therefore, the game would need some work to distance it's self from the 'How to Train Your Dragon' franchise first.

This, however, isn't the only weakness of the project. This game was developed in Unreal Engine with little understanding of how to properly optimise the game, meaning it requires a powerful computer to run. This is most evident in the last two levels during the cinematic fly-through, where noticeable stuttering can be seen. Additionally, the game is lacking animations, they were initially planned to be added using Adobe Mixamo but the project ended up being too time constrained to finish adding.

Given then this project's current success, there are tentative plans to continue development of the game and fix the comparatively minor areas that need addressing. There is no current timeline for this at the moment though.