UNDERSHADE — Vertical Slice: The First Encounter

About the Project

This is a first look at my in-development project, presented as a Vertical Slice*, in the Interactive Movie genre.
The purpose of this vertical slice is to demonstrate the intended visual style, atmosphere, and core interaction mechanics, serving as a proof of concept for potential investment and grant applications, including Epic MegaGrants.

I focus on creating compact, highly detailed game spaces where every environmental element supports the narrative and cinematic experience.

Environment & World Building

For this scene, I developed a “concentric circles” approach to environment detailing:

Hero Zone (Close Range):
Maximum level of detail. Key story objects and characters are created as high-quality custom high-poly models to support close-up shots typical of interactive cinema.

Mid & Far Grounds (Surroundings):
To create the illusion of a cohesive world, I use a combination of optimized assets and AI placeholders. This approach allows rapid scene population while keeping the focus on the primary narrative elements.

Visual Magic:
The use of visual illusion techniques to simulate a large-scale world while preserving the intimate, cinematic feel of the playable space.

Technical Specifications

Engine: Unreal Engine 5 (Lumen, Nanite)

Tools: Blender, Substance Painter, Substance 3D Sampler, Shader Map 4

Workflow: Vertical slice production aimed at showcasing near-final visual quality and core systems

AI tools (Tripo AI) were used specifically for background placeholders and environmental set dressing to accelerate early prototyping.
All key characters and hero assets were manually crafted to ensure high visual quality and artistic control.

*Vertical Slice Explained

A vertical slice is a focused portion of the game developed to represent the intended final experience.
It is used to validate artistic direction, technical solutions, and core gameplay without building the full game.

Community & Updates

This project is actively in development, and I plan to share more of the process moving forward.

If you’re interested in following the development, feel free to leave a “+” in the comments.
With enough interest, I will regularly post updates, behind-the-scenes content, and progress reports.

Thank you for taking the time to explore this project.