Kraken!
December 2024
This was a semeseter long project creating a walkthrough attraction almost entirely out of cardboard and basic electronics!
Everyone in the class contributed to the whole preproduction process with design and prototyping, and we then split off into smaller groups to create each set piece for the attraction.
I created the kraken chase sequence at the beginning of the experience.
See more here!
Kraken in Action!
A kraken chases you as you sail across the sea to the island of the lost treasure!
The kraken setpiece is a 1-2 minute experience that serves as the introduction to the attraction.
Guests control the experience by spinning the wheel and aiming & firing the cannon.
The set is controlled by a computer and projector inside the wheel podium. The wheel and cannon are analog controllers connected to an arduino that communicates with Unreal Engine powering the whole experience!
Production
The Kraken and various props in the scene were all creted in Blender and the attraction ran in Unreal.
The attraction was meant to be stylistically similar to papercraft so the models had to be very low-poly which posed some challenges in the rigging and animating process. By weight painting directly on vertices instead of with brushes, I was able to get precise enough control for stable deformations.
A production member had a control panel from behind the screen to begin the scene; where soon after, the Kraken would begin chasing them. The wheel contained a rotational sensor that sent signals according to its direction. We processed these with the arduino as 'a' and 'd' key presses to move the camera.
The cannon contained a joystick and a simple button. These were processed as arrow key presses and a left-click for moving the crosshair and firing the cannon.
The Kraken had a series of waypoints that it could chase the guests at, and randomly chose through various attacks as it moved through the map. After the group reaches their destination, the control panel had a button to reset the scene for the next group.
Animated as an NLA strip in Blender
Boat follows spline throughout the map
Small Scale Model
Attraction Framing
Kraken Set Testing Phase
A look at the rest of the attraction...
Mermaid Set
Final Tunnel
Treasure Room
Skeleton Cave
