Aura

Project overview

Aura is a study project developed in Unreal Engine 5 with a focus on RPG systems, top-down combat, and the Gameplay Ability System.

The main goal was to strengthen my technical understanding of Unreal Engine, especially in gameplay architecture, abilities, attributes, gameplay effects, user interface work, and integration between C++ and Blueprints.

Unlike a full original game project, Aura is being used as a learning base to understand how professional gameplay systems can be structured in an action game with RPG elements.

My role

I am studying this project independently. My work focuses on analyzing gameplay programming, system implementation, and the architecture behind the project so I can apply those ideas to my own games.

During the study, I have worked with:

• Gameplay Ability System;
• character attributes;
• gameplay effects;
• offensive abilities;
• damage systems;
• experience and progression;
• user interface systems;
• C++ and Blueprint integration;
• class and component organization;
• communication between characters, abilities, and HUD.

Study goals

The goal of Aura is to study how action RPGs can organize complex gameplay systems in a modular way.

Through this project, I can better understand how the Gameplay Ability System separates responsibilities between attributes, abilities, effects, damage calculations, and character states.

This study has become an important foundation for other projects, especially for my growth in combat systems, boss encounters, and gameplay architecture.

What I learned

This project is one of the key pillars for strengthening my technical foundation in Unreal Engine 5. It has introduced me to important concepts such as attribute replication, effect application, ability activation, damage calculation, gameplay tags, and UI systems connected to abilities.

It has also helped me keep improving how I think about code: more modular, reusable, and prepared for future expansion.

Relationship with other projects

The lessons from Aura directly influence the development of original projects such as Oathbreakers, especially in attributes, abilities, damage, effects, replication, and combat architecture.

Even though this is a study project, it represents an important step in my development as a gameplay programmer because it gives me practical exposure to systems similar to those used in more complex games.

Next steps

The next step is to apply the knowledge gained from Aura to original projects, adapting the architecture for my own combat systems, enemies, bosses, progression, and multiplayer experiments.