Dungeon Escape — Inventory System

Overview

Dungeon Escape is a first-person puzzle game focused on inventory management and sequential problem-solving. The player navigates a dungeon environment, picks up keys scattered across the level, stores them in a personal inventory, and must figure out which key unlocks which barrier — in the correct order — to ultimately reach the pressure plate that opens the exit door.

Inventory System Architecture

The inventory is the core of this project — a data-driven C++ system designed to be modular and reusable. Key design decisions:

• Items represented as UObject-based data assets — each key has an ID, display name, and mesh reference stored in a data asset, not hardcoded in the actor
• The inventory component is attached to the player character and exposes Add, Remove, and Contains functions callable from any actor
• On pickup, the key actor checks if the player has the InventoryComponent and calls AddItem — no direct reference to the player class needed
• Barrier actors query the inventory for a specific key ID before allowing interaction — clean separation of concerns
• UI displays current inventory contents using UMG widgets bound to the inventory component's item array

Key Placement & Puzzle Logic

• Each barrier is configured in the editor with a required key ID — fully data-driven, no code changes needed to create new puzzles
• Sequential unlock: certain barriers only become interactable after a previous one has been solved, creating a dependency chain
• Pressure plate as the final trigger — activates exit door through a Blueprint-exposed C++ event
• Visual and audio feedback on successful key placement and barrier unlock

What I Learned

This project taught me how to design gameplay systems that are data-driven and editor-friendly. By separating item data into UDataAsset objects and the inventory logic into a reusable ActorComponent, the same system can be dropped into any project without modification. It also solidified my understanding of UMG widget binding in C++ for real-time UI updates.