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Mascot NUG

Overview​

The Mascot NUG provides a companion actor that follows the player and reacts to gameplay state.

Use it for a platformer buddy, a guide character, or a visual feedback helper for health, collectibles, and abilities.

Components​

  • AC_MascotFollower
  • BP_MascotFollowerActor

What The System Does​

  • Spawns or references a mascot actor
  • Makes the mascot follow the player
  • Lets the mascot react to health state
  • Lets the mascot react to abilities or power-ups
  • Can point or look at important world objects
  • Can support collectible search behaviour later

Quick Setup​

Use this section to test a simple mascot companion.

  1. Add AC_MascotFollower to the player character.
  2. Assign BP_MascotFollowerActor as the mascot actor class.
  3. Set the follow offset.
  4. Press Play.
  5. Check that the mascot spawns or assigns correctly.
  6. Move the player and check that the mascot follows.
  7. Damage the player.
  8. Check that the mascot mood updates.

Features​

  • Follow behaviour
  • Health mood reactions
  • Ability reactions
  • Look-at target support
  • Optional collectible helper logic
  • Visual feedback through material, colour, animation, or enum states

Runtime Flow​

  1. Player owns AC_MascotFollower.
  2. The component spawns or stores BP_MascotFollowerActor.
  3. The mascot updates its follow position around the player.
  4. Gameplay systems send state changes to the mascot component.
  5. The component updates the mascot mood, look target, material, animation, or visibility.
  6. The mascot actor displays the reaction in the world.

Usage​

Attach AC_MascotFollower to the player and assign a mascot actor class.

Blueprint Tutorial​

Goal​

Create a mascot companion that follows the player and reacts to health changes.

Before You Start​

Create or confirm these assets exist:

  • AC_MascotFollower
  • BP_MascotFollowerActor
  • AC_Health
  • A mascot mood enum
  • A player character Blueprint

Step 1, Add The Mascot Component​

  1. Open the player character Blueprint.
  2. Add AC_MascotFollower as an Actor Component.
  3. Assign BP_MascotFollowerActor as the mascot actor class.
  4. Set the follow offset.
  5. Compile and save.

Step 2, Spawn Or Assign The Mascot Actor​

Inside AC_MascotFollower:

  1. On BeginPlay, check if a mascot actor is already assigned.
  2. If not, spawn BP_MascotFollowerActor.
  3. Store the spawned actor as MascotActorRef.
  4. Set the owning player reference on the mascot.

Step 3, Follow The Player​

Use a simple first pass:

  1. Get the player location.
  2. Add the follow offset.
  3. Interp the mascot location toward that target.
  4. Keep the mascot facing the player or camera.
  5. Tune follow distance and speed in the component defaults.

Step 4, React To Health​

Connect AC_Health to the mascot:

  1. Bind to the health changed dispatcher.
  2. Read the health percent.
  3. Convert health percent into a mood enum.
  4. Call SetMascotMood on the mascot actor.
  5. Update material, face, colour, or animation from the mood.

Suggested mood states:

  • Hidden
  • Low
  • Mid
  • High

Step 5, Add Look At Target Support​

Inside BP_MascotFollowerActor, create a function called SetLookAtTarget.

Suggested input:

  • TargetActor, Actor Reference

Function flow:

  1. Store the target actor.
  2. Check the target is valid.
  3. Find look-at rotation from mascot to target.
  4. Interp the mascot head or actor rotation toward the target.
  5. Clear the target when no longer needed.

Step 6, Test The Result​

  1. Press Play.
  2. Check that the mascot follows the player.
  3. Damage the player.
  4. Confirm the mascot mood changes.
  5. Heal the player.
  6. Confirm the mascot returns to the correct mood.
  7. Test look-at logic with a collectible actor.

Photo Slots​

Use these slots when adding screenshots to the documentation site.

Mascot Component On Player​

Image slot: mascot component on player.

Mascot Actor Blueprint​

Image slot: mascot actor Blueprint.

Follow Logic Blueprint​

Image slot: mascot follow logic Blueprint.

Mood Reaction Setup​

Image slot: mascot mood reaction setup.

Look At Target Test​

Image slot: mascot look at target test.

Injected Blueprint Code Slots​

Paste exported Unreal Blueprint node text into these blocks when the Blueprint is final.

AC_MascotFollower, BeginPlay Spawn Logic​

AC_MascotFollower BeginPlay Nodes
Paste exported Blueprint node code here.

AC_MascotFollower, Follow Update Logic​

AC_MascotFollower Follow Update Nodes
Paste exported Blueprint node code here.

BP_MascotFollowerActor, Set Mascot Mood Function​

BP_MascotFollowerActor Set Mascot Mood Nodes
Paste exported Blueprint node code here.

BP_MascotFollowerActor, Set Look At Target Function​

BP_MascotFollowerActor Set Look At Target Nodes
Paste exported Blueprint node code here.

Health To Mascot Binding​

Health To Mascot Binding Nodes
Paste exported Blueprint node code here.

Common Issues​

Mascot Does Not Spawn​

Check that the mascot actor class is assigned in AC_MascotFollower.

Also check that spawn logic runs on BeginPlay.

Mascot Does Not Follow The Player​

Check that the player reference is valid.

Also check that the follow update logic is running.

Mascot Jitters While Moving​

Lower the follow speed or adjust the interpolation logic.

Jitter usually means the target position is changing too sharply.

Mascot Does Not React To Health​

Check that the health changed dispatcher is bound correctly.

Also check that the health state or mood enum is being updated.

Mascot Looks At The Wrong Target​

Check that the stored look-at target is valid and cleared when no longer needed.

Mascot Logic Breaks When Other NUGS Are Missing​

Keep mascot reactions optional.

The mascot should still follow even if health, collectible, or ability systems are not connected yet.

Extension Notes​

  • Add collectible look-at support using tags later
  • Add a buddy magnet component for collectible guidance
  • Add animation states for idle, alert, damaged, happy, and hidden
  • Add material parameter support for colour and mood visuals
  • Keep mascot logic optional so the toolkit works without it

Testing Checklist​

  • Mascot spawns or assigns correctly
  • Mascot follows the player at the correct offset
  • Mascot does not jitter during movement
  • Mascot reacts to low, mid, and high health
  • Mascot can clear its look-at target
  • Mascot can look at a collectible test actor
  • System still works if the mascot actor is not assigned
  • Designers can tune follow distance and speed without editing core logic