Third Person Adventure
Level Design | Storytelling
You play as an explorer trying to get hold of a crucifix with a clue to where a hidden treasure is buried. The crucifix is owned by a wealthy art collector who keeps it in his luxurious villa. To get it, the player must sneak into the villa and steal it.
Some baddies are also on the hunt for the treasure. When they arrive at the island the player is forced to fight themselves out with the crucifix.
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8 weeks half time (4 hours/day)
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Created using Unreal Engine 4
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Focus on creating a holistic experience
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Scripting of enemies and events
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Marketplace assets/plugins used
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Advanced Locomotion System V4
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Blockout Tools Plugin
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Low Poly Shooter Pack
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Overview
Top Down
Level Flowchart
1
2
3
Climb the backside of the island
Reveal of Villa
Disable the lock
4
5
6
Sneak through wine cellar
Find a way to the second floor
Take the crucifix
7
8
9
Combat through the villa
Combat towards the lighthouse
Slide back to the boat
Tension Graph
Sounds of enemies entering the villa
Pool combat
Lighthouse stairs combat
First enemy
Climb
Wine cellar
Front yard
Combat towards lighthouse
Tension
Enemies seen arriving in rib boats
Indoors combat
Docks combat
Slide back to the boat
Owner enters the wine cellar
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Disable lock
Find crucifix
Combat villa
Break from combat
Funnel before reveal
To make the reveal of the villa more epic I wanted the path leading up to it to be very cramped. The contrast in space led to the reveal feeling even bigger. Being forced to crouch through the bushes also builds tension which is released together with the reveal.
Leading the player
I wanted to create a traversal puzzle for the player.
I used the Bait & Switch technique to lead the player to a door that they will realise is locked. A cable connected to the door can be traced backwards revealing a set of stairs leading around the building. This made sure that I presented the problem before the solution and also made the pathing more interesting.
To open the door the player must follow the cable to a computer that disables the lock.
Foreshadow
I created an optional path where the player can get a glimpse of the Villa before it is revealed. This was to reward exploration. I intentionally limited the view of the villa to deny a full reveal and make the actual reveal more rewarding.
Landmark
The lighthouse, which can be seen from several places around the island, serves as a landmark to help build the player's mental map. Later in the level it also serves as a goal for the player as it is placed right above where the player started.
First encounter
I wanted to introduce the first enemy in a relatively safe environment by giving the player the advantage. The first enemy has no cover nodes to run to and the player has a half body cover that they can hide behind.
I also used this enemy in a scripted event to open a door leading to the pool area.
Pool area
When player drops off the balcony, Rifle Enemies appear. The player has a lot of half cover. Enemies are seen through windows before entering the arena and their cover is close together. There is a No Man's Land between the player and the enemies. This makes it hard to push forward without killing the enemies first.
Indoors
When player enters the villa the first room has a half cover for the player and full cover for enemies. The Shotgun Enemy is introduced with enough time for the player to react. Second room has a balcony for enemies and is connected to the kitchen which can be used by both the player and enemies to flank.
Docks
Towards the docks the player fights more enemies than before but has height advantage and multiple paths to take.
Lighthouse stairs
The final segment is the stairs leading up to the lighthouse. It is a linear climb where the enemies have the height advantage.
Enemy design
I created two distinct enemy types to create more dynamic gameplay.
The Rifle Enemy tries to take cover and keep a certain distance from the player. If the player flanks them, they will soon try to find a new piece of cover.
The Shotgun Enemy walks directly towards the player which forces the player to be on their toes. They shoot 5 rounds before reloading. This gives the player time to shoot back.
Reusing the environment
During the combat segment the player revisits an area that they have previously explored. The furniture has been moved around by the enemies while looking for the crucifix and now acts as cover.
My goal was to combine story and gameplay, get more out of one area, as well as making the experience feel less linear.
Framing the exit
During the combat sequence I wanted the player to feel like their path forward was clear to them.
In the indoors area I did this by creating an axis between the entry and exit with multiple arches framing the exit.
When the player initially visited the area they approached it from a different angle. From that angle I intentionally hid the way forward as I wanted that part to feel more explorative.
Enemies arriving
When the player has disabled the lock to the wine cellar the enemies can be seen arriving in rib boats. I wanted to build suspension and increase the tension.
Later, when the player is inside the villa looking for the crucifix they will be able to hear the enemies shoot up the main entrance to the house. This was to build even more tension for the eventual enemy encounter.
Showing evil
Both the player and enemies are trying to steal the crucifix. However, the player tries to do so by silently sneaking into the villa while the enemies shoot themselves in, kill the owner and throw furniture around in search for it.
I wanted the player to strongly feel that the enemies are evil. Instead of just telling the player how bad they are I wanted the player to see and feel their cruelty.
Space planning
To create the layout of the island I first made a very rough sketch with the different areas I wanted to include.
Next I made a refined top down sketch which I used as a template for a very rough blockout of the whole island.
After that I went back to the drawing board making more in-depth sketches of some key areas before re-blocking the whole island.
Player gym
I created a player gym early on where I could test metrics and create quick blockout meshes.
As I knew early on that I would have a combat segment at the end of the level, I used the gym to test the enemies and see what I could use as cover.
Gathering references
The first thing I did when creating the level was to gather a big amount of references.
Everything from floor plans and real estate video walk throughs to games that had tackled the same theme.
The references inspired the layout and were used as architectural guidelines to make the space believable.
This was one of the most fun projects I’ve worked on. I am pleased with the result, but if I would have had more time to work on it there are some things that I would change.
The combat sequence - I would have liked to play more with how the combat encounters played out. In its current state, most encounters are very straight forward and the player constantly pushes forwards. I would have liked to introduce a bit more twists and turns, like enemies entering from different directions or scripted events that changes the environment.
The locked door puzzle - I also think I could have improved the part where the player tries to get into the villa. The way into the security room is very easy to find and doesn’t really require any exploration. I wish I would have made the player stop and think more about the path forwards and have the solution be more interesting.
This project really improved my blockout skills and I learned a lot about creating combat environments. I am very pleased with the pacing of the map and I think I accomplished my goal of creating a holistic experience for the player.
Thank you for reading!