Step 8 of 8: Focal Points

The player must have a visible goal, I have chosen to have my focal point visible throughout the level so they know what they are aiming for. Upon first entry to the cave the player will arrive in a large open expanse, full of exploratory area's. At the very back of the cave in the distance will be the Ancient Fort they are searching for, this will be in the form of a castle building, lit brilliantly to tempt the player into discovery.

Inspiration for Focal Point

Level Design Update.

Today I attempted to create the level in UDK using the landscape brushes and a this TUTORIAL, however whilst doing so I have stumbled across some flaws in my design. The overall flow of the game play doesn't work, I know if I was the player, the plan for my game play would be too slow and potentially boring due to the lack of threats... After looking back at my plan and re-evaluating it I have decided to add some different game play, creating a better tempo, incorporating height, and a better flow to the level.

Here is a re-vised top down map and objectives flow chart...

Step 7 of 8: Top Down Map

Top Down Map

I drew a rough map out on paper a few times, this is the final refined version featuring all parts of the game play. Now i need to import this into Photoshop and create a refined, clear and concise top down map.

This is my final top down map completed in photoshop, this should give me the basis from which to progress. Now I need to import this into 3DS max and form a simple 3D map of the level from which I can start adding game play.

Here is a list of the important features of the map. 

1. Spawn Point

2. Navigate through the forest 

3. Shoot down rock to cross river

4. Cave entrance 

5. Broken bridge (fixed in the future)

6. Lever holders 

7. Movable platforms 

8. Reachable edge

9. Rocks shot down from roof

10. Secret Treasure

11. End of level (guards in the past) 

The only differences between the past and present will be aesthetics. As well as the bridge being broken in the future, fixed in the past; the guards being at the end of the level in the past, but not in the future; giving the player a reason to switch back, and breaking up the tempo. Also the water will be slightly lower in the past, revealing some hidden platforms, if the player shoots all the rocks down the water will have raised quite significantly.

Step 6 of 8: Objectives & Obstacles

This section took the most time to complete as it was difficult for me to think of puzzles that relate to the theme of my level; 'the butterfly effect'. With the time I have I won't be able to create as in-depth of a puzzle as I would like but I have thought of more simple Ideas that will convey the point reasonably well. Here are a list of game play ideas, some are relevant to travelling back in time and other are just puzzles to be completed in the future. 

Using the time machine:

1- Player goes back to move platforms into the right place

2- Retrieve an Item from a locked room

3- Steal the plans for the bridge so it's never built

4- Unblock a water pipe to let water through in future

5- Move foundations of bridge so it's built in a different place

6- Travel to the future to sneak past the guards of the past

7- Find 3 keys in the past and hide them somewhere for use in the future

8- Roll a boulder down the hill to prevent it destroying the bridge at a later date

10-Shoot down a rock that will destroy bridge, but prevent flood in future

General puzzles:

1- Touch the trees in the right order- according to a diagram hidden somewhere in the past

2- Place a rock on a touch pad 

3- Walk across the touch stones in a specific order

4- Set fire to all the lamps 

5- Shoot a statue in a certain place to extend the bridge- clue is on a signpost 

6-Shoot down a rock from the roof to create a way across 

7- Move entire chunks of the land around the cave using a lever

8-Shoot away a platform to float downstream

Now I will try to refine these into a plan that flows smoothly and features a nice range of game play, from puzzles to platforming incorporating the time machine in a solid, well balanced level. Here is a flow diagram of the objectives in the game. 

Step 5 of 8: The Story

Story

500 thousand years in the future the human race has left planet earth due to lack of resources, they now occupy colonial ships in outer space and have made settlements on other earth-like planets. You play as a human living on a planet now inhabited by humans, the people that occupy the planet have very little knowledge of human history, or in fact the history of the planet they inhabit. The protagonist is a curious adventurer, trying to unlock the secrets to his past; this has led him to an underground city hidden deep within a cave. The city has become destroyed and difficult to navigate, forcing the protagonist to go back in time to make some changes that will allow him to progress and reach his final goal; an immeasurable treasure.

Step 4 of 8: Photo References

To progress my idea, I have gathered a range of references for the location, lighting and general style. The more images I have, the easier it is to put down a style and use the general theme to inspire the rest of my design.

Location & Environment: The location is going to be inside a cave that was once home to an ancient civilisation. I have gathered images that represent the kind of feel I'm going for, some are real photo references and others are artistic representations.

 



 

 

 

Lighting & Style: Here are some visual references of the kind of atmosphere I want to create, a dark strangely illuminated cave. Featuring green and blue lights, aswell as mist and water.

 

Step 3 of 8: Level & Environment

Level & Environment:

I want to create a fictional ancient environment that operates on very basic mechanical motions, taking inspiration from the Steam Punk style, aswell as Aztec and Egyptian architecture/puzzles. I want to form a environment that was once home to an advanced segregated civilisation, left undiscovered for centuries as it was hidden down in a cave. This will be fairly easy to achieve with the UDK assets and gives me huge scope for design, also having a vast quantity of research available as it is a popular subject. Now I have a basic Idea for my environment I will have to gather research to form a more solid plan.

ALL INSIDE A CAVE
Forrest- Overgrown, huge trees, shruberry
Desert- Sandy, ruins, empty
Temple- Stone, hyroglyphics, patterns

Step 2 of 8: Purpose & Feature

Purpose:

The purpose of the project is to convey the idea's of the 'Butterfly Effect', the notion that every action has a chain of resulting consequences, seemingly creating a reality that could have been very different if the action was changed. I need to use this Idea to fuel my level design process, using this as a basis to create unique and interesting Gameplay.




Feature:

I want my level to feature mainly puzzles, using the idea of changing something small to create a specific result. I also want to focus on an environment that flows smoothly and has a well balanced tempo for the player to stay engaged during the level. Because it's going to be mainly puzzles the tempo will be fairly slow, so I will have to think of a way to keep it balanced, maybe having a high tempo section at the end to increase tension.

Step 1 of 8: The Idea

For this project we have to create a level, based on our original theme; mine being 'perception of reality'. I have already explored the idea of seeing a different realities based on moods (split personality) and I have explored the idea of a micro-universe with similar physical constraints as ours. For this assignment I want to explore a new idea, 'The Butterfly Effect'; the Idea that changing something in the past can have a knock on effect in the future; the smallest of things can have a huge knock on effect, meaning everything in life is perfectly balanced and everything happens for a reason, nothing is coincidental.

Furthermore I want to explore this Idea of a coincidence, conveying to the player the notion that nothing in the game is accidental or random, even if it may seem so at first; each tiny event is completed for a reason.


Definition of The Butterfly Effect:

"In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions, where a small change at one place in a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences to a later state. The name of the effect, coined by Edward Lorenz, is derived from the theoretical example of a hurricane's formation being contingent on whether or not a distant butterfly had flapped its wings several weeks before.

Although the butterfly effect may appear to be an esoteric and unlikely behavior, it is exhibited by very simple systems: for example, a ball placed at the crest of a hill may roll into any of several valleys depending on, among other things, slight differences in initial position.

The butterfly effect is a common trope in fiction when presenting scenarios involving time travel and with hypotheses where one storyline diverges at the moment of a seemingly minor event resulting in two significantly different outcomes."

Wikipedia.com, The Butterfly Effect, retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect