Level design work

With the introductory mine section finished last week, it was now time to start working with the Nordic kit, to make the dungeon proper. I knew that I wanted the player to be immediately met with a feeling of awe and mystery when entering this section, almost as if they had stumbled across this place by complete chance. To achieve this feeling I decided to use the ‘Temple’ section of the kit to create a vast hall for the player to traverse through (fig. 1). In the main game, these temples are meant to serve as the above ground entrance point for dungeons, however I feel that it’s inclusion deep underground adds to the feeling of a mysterious lost community. This large, ‘prospect’ space also creates a sense of relief from the overly claustrophobic mine system that the player will have moved through prior to this point.

Following on from this, I made a windy corridor that leads up to the first ‘Crypt of Refuge’ that the player will discover (fig. 2). I intend for the level design to follow a generally consistent alternation between form and void (large and narrow spaces), so as to maintain engagement and keep spaces feeling distinct.

Crypts of Refuge

The ‘Crypts of Refuge’ are meant to serve as a point of solace for players in the game, where they can upgrade their weapons, and store resources for the adventure ahead. When a player comes across one, they are supposed to feel a sense of safety and familiarity. To enhance this feeling, I knew that I wanted their interior space to be round and flowing, to juxtapose the more harsh and angular tone of the rest of the level. To start with, I used ‘NorBurialShaft01’ as a template (fig.3). However, I feel that while they certainly provided the circularity that I desired, the overall profile was rather ominous, with a deep pit in the center of the room. Instead, I opted for the less remarkable, but far more fitting ‘NorCustomChamber01’ which I feel has a more friendly and relieving atmosphere (fig. 4) This room also has the benefit of featuring four exit points, meaning that I have the option for these areas be far more connected to the rest of the level, with multiple routes through which the player can enter them.

My next step for the Crypts of Refuge was to create the persistent ‘Crypt Chest’ that the player will be able to store and access all of their equipment through. I was unsure of how I would go about implementing this, or indeed if it was even possible within the Creation Kit. I anticipated that whichever way it would work, some Papyrus scripting would be required so I decided to try and find some online tutorials that would help with this. To my surprise, I was able to find a Creation Kit tutorial focused around ‘cloud chests’ which told me everything I needed to know (Darkfox127 2013). Cloud chests are a persistent chest that can be accessed and updated in multiple locations using connected triggers, and require no script writing at all! When a player interacts with a Crypt Chest, they are actually activating a trigger that is connected to the ‘real’ Crypt Chest, located in a completely different scene, through which they can access and store items. With the help of this tutorial, I was able to quickly make multiple functional Crypt Chests that are all connected and work exactly as intended. This is fantastic news, as I anticipated these posing more of a challenge to implement, which means I may be able to begin looking at some stretch goals for my project if everything stays on track.

Chest design

In certain areas, I have begun to place treasure chests for the player to discover throughout their exploration of the level. I am not fully certain on how these will function in gameplay, however my current plan is that these will give the player varying amounts of gold that can then be spent in Crypts of Refuge to purchase items and upgrade equipment. A key design philosophy of mine for this project is that the player should be constantly incentivised to explore and almost always be rewarded for that – whether it be through an interesting piece of lore, a new shortcut, or gold.

My design and creation process behind these chests was relatively straightforward. I began by duplicating a Norse chest in the object window and renaming it to ‘SJCChestBase’. My naming convention of using the prefix ‘SJC’ (my initials) for all unique objects means that I can easily filter the object window to see which items I have created for the purpose of the mod. From this base I was able to make multiple duplicates, and filled each chest with a differing amount of gold. The low-value chests had 25 gold in them, the medium-value chest had 50 gold, and the high-value chests contained 100 gold. I intend for the low-value chests to be relatively common and easy to find, whereas mid-value and high-value chests will require a keen eye and challenging traversal to access.

Research

This week I watched another fantastic level design talk from GDC, this time recommended to me by Steven, my design colleague (Davis 2019). Given by Sony Santa Monica’s Rob Davis, the talk discussed the many learnings of designing levels for God of War (2018). Throughout the talk, Rob provided multiple rules that designers used to help create effective levels within the game. A foundational rule seemed to be that all levels must accommodate for the game’s three established core pillars: combat, narrative, and exploration. These pillars were evenly and naturally distributed throughout the levels, ensuring for a consistently engaging player experience. Another key rule was the inclusion of clear exploration breaks soon after a new mechanic has been introduced to the player at the end of a level. This would then allow the player to re-enter the hub area of the game and use their new abilities in various areas. He also discussed the concept of theming each level around particular mechanics, using the example of ‘shock arrows’ in relation to God of War. By having levels focus largely on a particular mechanic (normally one that has been recently introduced during gameplay), they can be kept fresh and engaging, as well as allowing the player time to master the new mechanic and add it to their skillset. If I were to examine my current project through this lens, it could be said that my central theme for my level are the Crypts of Refuge, along with everything that they afford the player (item management, gear improvement, a point of respite). Most other aspects of the level have been designed in service of this feature, and serve to accentuate their utility.

References

Darkfox127. 2013. Creation Kit (Cloud Chests) [YouTube video tutorial]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsB4e8isB28 [accessed 23 February 2022].

DAVIS, Rob. 2019. The Level Design of God of War [GDC talk]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSB29qx6sWw [accessed 24 February 2022]. 

God of War. 2018. Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. 2011. Bethesda Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks.