Level design

This week saw me completing the full layout of my level, creating the boss area and lead up to the exit. Taking inspiration from Bleak Falls Barrow, a classic Skyrim (2011) dungeon, I decided to make the final boss fight take place in a huge cavern with a large amount of prospect space (fig. 1). This creates an area that feels largely different to the rest of the level, which has been claustrophobic and labyrinthian. This is by far the largest space in the whole level, and so took a long time to complete, while making it feel like an authentic and believable natural space. In the lead up to the climactic boss fight, I created a large hall filled with candles to create a rising sense of tension. I am really happy with the effect that this corridor has, as it gives the impression that the player is approaching the climax of the experience.

During this week’s GAM230 workshop I was able to get some great play testing from my fellow designers. On the whole, feedback was largely positive, with my friend Steven praising the interwoven nature of the level’s topography. When Jeff played the level, he pinpointed the Crypts of Refuge as my ‘key selling point’, going on to say that I should endeavour to make the time between the player encountering them minimal. Following this advice, I have placed a one immediately after the mines, and preceding the large temple area. This way, it is only a couple of minutes of playtime before the player encounters their first Crypt of Refuge. Furthermore, this also gives the player ample time to have the opportunity to equip themselves with equipment and resources before they first encounter combat.

Cluttering

With the entirety of my level space created and tested, it was now time to begin decorating the rooms to feel more lived in and dynamic. While I was happy with how the level felt to move through from a pacing standpoint, I was certainly becoming tired of seeing large empty rooms and repeated art assets, so I was looking forward to getting underway with this stage of development. As my level has become so large by this point, the job felt quite daunting to embark on, and I was unsure of where to start, or what to place. Luckily, by looking at some of Skyrim’s actual dungeons (which are also accessible through the Creation Kit) I was able to find inspiration and get the ball rolling. Below I will list some of the common items I placed, and their various use cases.

Rubble

By far the most common piece of clutter I used were the ‘rubble piles’ and ‘rubble pieces’. Not only do these add to the believability that this place is a crumbling Crypt, but they also help to add some irregularity to the structure and shaping of the rooms. My placing them in corners, or jutting out of walls, I was essentially able to change each room from a cube to a dynamic, winding location. Their placement was even used frequently to guide the player along a particular path.

Furniture

Various pieces of furniture have been used to bring the spaces to life, and make them feel more believable. By placing tables, chairs, shelves, and statues I was able to make each room feel distinct and varied. I also had to think critically about where each piece of furniture would logically be placed, were they would most likely need to be accessed.

Candles

One prop which I ended up using a lot were the ‘candles’. Not only do I think that these look very atmospheric and add some light to the area, but they are also used to signpost salient areas in most rooms. In particular, I have place them outside the doors to Crypts of Refuge, as well as surrounding various chests.

Sconces

Alongside candles, I have also been placing ‘sconces’ at various points along the critical path of the level. My goal has been to use them to guide the player through each space, by placing them near entrances and exits to rooms, drawing the player’s eye to these elements.

Urns

Urns have been placed in hallways and rooms. These add visual intrigue, as well as serving as another container in which the player will be able to find gold if they are searching for it.

Natural clutter

There are multiple areas in my level which use “natural” kits such as ‘caves’ and ‘mines’. Cluttering for these areas has been quite different to the man-made ones, requiring placement of completely different assets. By placing rocks, pillars, vegetation, and wooden planks, I was able to make these rooms feel more natural and flowing, like they would in real life.

Platforms

In some of the larger rooms, I used ‘platforms’ to create some height variation, and guide the player’s eye to particular areas. I think that their inclusion makes each room feel more dynamic and arranges objects in a more intriguing way to the player.

Loot placement

Alongside the cluttering of the level, I have also placed loot within the level, using the chests that were made a few weeks ago. I also renamed each chest to make them more unique. The low value chests are now named ‘Rusted Chests’, the middle value chests are named ‘Carved Chests’, and the high value chests are called ‘Gilded Chests’. As would be expected, the value of each chest is commensurate with the challenge the player must face to reach them. For instance, the trap rooms all contain Gilded Chests, as they are meant to be a challenging piece of side content, whereas Rusted Chests are more likely to be found on the critical path.

To ensure that the player is constantly finding loot that they can spend on upgrades, I have also placed ‘CoinPurses’ in lots of locations throughout the level. I used a script to ensure that each purse contains a random amount of gold between 5 and 15. They do not award a lot individually, but if a player is being attentive during their play through they can gain a large amount of gold through these items.

Strongboxes

While I was placing loot throughout the level, it occurred to me that, aside from those found in trap rooms, all the chests are easily accessible and provide the player near-instant gratification. While this is desirable and keeps the player engaged through frequent rewards, I also wanted to add some more challenging loot, that the player will have to work for and risk resources to access. In order to achieve this, I created a selection of locked chests, that I have named “strongboxes” (figs). These will require lockpicks to open, and have varying difficulty (‘Apprentice’, ‘Adept’ and ‘Expert’), with the loot inside being proportionate to the lock’s strength. I then added an option in the Resource Mechanism that allows players to buy lockpicks for gold. Because players have to spend their hard-earned gold on these lockpicks, another element of risk vs. reward has been added to the experience, as the player may end up breaking numerous lockpicks, and ultimately spend more money replacing them than they find in the strongbox. The inclusion of these chest types also adds an incentive for backtracking as players may spot one on their journey and endeavour to purchase lockpicks at the next Crypt of Refuge and come back for it later. Overall, I am glad that I took time to include these strongboxes and feel that their inclusion elevates the game and gives the player even more choice in how they engage with the level.

Research

As my work this week has been largely focused around loot and item placement, I decided to seek a relevant GDC lecture that could provide insight into this topic. I found a lecture delivered by Leah Miller about the importance of rewarding exploration through useful items (Miller 2019). Leveraging her background in MMO development, Leah discussed the various contexts in which item obtainment can occur. She drew an important distinction between collectables (objects with a finite number and set location), and gatherables (fungible resources that are theoretically infinite). She then went on to discuss how their placement can be used to enhance and enrich a gameplay experience within a variety of contexts. In particular, her slide on ‘platformers and non-linear action’ games seemed most relevant to my current project. She states that here, collectables and gatherables can be used to “alert players to alternate paths”, “reward memory and backtracking”, and “challenge skills”. As previously discussed, I feel that the inclusion of strongboxes rewards memory and backtracking, as attentive players will be able to purchase lockpicks and backtrack for the strongboxes later for extra loot. The inclusion of optional challenge rooms in my level (see Week Six for description) are also designed to challenge skills and reward players commensurately. The player will be able to see the high-level chest through the door, but also know that the loot inside will likely not come without a fight.

References

MILLER, Leah. 2019. Rewarding Exploration with Collectibles and Gatherables [GDC talk]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlvGeiw3TDQ [accessed 16 March 2022].

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