2^nd  Level Iteration Journal

March 28th, 5:35PM

Well a lot has changed and it’s been some time before I’ve updated this. The level has undergone rapid iteration and great change.  This has been due to level feedback from mentors, classmates and discussions among the group.  We have moved away from the square format we were employing in our white box in favor of a more organic shape to create interesting flow and paths.

We have also received feedback that having interesting vertical elements for the player to strategically use to gain ground on the ghost and ultimately capture them. To facilitate this we have placed more steam launchers to allow the player to return to the upper levels and focused on linking all parts of the level between their vertical scales.

One of the interesting things the vertical aspect of the level has raised is our ghosts speed and path finding. We have always been designing the ghosts to move through the level as if it was a maze. They will not leap over objects and will instead take the long way towards their goal.

One issue this raised was how fast should the Ghosts run in relation to Hench? Should they be slow plodding easy to catch targets or should they in fact be almost as fast as Hench? On the one hand if they are considerably slower than Hench the player can easily manage and capture the ghosts making the game play more about points and management and seeing how to make that fun. In the other, if the ghosts are able to move quickly and Hench has to use his environment to his advantage by cutting corners and going over top of obstacles. This focuses the game play more on the skill of the player and the fun of the chase. We are going to attempt to find a balance between the two of them and through play testing and user feedback we hope to tweak and polish this to a perfect mechanic.

Now that the level has changed so too have the areas. This breakdown illustrates some major parts of the level and some of the visuals we will be using to help the player recall where they are in the level. Items 8,9, and 10 are exits to the level and are only indicated because they will static meshes of tunnel entrances (blocked) and gates (closed). I will have to post some of the fantastic work my teammate Thomas has been doing on creating these unique objects and the amazing cell shader he is applying to them.

Cheers,

Braden Bahen, Level Designer