Overview
Role: Level Designer, Narrative Designer
Team Size: 17
Genre: Action-Adventure Beat 'Em Up Brawler
Mode: 2.5D Single Player Twin Stick
Setting/Timeline: 2246
Duration: 20-30 minutes
Software: Unreal Engine 5, Milanote, Jira, Twine
Inspiration: Inside, Brother's Tale of Two Sons, Iron Giant
Batman Arkham Knight, The Last Of Us
“Constraints”: 3 Levels, Under 30 minutes
Responsibilities:
Created action blocks to give team overall idea of space and mechanics
Focused specifically on the first level in the junkyard for tutoralization
Collaborated with level designers to whitebox levels
Wrote the script and adjusted based on team feedback
Casted and Recorded Voice Actors
Implemented VO audio
Assisted Art with set dressing
Set up small puzzle mechanics
Created trailer with team leads
Game Pitch - In this action-adventure side-scroller brawler, control two characters using a twin-stick controller to evade enemies and fight your way through a crumbling dystopian society.
Summary - Young engineer, JJ, and her robot companion, KAI, evade the totalitarian control of the ruthless dictator, Santiago. JJ uses her gravity gun to bypass electrical gates and stun enemy RAMS while KAI uses his fists to destroy enemies and obstacles. Traverse, hide, and fight through a broken city from a seemingly unending onslaught of enemy RAMs.
Gameplay Trailer
Full Playthrough Timestamp: 8:32-31:36
Game Overview
Objective
Find KAI and escape the city together before Santiago kills JJ and takes KAI apart to power the city with his processing core.
Steps 1-11
1 - Escape the junkyard as JJ through stealth only
2 - Meet up with KAI and use both characters to defeat enemies in the woods
3 - Use JJ's gun to power the electric box and KAI flip the switch simultaneously to power the generator
4 - Avoid the spotlight in the city to avoid more spawned enemies
5 - Simultatneously flip switches and power electrical boxes to avoid the laser
6 - Use JJ's gun to makeshift a bridge with an exploding barrel
7 - Sneak through the outside of the factory while avoiding spotlights
8 - Fight enemies while avoiding being crushed in the Factory
9 - Traverse up a skyscraper avoiding enemies and solving puzzles
10 - Traverse down the skyscraper avoiding Santiago's attacks and enemies
11 - Travel to the front of the traincar avoiding enemies along with Santiago's blimp missle attacks and shooting missles at the blimp
Pre-Production Process
Documentation
The team leads started by finding out what everyone was most interested in and experienced in and used this to divide up tasks
Jira and Milanote was used to track hours and share brainstorming ideas
Google drive was used to share references and documentations
References
Pureref was used for majority of the level designer's references along with google slides for the artists' lookbook and style guide
Narrative
Playable Character
JJ (Jean Jones) Backstory
17 years old.
She’s mentally independent but relies on her robot companion for protection.
Her parents abandoned her as a child trying to upkeep the city and died as a result.
She has picked up her parent’s gift for engineering and uses these skills to take care of the robot.
She does business in the outskirts of the big city but likes to spend her time in the woods with her robot.
She also goes into town for supplies and sometimes food so she is familiar with certain areas.
She doesn’t easily trust people, and because of her skepticism, she thinks before she leaps.
She doesn’t talk to many people, only those she does business with but doesn’t like small talk and will change the conversation if they ask about her.
Playable Character
KAI (Killer Artificial Intelligence) Backstory
KAI is much older than JJ.
Previously built to be a machine of war.
Previously, he had worked alongside JJ's parents, but after their passing, he was refurbished by JJ to be a kindhearted robot.
He is an older discontinued model, constructed of different parts compared to the enemy RAMS.
He lives in isolation so he only talks to MC but enjoys this life.
Over time he has evolved to become very protective and caring.
He is a surrogate parent/family figure to JJ and is her only social tether.
Boss Enemy
Dr. Jarvis Santiago
(model deleted due to scope)
Rough age of 65.
Very stressed yet clear-spoken man in charge.
He promises comfort and spews fear of the outside world.
He takes great action to keep the citizens in the upper city safe.
He grows desperate and his task of keeping the city alive only gets harder.
He feels justified in making hard decisions where the ends justify the means.
He has dedicated his life to getting the city back to the way it used be and has become desperate trying to create and maintain a community.
He, along with a council, commands the security robots to keep the inner city upright and does very little to help those who reside in the Outskirt city.
He is willing sacrifice the greater good to prioritize a smaller marginal group.
The city is dependent on Santiago, but he is just as dependent on the city itself.
As the city degrades, he does as well. He has seen and done much at great cost to himself and others.
His sole justification for his actions and livelihood is the upkeep of this city.
He has sacrificed so much of his time, family, and health towards keeping it alive.
Enemy AI
RAMS
4 different types of robots controlled by Dr. Santiago to enforce, defend, and upkeep in the city.
The Hammer RAM fights with their fists, similar to KAI.
The Laser RAM is ranged but can also shoot from a close distance.
The Exploder runs towards the characters as soon as they're spotted, then detonates an explosion.
The Flyers shoot lasers from above and can only be dragged down by JJ's gravity gun.
Story and Pacing
I used twine for script writing and Audacity for VO recording along with a studio booth.
Excel was used to organize triggers and Vo locations
Each actor recorded barks for when the player trays from the original script.
The main 3 characters, JJ, KAI, and Santiago, all had backstories that were mostly cut due to scope.
Building the characters and adding the backstory helped with environmental storytelling and gave art more to work with.
Level Layout
When creating the initial layout, mechanics and puzzle descriptions were the main focus
Each Level designer was tasked with creating multiple action blocks for each level
Action blocks were then integrated into engine through whiteboxing
Production Process
Initially, we created action blocks and adjusted them based on our design lead's feedback. Shortly after, we moved into engine and started whiteboxing. Levels 1 and 3 were left for a while to focus on verticle slice and to show the overall gameplay and artistic look.I helped setdress level 2 primarily focusing on the streets and the stealth before the factory. This including creating and fixing small puzzle mechanics fixing within deadlines.
Blockout
Measurements
When starting a rough block out in engine, I take measurements of the main characters and build blocks based off of this.
Points of Interest/Landmarks(Weenies)
When blocking out the levels, a lot of areas were referenced as landmarks.
Some examples include:
The checkpoint (first lever/switch puzzle)
The Tower (Spotlight that spawns enemies)
"Jerry" Laser (Laser checkpoint)
Visual Language
Some of the initial layout was shown during color differentiation to give the team a general idea of the environmental look. In account of shape, rectangles (the trees) were to be seen as a place for shelter, this being a way to hide from enemies.
Leading Lines/Pinching
Although the game is 2.5D, the player is always drawn forward. The background has subtle environmental hazards and disasters that progress as the player moves forward.
Traversal
The previous verticality restrictions in the first level consisted of making sure the player couldn't backtrack. It started off as having the player travel downhill but progressed into a more flat terrain allowing slightly more freedom. The player could technically go back a certain distance before striking a "wall" but the enemies are set up in a way that most players wouldn't want to return.
Cover
The first level changed from a woods setting with tree coverage to a junkyard with scrap coverage. This sets up the stealth for the rest of the game by providing repetition showing areas enemies tend to avoid, even though there are different objects going forward.
Gates and Valves
The Gates are the switches that KAI and JJ must simultaneously hit in order to progress forward. Majority allows the player to take their time and defeat enemies first. However, one puzzle forces the player to quickly move forward before a laser kills them. Some areas are blocked off after traversing forward to prevent backtracking.
Extra
The pictures below show a few layouts that were cut or changed due to scope. The biggest change was the 3rd level when it went from an entire building fight scene with Santiago in a mech suit to a high-speed train fight. The train level had more obstacles and enemies leading to the front train car, but ultimately became one continuous boss fight.
Set Dressing
Setdressing was split between level designers and artists based off of which levels we whiteboxed and pictures gathered in shared reference boards. Although everyone had their own section, we shared this task and helped each other build out the world.
Mechanics
Abilities
Both characters have specialties that require coordination in their plan of attack. This goes further into the dependency theme that one character can not survive without the other. The main consistent puzzle is using JJ's gun to zap electrical boxes and KAI's strength to punch switch boxes.
JJ's gun:
Can pick up objects to throw
Bring flying enemies down
Temporarily stun enemies
Hack electrical outlets
KAI:
Kill enemies by punching them
Punch switch boxes
Player/Enemy Damage
When one character dies the level is reset to the last checkpoint
Health bars can only be used on one character at a time
Both characters have a separate health gauge
They also have a death animation state
If the enemy isn't defeated they follow the player until there is a block
Enemies require roughly 2-5 hits before dying
Traversal
JJ can jump, but KAI's mobility is more limited as he can only walk
The skyscraper is the only level where both characters have to travel up to progress forward.
Stealth vs. Direct
Most enemies are unavoidable, but there are some sections where the player can bypass spawned enemies by avoiding spotlights.
UI/HUD
In addition to showing health and subtitles, instructions appear for a limited amount of seconds
These instructions include showing an icon of the icon/joystick on the controller whether it be Xbox or PlayStation
Previous Changes
The project went through many changes and cuts due to time, scope, and mechanics
Mechanics:
KAI was originally AI and controlled through a radial menu to select actions. This included left, right, follow, stop, punch, pull, and overthrow. This idea was cut after the team collectively decided it wasn't fun to play as JJ and the dependency theme was fading as a result of KAI doing all the work.
Non-explosives could be moved which was shown through a pressure plate puzzle
Barrels and crates were throwable explosives
KAI fought enemies through a queue
KAI could throw enemies
JJ could drop on enemies
JJ's gun pulled in objects
Commands cost energy
Enemies had shields
KAI had a finisher
Environment:
The laser checkpoint was vertically traversable with fire being thrown from above
The first level transitioned from a forest to a junkyard
The streets were more overgrown from nature
Levels/Layouts:
There was a small bridge and a puzzle to get KAI across
A factory surprise attack sequence with Santiago was cut
The story changed as mechanics were cut and added
We planned to have minigames to get past sections
There were more puzzles
Lighting
What used to be a changing cycle of dusk to evening switched to dark, foggy, and ominous. In blockouts, we used general lighting and spotlights to later hand off to the lighting artist so they have a general idea of what to work with.
Scripted Moments
JJ meets up with KAI
Alleyway showing the long line for the upcoming screening
Depicts citizens being held and forced to go through screening at a security checkpoint
A man gets shot by a Flying RAM for being out passed curfew
Fly RAMS cutting down trees for resources
Santiago blows up the building level by level with his blimp
Factory crushers that can damage the player and kill RAMS
Screenshots
