BLOCK SOLACE (2017)
The creation of this Level prototype was an outcome to an exercise Listed In a book I was reading called "Preproduction Blueprint" by Alex Galuzin; it was a fantastic read, containing detailed methods in creating levels and what to keep in mind when building them from the ground up. The exercise of interested was: How to sculpt a level using a specific theme. Also, at the time I was playing through the video game "Mirror's Edge Catalyst" By EA DICE. Being a fan of the franchise; I always adored the art style and atmosphere of the game. It instilled a sense of relaxation due to the clean and simple architecture, accompanied by a very simple cool colour palette (blues and grays) However, objects of interest where highlighted with warm colours such as red and yellow that created a drastic contrast; promoting an effective visual feedback to the player.
I took this exercise as a challenge, my objective was simple: Using the knowledge gathered from "Preproduction Blueprint", create a level prototype that had a similar art direction to that of Mirror's Edge. Initially, a plethora of game play mechanics flooded my brain; how will this work and how can I do that! Until I gradually realized that I was completely out of focus, once I gravitated back to the original objective; I settled down with a simple scope, along with a straight forward plan in constructing a platformer.
I chose a platformer genre for a simple reason; Mirror's Edge has some of the most intense and memorable platforming I have ever had the luxury of playing through. Therefore, I wanted to replicate something similar; by no means the same quality (actually, very far from it) I began by outlining the theme along with possible light and colour palettes. Once I was satisfied I began a paper/pen prototype in defining behaviors and objects that the player could encounter; Initial designs were quickly implemented and tested, at a later stage, I focused on the progression rate along with simple effective ways in explaining the controls to the player.
The colour palette is quite primitive, consisting of cold and warm colours: White, blue, orange, red and violet. I then further categorized these colours by associating them with an object behavior; meaning that, objects players should avoid would be warm such as: Orange and red. Whilst the others are considered to be safe cold colours, they will not effect the player negatively.
My objective towards building the level was that it had to be: simple (mechanically and visually) and remain faithful to the theme. This was imperative in achieving the tight deadline I hoped to complete it under.
The software I used was: Unity 3D, The player controller was a free asset that I managed to find on the unity website; the rest of the code was put together by myself using a wide array of sources such as Youtube and other informative websites. The art was done by myself.
Platform: PC
Genre: First Person, Platformer
Engine: Unity
Time: 2 weeks
Click again once the game loads
Section 1
The player is immediately greeted with a series of tutorials; white static cubes containing text on how to perform basic movements. By progressing and walking down on the designated path, they will notice some odd looking cube trees containing different colours; this was my attempt in foreshadowing what could potential appear in the future, their purpose will be revealed later on. One tree in particular is straight ahead, acting as a focal point to guide the player forward. Beyond this point and past the fist turn; the player will be given another set of tutorials, teaching them how to sprint and avoid the forsaken red cube. I made this dangerous cube red due to the common trope that warm colours such as red are usually associated to vivid/upbeat emotions; therefore red was a perfect colour in illustrating danger! If the player successfully avoids this obstacle they will be presented with another series of static white cubes with different elevations to acclimate themselves with the jump button and understand the jump limits of the avatar.
The next colour cube along the path is a violet one; these violet cubes move horizontally. I opted to have this behavior associated with violet since it is a cold colour; the opposite purpose of the red cube therefore it does not pose a danger for the player. The player will eventually realize that the path dissolves in front of them, however a tree containing multiple coloured cubes (similar to the ones seen at the beginning of the level) has a blue cube facing the player with an arrow pointing down; this will incentivize the player to either walk towards the edge of the last visible cube and look down to see what there is, or take a leap of faith! Upon landing, the player will be acquainted with a new set of platform puzzles progressively becoming a little more challenging.
I then created a segment which tested the players ability containing a summation of all the coloured cubes learnt thus far, I consider this the final stage of segment 1. After this moderatly intense section, the player will be given some breathing room and encounter the fourth colour cube which is another friendly cold colour; a blue cube that moves vertically!
Section 2
By this point, the player should have a basic understanding of the mechanics of the game; this is where the "fun" begins. I created Intuitive patterns for the cubes to follow, maintaining a suitable level of difficulty; I feared that If I went all out and made crazy patterns at this stage the player could become frustrated too soon. Therefore, the objective at this point was to show off simple ways in using violet cubes in a sequential manner; injecting some variety into the gameplay. Once the series of violet cubes have been passed, the player will encounter the tree with cubes on it; however this time around it is quite low and one of it's branches contains a white cube which can be used as a platform to jump onto.
Another series of tree jumping is given to the player; using the same white colour for the static cube, I wanted to maintain a form of consistency so once they encounter this puzzle the player will understand and look for the white cubes on the branches to jump onto! The next stage is another low intensity section, however the final cube colour will be encountered; the orange cube will move horizontally similar to the violet one but with a dangerous intent. These cubes have the potential in knocking players off their path; Therefore, the timing and movement is imperative!
Once the orange pair of cubes are surpassed the player will reach a zone of tranquility; a series of blue cubes that form a stair case followed by another tree jumping puzzle with a violet cube in the mix. The final segment of this section will put the players skills to the test once again, presenting them with a series of puzzles that can be completed with the knowledge they have learned.
Section 3
This is the final section of the level, the players reaction time and skills will be put to the test; the start is quite slow but picks up fairly quickly, this is a high intense zone. I had to be very careful in placing objects in this section; I knew for certainty that there would be a lot of colour clashes. Since my colour palette was already defined and ironed out (see the above section) I did not have a lot of dominant colours, resulting in a low amount of clutter the player would have to navigate through; however orange and red cubes were placed at the mid section to behave as focal points to guide the players and prepare them for the dangerous section. Once the player manages to complete the section, there will be a a blue billboard which will restart the game if the player comes in contact with it. Congratulations, that's it!!
