hands in the sky(2017)

In this project; my goal was to create a level that focused primarily on a single player experience. I opted for an asymmetrical approach for the map to keep the flow of progression more fruitful and interesting. My main sources of inspiration originated from a fictional planet in Mass Effect: Andromeda, by Bioware; the tropical planet Aya (one of the homes to the Angara civilization). What captivated me with this planet was the architecture and structural layout the city possessed; buildings were hanging from cliffs and woven into natural rock formation to cement a fantastic contrast of alien construction with that of nature. I felt as if, the Angaran civilization were respectable settlers that colonized in an efficient manner; they are not greedy and know their bounds between themselves and nature. The second most attractive element that I found was the colour palette used in the city; containing a myriad of cold colours (different shades of blues and greens) that emphasized their nature as a humble species and openness to extraterrestrial contact. 

Therefore with the information above, I set out to create my own Aya: the first section I began prototyping was "The dock". I always intended this section to be the start zone, A powerful introduction that would stimulate the player and give them an overwhelming impression of their location and what the planet has to offer. Hopefully it would last long enough to invite and encourage players to explore as much as possible. The second segment of the map is called "The Terrace" the aim for this section was to give players options in reaching their goal (the complex). They will have a choice to either: go in guns blazing or take a more subtle and calculated approach. Last but not least; "the complex" is the culmination of both the previous zones with a little dazzle of action. 

The level was created from scratch in Unreal engine 4, I created a paper prototype for the first two sections (docks and terrace). Once I was satisfied with it, I began using BSP brushes to create the grey-box; the last section the complex was added much later into production. The AI avatars, path nodes, cover points, ammunition drops & pickups were implemented as quickly as possible (once a rough grey-box was in place) This was crucial for testing archtectural spaces and behaviors for both: the player and AI.

Assets I used came from a package called "Third person shooter kit"

Platform: PC

Genre: Third Person

Engine: Unreal Engine 4

Time: 2 weeks

Story

A notorious data trafficking clan called 7% Angels have taken control of a spaceport called Serkin, the interstellar organization Pulse have sent one of their top agents to assess the situation and discover the reason for the spaceports lack of communication reports as of late. The agent commences his journey on board a private vehicle bound to another space port; however, en route he sabotages the vehicle so that the pilot must perform an emergency landing on the dock; the vehicle is checked and repaired, once the guards retreat back to their tasks, the agent smuggles off the vehicle undetected and proceeds to the main complex 74B. Unfortunately pulse does not have a clear reading on the amount of personnel on the platform, therefore: caution is required.

The docks

This segment was the first one I designed, my main inspiration came from the planet Aya from the Mass effect universe. My goal was to create an interesting scene which could captivate the player and encourage them to explore. I opted to go for a dark-misty-gold palette because I thought it enforced the theme of a technologically advanced civilization. Placing white light strips on the ground was a little thematic touch that I wanted to experiment with, I thought that the player would have a significantly easier time in defining where they need to go.

Once the player makes their first baby steps in the level, they will notice a terminal on the right side which will welcome them to the spaceport (activated/interacted with) if the player continues to follow the straight path; the first dominant object they will encounter is the statue in the center of the dock. The statue acts as a hub where people would socialize and exchange conversations and live their everyday lives. Eventually, the player will notice that all the light strips on the floor all conjure and merge to a big opening with white and blue light inside. This is the transition stage to the terrace segment.

Since the space station is in a high altitude section of the planet, it was imperative to enforce this spectacle by adding a lot of flying transports and massive buildings in the background to inject more life onto the surface of the planet.

The terrace

Once the player walks down the flight of stairs, they will be greeted with: 1) An awesome f****** view 2) A guard facing the awesome f****** view. The player can chose to eliminate this enemy with any weapon at their disposal, once the threat is removed they will have a choice to make. The player can either: A) Take the main path to the right; fighting/stealth killing enemies and slowly grind to the final segment. B) Take the secret path on the left by climbing up the stairs and running on the rooftop evading all the turrets, there will be a point where the player must blast one of the glass ceilings to fall down to the main path. At the end of this section, there will be two hard AI clan members along with a boss which can pack a punch, so take it easy and eliminate the two hard mobs first.

The complex

Initially, this part of the level did not even exist, it was subconscious decision I made late into production to add more variety to the game-play; when I began testing the grey-box multiple times, I realized that there was a build up to something, but that something never came. Therefore I added "the complex" to reward the player with some action packed shoot-outs with a small platoon of enemy soldiers to make the whole progression of the level more enjoyable. Once the player activates the switch to the elevator (from the terrace) they will climb two stories of the complex, in which they will encounter a stupefied guard. The next section is the last shoot-out that will take place, I opted to place multiple cover points and obstacles which the player and AI bots can take cover from, to use to their advantage. The stair cases on the left and right of the map was a design in which I believed would make the level less monotonous and more beneficial for strategical game-play; by rushing up to either side, the player will achieve the high ground and rain down fire below, hopefully the AI will not underestimate the players ability. The ceiling is covered in glass, I thought this would be a nice touch in allowing natural lighting to seep in from the outside which is then mixed with the blue/white artificial lighting inside; this resulted in a spectacular contrast.

I took the liberty in adding power-ups and weapon/heath drops throughout this section since it can get tricky after all the enemy AI's are alert. Once all the mobs are cleared in the room, the player can progress to the end of the level by going through the main door at the top.

Production