Clockworts (2017)

The goal I set out to achieve for this prototype was to: create a level where the mechanics of the environment influenced the objective; I was inspired by a game called dishonored 2 developed by Arkane Studios: In particular the clockwork mansion. The aesthetics and theme drew me in instantly; accompanied with a superb narration and wide array of enemies that fit wonderfully into a beautiful theme which really stood out to other levels.

I began by concocting ideas, focusing primarily on: the location, types of puzzles and the progression. I took it slowly by building one room at a time; eventually I ended by with 8 rooms which all offered something new, varying in different sizes and lengths. However, I had to keep the scope small since that would have blown over the estimated amount of time I wanted to allocate for the project.

I was lucky enough to find some assets that fit the look I was aiming to create; unlike the clockwork mansion, the assets I used leaned more on a fantasy and magical spectrum, however this allowed me to include strange abnormalities which would support my level design and appear possible to the player since I was using this specific theme.

The level prototype went through a grey box stage which was my experimentation palette, all my ideas where placed here and tested. However, I later had to remove and alter some of the rooms and ideas because they did not fit in the aesthetic representation of the final draft. Therefore, there had to be some compromises and some of my ideas did not make the cut.

The implementation of the level was done in unity with art assets from the store, all the physics, level construction and logic was done by myself. Unlike my previous projects: I spent a lot more time on the preproduction blue print, roughly 1 week on the planning/paper prototype, whilst the last week was used on the: grey boxing, actual implementation with the final assets, lighting and optimization.

Platform: PC

Genre: First Person, Platformer

Engine: Unity

Time: 2 weeks

Part 1

I began by laying out the mechanics and what I wanted to teach the player in a non-obtrusive way; stringing too many new mechanics all at once would most probably confuse the player. Once I had a paper layout, I continued laying out points on the map where I wanted to teach something new and how difficult they would be. I went with a rather linear approach, with some lulls (rest periods) and highs to add some variety. Therefore without further ado I will present a light walk through of the level:

The initial segment is an introduction, getting the player to adjust and absorb the mood of the game; it is very short and leads them to the first puzzle of the game! The second room will teach the player the switch mechanic; they will notice a codex with a bright cyan light shining on it. I highlighted the object to show its importance and grab the player’s attention. By interacting with it, they will activate the switch resulting in the wall opposite them to move further back to uncover a hidden door. Being a tutorial segment I did not want to add too many moving objects especially in this zone, I was afraid that with so many objects moving around; the player would lose track and not understand where to go. The next segment is the final tutorial sequence; the player is required to reach a switch on a high self; to get there they must activate a switch prior to that which is very close to the entrance. Once activated, three pillars will rise at different heights from the ground guiding them to the second switch. By timing their jumps correctly, they will be able to interact with the switch to open the door ahead leading to the hallway. The player can also activate the second switch by standing directly beneath the shelf that the switch is on and jumping to activate it; this is more challenging and is not likely to be used in initial playthroughs since the switch is not so easy to see.

Part 2

The hallway is a rest period or lull which is a small break from the previous segments, it helps the player in absorbing what they have learnt and bolster what is going to happen next. The player will notice that there is only one door open, once inside they will be greeted with a cosy bedroom with a nice fireplace at the side. This is where the player will need to search and get creative in finding the switches, remember this is a mechanical environment, the switch could be anywhere! I added a cyan light node on the candle inside the bookshelf to make a link to the hidden switch. Previously, the switches have been highlighted with a cyan ray of light coming from a window. I wanted to apply a similar logic here by adding a slight tint of cyan around the candle to emphasize something of importance. Once the player interacts with the candle, the bookshelf will slide along and the codex will reveal itself behind it. This will unveil a hidden passage behind the bed. Once the player goes up they will reach another puzzle area which looks like a grand salon for wizards! The first switch is in a standard place next to the grand table, however if the player explores enough before activating it they can see the second one. However, they will realize it is impossible to reach there. Once the first switch is activated, the player must successfully jump on a series of pillars extruding from the walls and the ground to reach the last switch of the room. This will open the door and return the player back to the hallway; however the kitchen door is now open at the other end!

Part 3

The kitchen area is a standard room; the switch is located at the back end, unlike most of the previous rooms I wanted the player to explore a little instead of finding all the switches close to the entrances. The switch will reveal a hidden door that leads to an underground path. The path is narrow and filled with candle sticks glowing to aid them a little in walking in the right direction; I wanted to instill a spooky and dangerous mood here, something that added a little more contrast to the flamboyant orange and yellow lighting in the previous rooms. The candle trail will end near the foot of a table which contains a codex on top, by interacting with it; the table will rise and stop in the final room of the level: The tower!

The final segment requires the player to climb up a flight of stairs and jump into the particle stream to complete the level. However, the stairs are misaligned and in order to clear a safe passage; the player needs to locate and activate the switch. The switch is located in a trivial place but this time I tried to integrate it well with the other objects so that it would blend in well making the players miss it, a mischievous little codex indeed. Once activated the steps will align correctly and the player can cross, the last stair piece will have aether of particles swarming adjacent to it. I did not place anything else beyond that, prompting players to jump in! If they do, they will be taken to the congratualations/results screen.

Map & key

Grey box pictures