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level design
by Alex Flont
Music credit: The Dark Amulet by Matthew PAblo and Dark Quest by Alexandr Zhelanov, OpenGameArt
Descendent of Devilry
Project goals - Create, test, and iterate a playable blockout while learning blueprinting to make scripted events. Design a linear experience with back-tracking and variety in gameplay. Use custom mechanics combining sword combat and movement abilities and design the level around these. Craft a narrative in a dark fantasy setting.
Story - An evil family's abandoned manor is being raided by Cultists, searching for the "Relic." The player, a descendent of the family, wants to redeem himself and stop the Cultists. There also happen to be creatures of the night, possibly beckoned by evil spirits lingering in the manor...
Tools used - Unreal Engine 5, SuperGrid starter pack
Timeline - 6 months fulltime hours spread out over a little more than a year to complete
Cross-Section & Beats
1
Crashed Coach
Player orients themselves, practices orbit mechanic, and fights first enemy (attention grabber)
2
Broken Bridge
Player practices dash mechanic
4
Manor Courtyard
Combat gate, traversal, and exploration -> armor and secondary objective reward
3
Manor Grounds
Mixed combat, traversal, and exploration -> vantage point and narrative reward
5
Manor interior
Lock and key, build mental map of layout, and exploration -> main objective and optional clue reward
6
Observatory and Manor interior part II
Traversal, cutscene to reveal path, and combat
Trap Room
Twist on orbit mechanic
8
7
Spiral staircase
Valve, contrasting tone, traversal, and exploration -> armor reward
9
Crypt
Player learns and practices new ability, combat with new enemies, and heightened tension with earthquake and voice lines from Ancestor
10
Backtrack underground
Combat with new enemies and new traversal with learned ability unlocks path forward
11
Cliffs
Mixed combat, traversal, and exploration -> armor reward, easter egg
12
Manor Courtyard
Climax and boss encounter
References
The mechanics were mainly inspired by Alucard's superior dueling style from Netflix's Castlevania, characterized by blinking or dashing and using a magic sword. I also referenced games like Mordhau and Zeno Clash. I wanted to add an orbit or focus mechanic to emphasize dueling (and since dashing sideways could be disorienting if the player isn't locked on a target).
Inspiration for the setting included the mansion from Red Hook's Darkest Dungeon, Tintin's Marlinspike Hall, the mansion from Vaulted Sky Games' Midnight Ghost Hunt and The Exchange from Eurocom's James Bond 007: Nightfire
Early Development
The initial layout had the player enter directly into a courtyard through the gate.
There was a second route into the underground via the Beach, in addition to a secret route inside the house through a wine cellar. Totally separate gameplay moments could be experienced depending on which route was chosen.
For example, the player could find Cultists and Crabmen fighting on the Beach if they took that route.
In the underground area, the player would encounter a mini-boss, the Raider Captain, prior to entering the Crypt.
When the player backtracks through this area, the ground would be falling away, necessitating use of the new mechanic the player has learned.
Much of this was reworked to simplify the logic and pacing of the level and so that I could focus on other challenges.
Pages of notes and tabs became more organized in a table with level chunks and details
I got to a point where planning on paper needed to move into building out in the editor. Many things changed during this stage. Most influential was favoring a more linear experience, without wholly separate gameplay spaces that later converge, and combat-driven gameplay, instead of designing with a stealth option.
One of the gym levels outlining jump heights and dash distances, metrics of interior spaces, enemy types
Halfway through the blockout I found I needed a 3D visualization of the sequence of spaces - so I made all the level chunks with simple geo and a few callouts.
Blockout Iteration
Level Start
The player began near the crashed coach, as if they had been thrown out. The player needs to turn 180 degrees to see the path forward and doesn't need to engage the Werewolf.
The player spawn was moved inside the coach with a little bit of scripting and they exit facing the path forward and Werewolf, promoting use of the orbit mechanic and better orientation.
Bridge Crossing
Instead of an ambiguous rock to dash to, a piece of a bridge in the middle of the ravine serves as a clearer platform to get across. An island of trees provides continuity of the environment across the ravine and fills void space. A narrative note was added to the small booth structure.
Manor Grounds
A windmill building and large rocky, elevated area led to a path bypassing enemies, meant for stealth. These were cut in favor of gradual terraces leading up to the Manor Courtyard inner wall, which flows better and retains the core gameplay of engaging in duels/combat. Cover and a small "neck" were added to alleviate the door problem at the gate.
Trees break up line-of-sight across the Manor Grounds. Bodies at the gate provide environmental storytelling.
Manor Courtyard
There was a path to the Beach behind the Manor, under a bridge between the Observatory and Manor. But the player could skip the Manor interior and the gameplay that followed. So I restricted access to the back of the Manor and moved the Observatory and bridge to the other side so it overlooks a sheer cliff. A simple locked door to the back of the Manor opens later when back-tracking.
A few cover elements were added to the courtyard in the form of a wagon and small gardens. Dashing across cliffs for an alternate route was moved to outside the inner wall and leads to a hole in the wall to sneak up on an enemy.
Signs of ruin exist, such as the broken arch into the courtyard and the bridge to the Observatory, where the dash needs to be utilized to get across.
Manor Interior
To direct the player towards the Observatory when they go upstairs, Hall was blocked with a caved-in ceiling, which also teases a narrative note on the other side.
A hole in the floor of the key room shows the Library below, which helps orient the player to the location of the secret door when the telescope in the Observatory is activated.
An optional encounter in the greenhouse adds some variety. A discoverable note here also assists establishing a goal for the player, "Find the telescope."
Cut Sections
After descending the spiral stairs into the underground area, there was a combat encounter with a mini-boss, the Cultist Captain, followed by an atmospheric tomb, before the Trap room. These were cut for scope and pacing.
Crypt
Three symmetrical stairs were replaced with a central one and two smaller alcoves on either side, as well as taller columns for cover, providing more dynamic geometry.
Balconies along outside walls were expanded to accommodate dueling/combat. Short paths were added to link balconies to ledges near the entrance for flanking routes. A dead Cultist near the pedestal indicates the dangerous nature of the Relic.
Cliffs
Rock and enemy positioning lead the player towards two ramped islands for a mix of traversal and combat. A small explorable cave contains an Armor pickup.
Playthrough
Timestamps
00:00 Start Menu
00:03 Opening Cinematic
00:38 Level Start
01:23 Bridge Crossing
01:59 Entering Manor Grounds
03:38 The Courtyard
04:36 First Corrupted Rune (Secondary objective)
05:12 Conservatory and Strange Vine
06:01 Getting the Observatory Key
06:41 Activating Telescope
07:35 Behind the Bookshelf
07:58 Second Corrupted Rune (Secondary objective)
08:08 Descending Spiral Stairs
08:33 Trap Room
09:13 Crypt (Learning the Sword Leap)
09:34 Fighting Your Way Out
10:19 Using New Ability
10:30 Ascending Spiral Stairs
10:56 Crossing the Cove Gap
11:08 Combat on the Cliffs
11:44 Storyboarded Ending (Boss Fight)
Final Notes
This project began with the idea of being able to play as Castlevania's Alucard and what kind of story and level I could create around that gameplay, incorporating dark fantasy elements.
I did a handful of extra things, like the comic-book opening, and attempted to do things but didn't succeed, like having working animations with a mannequin. There were things I didn't have time to develop, like a health and stamina bar. It would have been nice to have a handful of these and other features. But those weren't the main goal, which was crafting a playable, tested and iterated blockout, based on a few custom mechanics and interesting premise (and a mix of blueprinting).
Thank you friends and fellow designers who playtested, gave feedback, and helped with technical issues. On to the next design challenge!
If you would like to play this level, check out the itch.io page:
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