top of page
level design
by Alex Flont
Descendent of Devilry
Music credit: The Dark Amulet by Matthew PAblo and Dark Quest by Alexandr Zhelanov, OpenGameArt
Design Goals & Details
Goals
-
Design a level encouraging, and at times necessitating, mobility using two player mechanics: dash and "sword leap." Also create combat layouts that accommodate an orbit "lock-on" mechanic.
-
Manage pacing by balancing combat, exploration, light puzzles, and a boss fight finale. Include tonal shifts at certain points in the level by using contrast.
-
Provide satisfactory player progression with achievable level objectives, secondary objectives, and a checkpoint.
-
Utilize back-tracking upon learning sword leap to re-use spaces in new ways, with environmental changes and new enemies.
-
Invoke a sense of fore-boding in the level, supported by narrative elements and environmental storytelling.
-
Improve the level through iterations based on play-testing feedback from peers.
Story
An evil family's abandoned manor is being raided by Cultists, searching for the "Relic." The player is a descendent of the family who wants to redeem their legacy and stop the Cultists. There also happen to be dangerous creatures of the night, spurred by the evil spirits lingering in the manor...
Tools
Unreal Engine 5 including Blueprints & built-in modeling tools, SuperGrid starter pack by ZeOrb
Assets
Estoc model by mypPi, Crossbow model by Kingy, Le Mano font by Afkari Studio, Devil Candle font by Måns Grebäck, Dusk Demon font by Iconian Fonts, Sounds from Soundly, The Dark Amulet by Matthew Pablo, Dark Quest by Alexandr Zhelanov
Cross-Section, Beats, & Maps
The cross section below is interactive - hover over areas for a description of each beat
Crashed Coach
Player recovers and first enemy grabs their attention, introduction of lock-on mechanic
1
Broken Bridge
Player practices dashing across the bridge
2
Manor Grounds
Mixed combat, optional traversal, and exploration rewarding a vantage point and narrative
3
Manor Courtyard and Observatory Lower Levels
Combat gate to enter Manor, optional traversal, and exploration rewards armor and secondary objective
4
Manor Interior
Build mental map of layout, lock & key, and exploration rewards optional scripted event
5
Observatory and Manor Interior part II
Forced traversal, cutscene to reveal golden path, and combat inside the Manor
6
Spiral Staircase
Valve, contrasting tone, optional traversal, and exploration rewards armor
7
Trap Room
Twist on orbit mechanic: instead of an enemy, dodge hazardous projectiles from a trap mechanism
8
Crypt
Player learns and practices new "sword leap" skill on new enemies. Heightened tension with quakes and Ancestor dialogue
9
Backtracking
Mixed combat and necessary traversal using newly learned skill and new enemies
10
Grotto and Cliffs
New path forward. Mixed combat, traversal, and exploration rewards armor and secret easter egg
11
Courtyard Boss Encounter
Finale, player utilizes skills learned to succeed (this beat is only storyboarded)
12
Early Development
Initial sketches had a compact, square-shaped manor complex and a grotto (mistakenly labeled as cove here) the player could descend to by two routes, through a secret path in the manor or an explorable exterior option via a beach.
Separate gameplay moments and characters were planned for each route.
What later developed were more areas before the manor, to introduce mechanics and build anticipation.
Different routes were also simplified into one golden path.
In the underground area, the player would encounter a mini-boss, the Raider Captain (not labeled here), prior to entering the Crypt.
When the player backtracks in this area, ground would be falling away, necessitating use of the newly learned sword leap.
Instead of more combat with enemies, I opted for the Trap Room to present a slightly different challenge prior to the Crypt.
Pages of notes and tabs became more organized in a table with level chunks and details
One of the gym levels outlining jump heights and dash distances, metrics of interior spaces and doors, enemy types
Halfway through the blockout I found I needed a 3D mini blockout to help see the pacing and main elements of spaces I had already done and still needed to do.
This helped me see a lot of big picture items across all the areas I had planned for the level.
Blockout Iteration
I organized several playtests with friends and fellow designers and was provided with useful feedback, which influenced some of the changes described in the following section.
Level Start
The player began near the crashed coach, as if they had been thrown out. The player needed to turn 180 degrees to see the golden path and engaging the Werewolf was completely optional.
The player spawn was moved inside the coach and movement is briefly disabled until they exit, facing the golden path and Werewolf, promoting use of the orbit mechanic and better orientation.
I also made the log that the player jumps over to leave this area a little bit smaller for increased readability.
Bridge Crossing
Feedback mentioned the rock off to the side wasn't necessarily clear as the means to get across, so I created a central platform from the broken bridge. The dash is necessary here so the player can get acquainted to it. A narrative note was added to the small booth structure on the other side.
Manor Grounds
A windmill building and large rocky, elevated area led to a path that could bypass enemies or be used for stealth. These were cut in favor of gradual terraces, which pushed the player into the encounter and retains the core gameplay of engaging in duels/combat. Cover and a small "planning" space 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 and grotto behind the Manor, thus the player could skip the Manor interior. I cut this route in favor of reducing scope and tighter gameplay.
A few cover elements were added to the courtyard in the form of a wagon and small hedges. Dashing across cliffs for an alternate route was moved so the player can sneak up on an enemy for "stealth lite" gameplay.
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
An optional encounter in the greenhouse adds some variety. A discoverable note here also assists establishing a goal for the player, "Find the telescope."
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.
Feedback indicated players could lose track of the Library. 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. Enemies also emerge as breadcrumbs.
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 and more dynamic geometry.
Balconies along outside walls were expanded to accommodate orbiting in 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.
Some exploration rewards the player with a few arrows for the crossbow or flanking routes on the Gargoyles.
Cliffs
Upon reaching the combat on the cliff, the enemy on the tall rock on the left split the player's focus. The player could also use a shortcut by leaping up on this rock. The space was re-designed to narrow the player's focus and lead them towards two ramped islands for a mix of traversal and combat. A small explorable cave contains an Armor pickup.
References
The mechanics were mainly inspired by Alucard's dueling style from Netflix's Castlevania, characterized by blinking and using a magic sword. Player mobility was inspired by games I was playing at the time, like Boomerang X and Meet Your Maker. And first person sword combat was something I wanted to explore in a singleplayer setting after enjoying nuanced combat of Mordhau.
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 cliffs of The Exchange from Eurocom's James Bond 007: Nightfire. Level progression was guided by my memories of TimeSplitters 2, with its secondary objectives and boss fight finales.
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 mobility and sword combat, incorporating dark fantasy elements.
I believe I achieved the main goals that I had for this project, on top of some extra effort in some areas. There was more I wanted to do but didn't have capacity for. In the future, it would be nice to collaborate with people who can support in these areas and I can focus more on level design.
I also think this was an ambitious project, given the experience that I had; there were many days it felt like the end was so far away. I'd like to avoid that feeling in the future and maybe collaborating would help with that.
And looking back on this project, I think it's missing some color, which I reserved for key elements of the level, but I don't think I needed to do that.
Thank you friends and fellow designers who playtested, gave feedback, and helped with technical issues!
bottom of page