Scientist's Treasure: Post Mortem
The player controls our hero explorer on their journey to find and steal the Scientist's Treasure. It is said to an extremely value item, although no one is really sure what it actually is. This project was extremely fun to make. It start off with designing a simple puzzle style mechanic prototype. Then I took that mechanic and implemented it into a full level. Using the IPM pacing method, I starting with an introduction to the mechanic, then moved to a practice of the mechanic, then finally a mastery area for the mechanic. With areas of rest in between the pacing events. Finally, it all had to have a conclusion, so I tossed in a fun little hint in the middle of it all, and eluded to what the scientist was up to.
What Went Right?
The basic mechanic
This mechanic is a simple idea, but was a bit difficult to figure out how to make it work the way I wanted it to. The concept is to interact with the dial on the wall, which causes the room section to rotate. Once the room section is in the right position, the player is notified by a light and sound feedback. Then they simply pull the lever, and the walkway extends, allowing the player to simply walk across to complete the task.
Planning
For this project, I created a pacing flowchart. I laid out what each room would be used for, what would happen in the room, and then how the player would move to the next room; whether it is a valve or a gate. I also marked where the key for each gate would be located, and described each node separately in the notes of the flowchart. This flowchart proved to be a very valuable resource when it came time to begin designing my level in engine. It also, allowed me to work a lot more efficiently by not having to design the pacing flow on the fly as I designed the rooms.
The Laboratory
I knew that I wanted a laboratory in this underground bunker. I just wasn't sure how I wanted it to look. I also knew that I wanted to have some sort of hint within the room, that would help the player complete the final puzzle a little more easily. When I started designing the laboratory, I first made it well lit, and everything was nice and orderly. Then I felt that it would be better if everything was a little disheveled, so that I could then easily draw more attention to the hint for the final level. That's when I decided to place a flickering light that shone upon the white board, to draw the player's attention to the spot.
The Bunker Entrance
One of the ideas that I knew from the start was that I wanted the player to find a bunker entrance in the side of a hill, with a small wood shed in a clearing in the woods. I had to learn to create a hole in the landscape that the player can travel through. I wasn't too well versed on how to go about creating a hole that could work as a bunker. However, after learning a lot more about the landscape system, I was able to accomplish the task.
The Final Puzzle
According to the IPM pacing model, the last stage is the "mastery" stage of the mechanic. So in this final, mastery, area of of my level, I decided to change up the mechanic slightly. Instead of squares that would rotate 90°, and only have 4 possible positions for the solution, I went with hexagons that rotated 60°, and gave 6 possible positions for the solution of this puzzle. I also added a large industrial exhaust fan that is continuously rotating. If the player isn't careful, the blades will reset them to the beginning of this puzzle. I also matched the sequence of the dials to the sequence the colors were on the white board in the laboratory. That is if the player noticed, and remembered, the hint.
What Went Wrong?
Lack of Player Choice
Although I am proud of what I accomplished with the project, I can't help but notice the complete lack of player agency, or choice, throughout the level. It is a bunker, so the options are limited, but the player simply starts, and is driven along the path to the end without any choice in the matter. I would like to revisit this project at some point to add a little more in the way of player agency.
The Sunken Room
This room was intended to be much large and have many more dangers that the player would have to traverse to get the key so they could progress. However, when I was designing the room, I also felt like I was running out of time to complete the whole project, therefore I had to cut back on the scale of this room. This is another area I would like to revisit and take the time needed to make it amazing. This part also taught me that sometimes we must "kill our darlings" in order to meet a deadline.
Time Portal
The end goal of this whole level was for our explorer, the player, to find, and steal, the crystal that the scientist is using to power his time portal. In other words, steal the Scientist's Treasure. This room turned out to be not as good as I would have liked for the end of the storyline of this puzzle level. Again, I had to cut back on the extravagance of the room due to time constraints. I feel like I didn't budget enough time for this room, and spent too much time on others. It all falls back to the planning stage, as well as giving myself more than just 2 weeks to complete a project.
Sequencer
After the player has stolen the Scientist's Treasure, they need to get away with it. I designed an elevator that activates when they collect the Jewel, and takes the player out of the bunker. When they reach the top, a helicopter is waiting for them. They get on the helicopter, and fly off into the sunset with the treasure. This is all done using the Sequencer in Unreal Engine 4. This is also my first time ever using the Sequencer, and I struggled with it quite a bit. I realized that I need a lot more practice to be able to use this tool to its full potential.
Conclusion
I am very proud of my work on this project. I managed to push myself outside of my comfort zone to learn new areas of designing within Unreal Engine. I know I have a lot to learn still, but that is the exciting part of this journey. I will continue to learn, and grow within my craft by continuing to design more and more levels, and games!