Level 4

This week I finished level 4 and started work on level 5. I identified a constant shape I have been using in the 3 previous levels and decided to lean on it and use it as the motif of the city. The shape is a square with a hollow center. For level 4 I wanted to make it a central aspect and thus I ended with  several of these squares around the map. Also, starting this week we decided to start using height in the map. For this reason I had to rework the previous maps a bit to use it.

As said before, I wanted to heavily use the square motif and height in this map, so I started by iterating a lot trying to connect the squares in a way that was interesting and allowed me to take advantage of the height. The final product is a set of small squares that are connected to larger areas also composed of larger squares.

The final design shows the player the location of their objective by placing it centered in the player’s field of view once they go up the initial stairs. Also, the fact that it is higher than anything else in the map and the fact it is in the direction the player was moving, helps to make it the focal point. To be sure it was visible and that the perspective worked with me, I had to make some quick tests in the engine each time I had a general layout ready. I didn’t want to finish working on the detailed “paper prototype” to find out the game camera doesn’t show what I expected.

In this map the player must go through the 2 areas to press the buttons on each one to unlock both of the doors blocking the  objective.The area to the north-west’s challenge focuses on understanding the map to avoid traps and take shortcuts. If the player does this they can go through it quite quickly. Meanwhile the area to the south-east is more simple but has a more intense test of skill. The square after the initial stairs offers the first challenge and guides the player to the North east challenge by having the enemy in there going in a clockwise direction. The square next to the objective area serves as a connection point between the 2 large areas and gives the player space to breathe.

Aside from the squares I also used the motif of making the 2-step stairs being “½ tempo tiles”. After testing the map it helps create a nice change of tempo to keep the players engaged while also just feeling nice to execute. Also, it adds to the unique flavor of this city as I plan to keep using it.

Now, the rework of the previous levels went rather smoothly. In level 1 I made no changes as I want to keep that one as simple as possible. In level 2 I added a change in height after the introduction of the “single directional tiles”, as it also helped communicate the idea to the player that they cannot go back that direction. For level 3 I used it to separate the areas and make the objective call more the player’s attention, which was an issue I had with that level. Also, adding height helped me guide the player more effectively towards the south area.

Level 5 is still early in the iteration phase so I won’t show much about it this time. The only thing that I know for sure about is that I want it to be shorter to create difference in kind and because I will introduce the “rotating enemies”. As these are more complex to deal with I don’t want their first level to be a long one that might frustrate the player.

Next week I will finish level 5 and maybe start work on level 6.