OVERVIEW
PROJECT BREAKDOWN
Project duration: 9 months
Playthrough: 20 minutes
Unreal Engine 5
Team: 2 Level Designers, 2 Game Designers, 2 Technical Designers, 3 Artists
Genre: Cinematic Adventure
Target : Midcore players
TIMELINE
SEP 2023
NOV 2023
AVRIL 2024
31st MAY 2024
Pre-Production
1st MAY 2024
Beta
Alpha
Gold
LEVEL DESIGN INTENTIONS
Create the feeling of ascension
A citadel that tells the story of its civilization
Layout with an architectural logic
CAMERA DESIGN INTENTIONS
The camera is managed by the designer
Flawless and smooth movements
Arouse curiosity and show objectives
LEVEL INSPIRATIONS
MODULAR DOCUMENT
The Level Timeline
The level timeline was our Level Design pre-production document on Miro. It was created to establish the playthrough with the various levels and environments, the camera shots, and the narrative progress. We created it to be as modular as possible, using movable cards
After that, each member, especially the Level Artists, made the timeline their own by adding their needs and constraints. It then became our main document to communicate and iterate during the production. Its modularity helped us to cut when it was necessary.
MY LEVELS
Proof Of Concept
This level was made during the concept phase.
Level Intentions:
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Test our different features
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Create a high sense of verticality
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Create a contemplative spot
Conclusions:
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Some places won't be possible because of production constraints.
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Need to be careful of camera smoothness and level slow flow.
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Combat areas need to be separated from the contemplative camera.
The beginning
This level is the beginning of the game. It starts the city district.
Because of an incoming milestone, we couldn't create new props and a huge environment so I've decided to create a straightforward layout.
Level Intentions:
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Introduce player's interactions with the environment (Push & Pull, Sonar, Melt)
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Start in a close environment that opens to bigger spaces
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Introduce the Golem in a dead state
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Introduce frescos, our main narrative tool
Camera Intentions:
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Stable and Slow camera to let the player learn easier
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Money shot at the end of the zone that reminds the game's final goal
Golem's pursuit
It follows the beginning and continues in the city district.
After creating the first complete version of it, we figured out that it was too long, slow, and repetitive.
Level Intentions:
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Follow a Golem alive and learn how to make it fall
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Show Golem's peacefulness and create a feeling of regrets
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Create more angles and possibilities in the navigation
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Introduce more features like moving platforms (Narration & Gameplay)
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Finish with another wall to highlight the ends of the tutorial
Camera Intentions:
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More active during the exploration
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Different angles to make navigation easier
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Create twists like changing angles to show new paths when the player goes back
The Plaza
After the proof of concept, the Plaza was the first level I've made for Solstice. Designing it first was useful in setting up our Combat, Cameras, and Level Art.
The plaza finishes the city district and has the first combat of the game.
Level Intentions:
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Create a main road with mandatory side paths
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New fresco as a reward after the fight
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Create a sense of a real citadel with unreachable city parts
Camera Intentions:
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Start with a reminder of the final goal
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Tease the next area and the combat
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Combat's camera as a top view and rotate a little to add dynamism
The Bridge
It's a new environment and mainly a contemplative sequence.
Level Intentions:
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Feel of a Dangerous Environment
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Hide narrative elements far in the fog
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Increase destruction intensity through the level
Technical Constraints:
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Prebake the Chaos Destruction (use of cache)
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Never destroy a surface with snow on it
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Use basic shapes and fog for far elements
The Observatory
It's the second indoor level and contains the biggest environmental puzzle.
This puzzle's goal is to break a telescope to take its energy source and open the door with it.
Level Intentions:
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Handle the telescope and make it move
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Intuitive steps of resolution
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Different use of the same interaction (Push & Pull)
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Quiet and dreamlike ambiance, safe zone feeling
POST MORTHEM
I'm really proud of the production and the final result. We had a lot of great feedback and our intentions were fulfilled.
It was my first time working on a contemplative game without lots of interactions, forcing us to manage the flow differently, mainly with the camera
It was also my first time implementing camera intentions and cinematic shots within my workflow, leading me to be curious about cinematography and photography.
The preproduction was also a key point for me. We were able to iterate and find solutions for every design issue that we encountered. It has also helped us to be more flexible during the production. Of course, some solutions weren't able to make it through to the final game but it's more motivating because it's due to our production decisions and not unawareness.