BLOODSEEKER

Design Pillars

Exploration

Combat

Progression

I established 3 core pillars to focus the game design and create a cohesive vision for the project.

Level Structure

I created a 2D map detailing the critical path and distribution of combat, exploration, and puzzles. This is only the tutorial level to a sprawling, interconnected world, so it is designed to teach the basic gameplay mechanics.

My aim was to alternate between types of gameplay to keep the player engaged and prevent boring repetition.

I drew inspiration for the level to level flow from a GDC talk by Rob Davis about the level design in God of War 2018.

It is a classic structure akin to that of Zelda games where the level has a theme and a new mechanic is introduced about 3/4 of the way through the level, reserving the final quarter to teach the player the mechanic.

The player is given an exploration break and then the next level is themed around the new mechanic. Rinse and repeat.

Critical Path

1: Coffin blockade

4: Fight multiple enemies at once

7: Multidirectional push cart

10: Pull lever and shoot hanging cage

2: First enemy

5: Push tree to ambush enemies

8: Acquire new ability: ranged attack

11: Arena combining enemy types

3: Introduction to pushing objects

6: Ranged enemy introduction

9: Destroy crucifixes to open gate

12: Climb chain to enter next level

Visual Language

Establishing a clear and consistent visual language is useful for communicating to the player what they can interact with.

I used red since it stands out against the rest of the environment and is bound to catch the player's eye. Traversal points are signposted by blood splatters and bloody handprints indicate which objects can be pushed.

Vantage Points

I often use vantage points to tease the player with something inaccessible that they'll return to later. This setup and payoff structure is an effective tool to guide the player and reward them for exploration.

Another way I utilize vantage points is by showing the player their destination to reinforce their objective and highlight their progress towards that goal. I also love to create moments where the player can look back at areas they've previously explored from a new perspective, potentially revealing secrets they missed.

Level Mechanics

It's best to introduce level mechanics in a safe environment to allow the player time to focus on learning the mechanic. Once the player has proven their understanding, expand upon that concept and challenge them to use it under duress.

This tutorial level introduces the concept of interacting with the environment through pushing and shooting objects.

Gates & Valves

Using a combination of gates and valves can help ensure the player understands concepts being taught and control the pacing so the player doesn't get overwhelmed.

These coffins form a gate, blocking the critical path until the player performs an attack to destroy them.

This one way drop is a valve that locks the player in this room until they solve a puzzle.

Keep Backtracking Interesting

I tried to preserve good flow by providing shortcuts at the end of lengthy optional paths, giving the player a new route back to the critical path instead of requiring them to double back.

I also placed secrets that would be revealed while backtracking to provide a sense of exploration despite treading the same ground. In this example, the player exits a cave and is unlikely to see the hidden bat until they return to the cave. For context, destroying these blue blooded bats acts as a collectible similar to Odin's ravens in God of War.

First Combat Encounter Design

I use the technique of framing to draw the player's attention towards the upcoming fight.

Since this is the first enemy the player encounters, I designed the combat space to be a large open space which gives the player plenty of room to maneuver and learn their opponent's attack behavior. There are also plenty of coffins in the area to restore health, mitigating the danger to encourage experimentation.

Ranged Enemy Encounter Design

This encounter expands on the combat by adding to the enemy variety. The new enemy type is fought alone because I want the player to focus on learning the new enemy type being introduced.

The arena is an elongated shape to emphasize strafing to avoid projectiles while approaching the opponent.

One of my goals was to encourage the player to make tactical use of the environment. To achieve this goal, I added two push blocks above the arena which the player can interact with to create cover and a bridge to reach a chest.

Puzzle Design

This puzzle is inspired by God of War's Nornir chest puzzles, tasking the player with destroying 4 crucifixes to open a gate. As this is the tutorial level, it is designed to introduce the player to the puzzle motif and be a safe environment to teach the player their new ranged attack.

the first crucifix is right next to the door so that the player can see that destroying it affects the door.
the second is high up on the wall, requiring the player's new ranged attack to destroy it.
the third is in a sarcophagus. The fallen angel statue and the sarcophagus lid hint at how to find the 4th crucifix.
the fourth is hidden in a sarcophagus. The player must shoot the hanging angel's chain to break the lid.

Final Combat Arena Design

The final combat encounter combines the enemy types to test the player's mastery over the fundamental combat mechanics that have been taught throughout this level.

There are plenty of angel statues to shoot down which can crush enemies for a quick kill, so the player encouraged to engage with the environment during combat.