THE ESCAPE
SUMMARY
After having narrowly escaped being destroyed due to obsoletion, a service bot suddenly boots back up and is instructed via radio by an outsider to escape the mysterious facility and collect something of importance along the way.
My goal with this personal project was to focus on level design, puzzle design and prototyping, with the intent of allowing the player to use the player character as a tool to solve different environmental challenges. The inspiration for using the robot as a tool came from the game Pacific Drive.
BREAKDOWN
Time
6 Weeks Half-Time
Team Size
Focus Areas
Solo
Level Design
Puzzle Design
Prototyping
Software
Unreal Engine
Blender
Miro
Assets Used
Audio sourced from Soundsnap
LEVEL DESIGN
My intention with the level design of the experience was to create levels that were suited to teach the mechanics through onboarding and to sell the theme of the world through environmental storytelling.
Overview
Level Flowchart
1. Conveyor belt.
4. Broken elevator.
7. Loot transport.
2. Radio call.
5. Exploring the factory.
8. Smashing success.
3. Overcoming obstacles.
6. Navigating the tunnel.
9. The dive.
10. Stealing the core.
Level Design Techniques
I used environmental storytelling most notably at the start of the experience, where obsolete robots are disposed of. Further use of this technique is in the factory by showing new robots being built on the conveyor belts, as well as the robot that has fallen down after taking too much loot during the first bridge puzzle. Bait and switch is used in the factory area, where the player will turn around and see the rest of the loot cubes behind the conveyor belts.
Breadcrumbing was also used throughout the experience with the loot cubes, but most notably after the first bridge puzzle, when the player jumps onto a large bridge and sees the path towards the maintenance area with the help of said loot cubes. There is a pronounced leading line that guides the player underwater on the path towards the reactor core. I also used funnel before reveal in the underwater portion of the experience, where the player will dive through narrow corridors and then resurface to reveal the reactor core.
Showcase of the level design techniques.
PUZZLE DESIGN
Jumping Puzzle
After acquiring the ability to jump from the service station, the player is able to jump up on the crates and exit through the small hatch at the top. With this puzzle, I wanted the player to have a clear goal when entering this space for the purpose of onboarding the jumping mechanic, with the stacks of crates leading to the hatch on top.
Bridge Puzzle 1
Start of the jumping puzzle.
The solution to the jumping puzzle.
This particular section will introduce the player to pressing a button to extend a bridge, which is fairly simple. The goal here was to allow the player to make a connection between the color-coded button and bridge to familiarize with it before entering the next puzzle.
Start of the first bridge puzzle.
The solution to the first bridge puzzle.
Bridge Puzzle 2
This is a more elaborate variant of the previous bridge puzzle, in which the player must solve the puzzle in a special sequence. The first step is to dump the loot nearby to be able to jump across to the other side and extend the bridge. The player can then collect the loot and acquire the upgrade.
Window Puzzle
Start of the second bridge puzzle.
The solution to the second bridge puzzle.
After acquiring the wings and booster, the player will see a cracked window nearby the service station. This was intentional, as I wanted the player to be guided towards immediately upon receiving those abilities. The solution here is to boost through the cracked window glass and continue onwards.
Descend Puzzle
Start of the window puzzle.
The solution to the window puzzle.
Here is a twist of a previous mechanic, whereby the weight of collected loot has an effect on the player's balance. In this puzzle, the player must collect the loot to become heavier and able to dive.
Ascend Puzzle
Start of the descend puzzle.
The solution to the descend puzzle.
Here I wanted the player to not quite reach the hole that leads to the other side. This is where the dumping of loot will make the robot light enough to ascend.
Spinning Fans Puzzle
Start of the ascend puzzle.
The solution to the ascend puzzle.
This is a combination of both ascend and descend, as my intention was to make the player use what has been learned previously in a combination of looting, dumping, and boosting.
Start of the spinning fans puzzle.
The solution to the spinning fans puzzle.
Catching Puzzle
The last variation of a puzzle with a button, with the twist being that the loot must be caught by having the lid open first. This is in contrast to the previous times, where the player had to dump the loot instead, which was a purposeful design choice in this case. As mentioned previously, I initially wanted the ability to loot while the lid was open to be more frequent, but in this case, I saved it for the finale as it felt more impact when it comes to stealing the reactor core.
Start of the catching puzzle.
The solution to the catching puzzle.
PROTOTYPING MECHANICS
Hovering
My goal with the movement was to give the player a more tactile and weighted experience when traversing the environment as a supposed service robot. I used a template for a hovering vehicle. It worked quite well and provided the groundwork I needed for a hovering robot and would alleviate the scope [1]. However, there were still aspects that I wanted to adjust and expand upon for the robot's movement to be where I wanted it:
• Having it feel more weighted and higher up above the ground.
• Not be too fast when hovering.
• Not be as floaty when mid-air.
• Not being able to fly when the line trace breaks from a surface.
• Add mouse controls for the camera.
In terms of having the robot feel more weighted and higher up above the ground, I decided to first model parts of the robot in Blender, specifically the base and the lid. Both the line trace and mass of the base mesh were increased, as well as experimentation with the linear and angular dampening [2].
Over the course of the project, I continued to iterate and experiment to prevent the player from being able to fly and continuously jump while mid-air. I also adjusted different variables such as speed and hover force, along with adding a center of gravity for the base mesh to make it more stable when traversing, which also helped later when working on the diving mechanic, but more on that later.
Overall, I am satisfied with the results since the robot now plays closer to what I had as a goal when I started this project [3]. The biggest additions to the original work are that the player can now turn hovering on or off with a key press, as well as look around with mouse controls.
[1] Hovering using the template.
[2] My later iteration of hovering with higher elevation and more mass.
[3] The final iteration I made of hovering with the desired results.
Collecting and Dumping Loot
The movement then led to the addition of looting, since I wanted the player to be affected by the weight of any collected loot and see it be visually represented on the robot. The inspiration clearly derives from robot vacuum cleaners, and I thought that it would be fun to implement that into the context of gameplay.
During the earlier stages of the project, I was able to implement the ability for the robot to collect the loot and have it move around inside with the help of simulate physics [4]. As previously mentioned, I wanted the player to be affected by the weight of the collected loot, and this was simply done by adjusting the mass of the cube mesh so that it was right when playing [5].
The overall logic is quite simple, as the initial loot cube that collides with the robot's collision box gets destroyed, spawning a new loot cube inside the robot's container. The spawned cube also simulates physics and enables collision so that the cube moves around in the container.
The last iteration that I made for loot collecting was how it would be used when the robot is submerged underwater. The regular loot-collecting logic wasn't sufficient since the robot would be ascending away from any loot that was present, so I implemented a different logic where the robot would collect the loot like a magnet.
The last thing I needed was the player to be able to dispose of the collected loot before proceeding to another area [6]. The principle remains the same, where the previous loot gets destroyed and is replaced with a spawned one, similarly to the regular looting logic. The difference here is that the dumped loot has an add force that shoots the loot up in the air.
[4] Early iteration of loot collecting.
[5] Later iteration of loot collecting that affects the balance.
[6] Final iteration of collecting and dumping loot.
Opening Lid and Deploying Wings
I implemented the mechanic of opening the lid in order to experiment with different ways of collecting loot for the player. The early stages of development had loot cubes tumbling down from a distance [7].
However, after further iteration, this particular mechanic was used mainly when the player had to dump the loot, except for the finale of the experience when the robot had to collect the reactor core. The reason for this is that it wouldn't be too reliable of method to collect loot, as the player has to be placed just right to get the loot that is falling. I thought about implementing a magnetic force, which eventually became used for when the player is underwater.
When it comes to the deployment of the wings, my goal was to give the player the ability to boost, and have the thruster extend and the wings spread out [8]. This was implemented to give the player feedback that it was possible to boost, and I just think it turned out to be a cool way of introducing the player to the mechanic.
