LEVEL DESIGN
BOHE HUNTER
As the Game Design Lead, I also handled the Level Design aspect of the project. I designed the overall map and focused on detailing and refining the sections that players would encounter in the demo.
MY CONTRIBUTIONS:
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Overall level design for the game, encompassing:
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Conceptualization and rough layout of levels spanning five different countries.
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Secondary design iteration to enhance the game's world-building.
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Tailoring level styles to match the corresponding national aesthetics.
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Designing a general progression path for players to navigate through the levels.
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Designing the map and player progression specifically for the game demo.
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Crafting items, notes, objects, and other interactive elements for the demo levels.
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Designed 4 enemies, 1 elite enemy, and 1 boss
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Continuously refining and adjusting levels based on testing and feedback.
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Producing visual aids and documentation for easy collaboration with other departments.
All following Art's from Bone Hunter Art Team
LEVEL OVERVIEW
The game's world map is roughly divided into five countries. I designed the levels based on the background stories and settings of each country, collaborating with artists to determine the design styles for each level.
The world map
Level walkthrough flow
THE FIRE KINGDOM
WORLDBUILDING
The founding of the Nation of Fire finds its origins in its deep connection to the Fire Giant Shrine. This temple acted as the heart of the nation and a focal point for followers of the Fire Giants. Revered worldwide for their immense power, the Fire Giants were believed to imbue strength upon their worshippers through their bones. During times of peace and prosperity, individuals from diverse backgrounds journeyed to the temple to honor the Fire Giants, turning it into a revered sanctuary cherished by many.
DISCRIPTION
Difficulty:
Players gradually familiarize themselves with the game mechanics and controls. They explore the intricacies of the map, discover its mysteries, and engage with various NPCs to enrich this fragmented world. These interactions gradually draw players deeper into the game, fostering their interest and motivation to continue exploring and playing.
LEVELS
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The Forest Path:
This is the player's pathway through the tutorial, where they become familiar with combat mechanics and procedures. Following this, they encounter a boss battle, allowing them to further acquaint themselves before advancing to the Fire Shrine.
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The Fire Shrine:
A sanctuary for players, where they can upgrade, rest, and interact with Priestess Michaela to learn about the world's story and engage in other in-game interactions. Additionally, this serves as a central hub within the game.
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Villages and Walls:
After leaving the Fire Shrine, players officially enter gameplay levels, adventuring between the city walls and villages to find the key to unlock the gates of the Nation of Fire, enabling access to further locations.
THE IRON KINGDOM
WORLDBUILDING
DISCRIPTION
The Kingdom of Iron relies on steel from its mines, led by a war-driven king. Laborers rebel, joining the Evil Moon Cult, but face disruption from the Moon Disease.
Difficulty:
One of the player's optional sequential levels.
Exploring the map presents challenges that require resource management and strategic combat planning to overcome. However, players are rewarded with powerful new items, enhancing their gameplay experience.
LEVELS
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The Mine:
The player enters the Kingdom of Iron via the mines. Limited visibility within the increases tension as miners emerge unexpectedly. Branching paths offer surprises like NPCs, bosses, items, and secret passages.
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The Iron Fortress:
From the depths of the mine, the dark and narrow caves give way to grand and opulent architecture. Players must face more elite enemies and ultimately confront the final boss - the Iron Legion.
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The Evil Moon:
Secret passages from the mines or kingdom lead to this level, where mutated enemies resembling moon creatures create a visually striking experience. The bizarre style challenges players, making them feel as if they're on another planet. Encounters with NPCs unlock the second storyline, bringing dramatic narrative changes.
THE GOLD KINGDOM
WORLDBUILDING
DISCRIPTION
In the feudal Kingdom of Gold, the king's alchemical research using fire giant bones surprises all. The opulent Golden Palace reeks of potions, as people strive to win the king's favor through alchemy, while eerie howls emanate from below in the giant laboratory.
Difficulty:
One of the player's optional sequential levels.
During exploration and combat, players encounter unique enemies and levels, requiring them to find specific solutions to defeat different monsters and avoid traps. The levels contain numerous hidden areas for players to explore.
LEVELS
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The Laboratory:
The levels are filled with the wails of patients and eerie experimental subjects, providing players with auditory and visual stimuli. Players must either evade them or engage in combat.
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The Gold Palace:
Players ascend from the laboratory to the opulent Golden Palace, where deadly traps and the peculiar attacks of alchemists await. Here, players can discover numerous hidden mechanisms and locked rooms through exploration, unlocking them by collecting various clues. At the top floor of the palace, players confront the king in a challenging battle.
THE STAR KINGDOM
WORLDBUILDING
In the feudal Kingdom of Gold, the king's alchemical research using fire giant bones surprises all. The opulent Golden Palace reeks of potions, as people strive to win the king's favor through alchemy, while eerie howls emanate from below in the giant laboratory.
DISCRIPTION
Difficulty:
One of the player's optional sequential levels.
The level is filled with countless elevators leading to various places, resembling a maze. Players must find the correct path through the academy. Additionally, puzzle elements are scattered throughout, testing the players' judgment.
LEVELS
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The Broken Village:
This area consists of intricate villages and two towers. Enemies lurk in the shadows of the dilapidated villages, and players must light up both towers to activate the elevator leading to the academy.
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The Star Academy:
Players navigate between floors using elevators, battling enemies such as summoned star spirits and cosmic creatures, and unlocking alternate endings. In the final stages of the level, players' choices can even determine whether the academy falls.
THE FOREST KINGDOM
WORLDBUILDING
The only nation that abstained from harnessing the power of fire giant bones, this country is built around the giant tree on Earth. The entire tribe reveres their elders, leading a traditional and peaceful existence. However, deeper within lies their hidden secret.
DISCRIPTION
Difficulty: to
One of the player's optional sequential levels.
On small platforms formed by the tree trunk, players continuously leap while dodging enemy attacks. However, deeper within, players confront powerful and frenzied cosmic monsters.
LEVELS
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The Tree:
On the small platforms formed by the tree trunk, players continuously leap while avoiding enemy attacks. Meanwhile, they encounter the elders to determine their relationship with the forest and the outcome of the Forest Kingdom.
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The Star Fall:
After defeating the High Priest, players enter the Abyss area, where the corpses of cosmic monsters summoned by the Kingdom of Stars are left behind after research. These corpses slowly decay in the lake, infecting the forest. Here, players must defeat extremely powerful elite monsters and unlock another ending of the game.
THE DEMO DETAILED
The demo includes a 15-minute gameplay session featuring the Machinist profession. I designed nine sections to allow players to experience the three pillars and to provide them with a basic understanding of the game's combat, exploration, and other systems during gameplay.
The Demo map with Notes
ENEMY DESIGN
In the demo, I designed four types of regular enemies, one elite enemy, and one boss.
Due to time and technical constraints, we couldn't create a large variety of enemies to ensure gameplay richness. Therefore, we focused on enhancing the playability of the enemies, with most having multiple skills. Additionally, the enemy design encompasses various types and attack methods, ensuring that each player's attack method and weapon can more easily counter different combinations of enemies or multiple enemies.
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The Corrupted Individual:
The most common enemy in the game only possesses basic abilities, such as slow movement and basic attacks against the player.
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Wall Guardians(Archer):
The enemy can attack the player from a distance using a bow and arrow, while also being able to roll backward to evade attacks and engage in melee combat when necessary. Players need to become familiar with the enemy's mechanics before being able to easily counter them.
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Stone Head:
After death, the enemy transforms into a long-range attack "turret", which the player must spend time clearing to prevent significant hindrance to their progress.
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Creeper:
The enemy charges towards the player and explodes upon reaching them, requiring the player to use a gun to kill them from a distance.
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The Fire Knight:
The elite enemies in the game differ from regular monsters in that their attacks cannot be interrupted by the player's attacks. Therefore, players need to strategically use game mechanics, focusing on evasion and parrying, to effectively deal with them.
In the game's only elite enemy, the opponent charges up and rushes towards the player. To evade the charge, most players opt to dash behind the enemy. However, the creature possesses a quick turn-around attack to disrupt the player's attack rhythm.
BOSS DESIGN - ZED
The main difference between the boss and regular enemies in the game is that a single parry cannot directly cause significant damage to the enemy. Instead, players need to successfully parry a certain number of times to trigger the effect. Additionally, successful parries will stun the enemy for a certain duration.
The design purpose of Zed is to familiarize players with various types of attack patterns: charging, normal attacks, long-range attacks, etc. Although there are many types, with practice, each skill can be easily countered. Therefore, players need time to learn to counter his various moves before defeating him.
In addition, as the first boss, we designed scene changes to accentuate the boss's impact.
Zed's intro anim
RESURRECTION
In the game, rationalizing the player's death can enhance immersion, so I've designed a special reason for resurrection.
The death of a player in the game is a true death, signifying the complete demise of the machinist controlled by the player (whose name is the one on Hunter's Notebook).
Resurrection: A new machinist arrives at the bonfire, commemorating the departed machinist and inheriting the equipment of the one who has already perished.
The player's controllable target is changed to the new mechanic, and a new marker is added in the Deathnote section of Hunter's Notebook (in terms of code, this signifies resurrection).
Furthermore, the player's name in the Notebook is changed to a new random name(the new machinist’s name), signifying that the old mechanic has perished, and the player is now controlling someone else.
(The first Machinist’s name is the one player typed it at the beginning)
The Marks
