Trapped in a nightmare, you need to parkour through a supernatural environment and rise to the top...
"Rise and Shine" is a short surrealistic experience inspired by the dream sequence in Dying Light and Souls game aesthetics.
Gallery
Design Goals
Supernatural Experience
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The entire level aims to build a dream-like experience from various aspects
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There are floating objects throughout the entire level and houses are tilted and scattered around the environment
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Most of the gameplay takes place on a floating island with a mountain on top and a blood pool below
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The narrative informs the player being inside a nightmare and trying to wake up from it
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Deliberate use of audio, visual FXs, and lighting to guide the player as well as to strengthen the experience
Evoking Emotion through Space and Time
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The entire goal of the quest is to reach the peak of the island to wake up from the nightmare
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The sense of fear gradually decreases, and the level of awe and wonder increases as the player traverses through the level
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The player first starts inside a dark bedroom, immediately followed by unsettling voices and scenery
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In the dark hallway, the player is constrained both physically and psychologically, but as the door opens up, the player is greeted with the open space outside, a reduction in tension, and an invitation to explore
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The player sees the peak at the very start of the game, providing a sense that it is reachable and the motivation to conquer the challenge
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The player keeps ascending throughout the level to reach the peak at the end, creating a parallel between gameplay and emotion
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The zipline, the floating rocks, and the lift all going up, aiding to create the “conquer a mountain” experience
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Every time a pillar is lit by fire, the sky becomes a bit brighter, showcasing the progress made along the way and encouraging the player that the seemingly insurmountable task is achievable
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The sun rises as the player reaches the top, celebrating the player's triumph
Simple but Fun
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The level is designed to be a short but unique experience, and parkouring generally outweighs combat in Dying light. Thus, I wanted to create a fun level that encourages interesting parkouring options and less on combat
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There is no forced combat in the level if the player is good at parkouring. The majority of the enemies in the level are generic zombies, which are slow, and easy to kill.
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The level provides the player with various kick abilities and there is a lot of verticality in the space. As a result, the player has plenty of opportunities to have fun with combat by kicking enemies, letting them fall to their death, which ensures the combat is not too difficult to distract the player from the core experience but fun enough for the players who opt into it.
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The level includes a lot of weirdly angled houses and floating platforms for the player to parkour around, which is not difficult but provides a unique experience for the player
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The pool area is an open space where the player needs to traverse three different points of interest in it. The player has a lot of pathing options to complete the objectives and can choose the order it should be done.
Postmortem
What Went Well
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Atmosphere Building/Aesthetics. With creative ways to place assets, the level stands out from standard dying light maps with its unique supernatural elements. The peak creates a sense of awe, inviting the player to conquer the challenges and reach there.
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Conveyance. With the supernatural settings, I was able to find a lot of props with vibrant colors, such as crystals, glowing plants, and seals. I placed them across the level, acting like breadcrumbs to guide the player as they are more plentiful near an objective. Lighting and fire are not only a theme of the level but also act as a guidance that led players the way.
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Work Efficiency. While this is my first project in Dying Light, I managed to learn the tools and many of its quirks quickly before starting on the project. So, when I planned my level based on the strength of the tool, my work becomes much more efficient.
What Went Wrong
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Overscoped Early On. In my level design document, I planned more floating houses and a cave area in the level. However, after learning the basics of the tool, I learned that it takes quite a while to create a custom house from scratch and use landscape tools to create a good-looking cave. With those cuts between Whitebox and Initial Gameplay, I saved a lot more time to polish the gameplay and aesthetics of the remaining areas, creating a short but refined experience.
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Limited path option early on. In my level design document, I tried to confine the player’s path option to help the player to know where to go next. However, in my actual implementation and playtest, I quickly realize that is not how Dying Light works. Limited path optional generally leads to frustration as the game is more about finding your own path rather than finding the correct path. To fix that, I made the pool and temple areas more open up with a lot more options, even though it means that the player may no longer go through every corner of the space.
What I Learned
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Build Level Around Core Game Mechanics. It is quite important to understand the core of the game before implementation. In Dying Light, parkour is a more fleshed-out mechanics and levels are built around that. If I was not able to identify that and build a space with little verticality and options to move around, it is less likely to be fun and play less like a Dying Light level.
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Consider technical restraints and advantages. When I first learned about the tool before starting the project, I learned that the object snap in the editor is somewhat difficult to use. Meanwhile, from other’s tutorials, I learned how to create floating objects, and water. In addition, based on my action block. I found that the player can nearly climb any model placed in the game. To embrace the advantages while avoiding the constraints, I decided to create the supernatural floating island for my level, which limits the use of the snap function and justifies my use of those floating objects and other interesting functionalities.