Journey to Remember
My First RPG Attempt!
This was an inevitability. RPGs are my favorite genre in the gaming-sphere, and I always wanted to have one be one of my first big projects. After two years of studying both mechanics and level design, and the tools Unreal provides, I decided it was about time to finally take a crack at it. This project took about a month, and it's the hardest I've worked on a project while I write this. And it's the most fun I had, too!
Planning a Level that is NOT a Straight Line
Every project starts with a plan, and this one was no different. This level wasn't going to be a simple walking simulator, and it wasn't going to be a straight path. Using a level pacing flowchart, I mapped out the type of level I wanted my project to have. A simple open world experience for the player to explore and level up in. Although there are three distinct paths the player can go down through, the player can backtrack and visit all paths in one playthrough. If they do, they would be greatly rewarded, as the extra challenge the side paths provide offer greater rewards, like stat boots to take on stronger enemies!
Song and Code
The mechanics for this level was quite the challenge to make! There was a lot of learning and struggling to be done, leading to a lot of crunch and a lot of work! However, in the end, it was worth it. The mechanics of the level really showed how much I improved over the two years of coding. And I'm only getting better! The video besides this text shows the inner workings of the game, and how I believe it's my best creation!
Level Design Concepts
One of the things I wanted to focus on in this level was creating a good map. Since this was open world, I needed to design it in a way that would prevent the player from getting lost while also not making it feel like they're being forced down one single path. Therefor, I utilized a few level design concepts that help achieve both of these goals and then some.
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Leading lines: The path from the start of the level to the village is a leading line that gives the player a sense of what their main path is. Not to mention that these two leading lines lead into two chests, one in the middle of the path and another that's more hidden. This allows the plater to naturally run into chests.
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Openings Attracts: Both side paths include a rather open entrance, beckoning the player to wander in and explore the areas within. Though, the main path is the most open out of the two, which means many players would go down village path first; Where all the easy enemies are.
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Breadcrumbs: Chests act as breadcrumbs leading the player around the map. They're set up in a way to have the player always going forwards, like the one on the cliffside.
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Valve & Refugee: The hill at the beginning of the stage doesn't have any enemy spawns. But once the player hops down the cliff, there is no going back. This allows the player to think and survey a little before hopping into the rest of the level.
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Landmark: The mountain at the end of the level acts as a massive landmark, convincing the player to head towards it during the beginning cinematics.
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With these concepts in mind, and some more that have a smaller impact on the level, players were properly guided through the level through their own choices and desisions, and prevented them from ever feeling lost!
