About

My submission to Steve Lee's LD Jam #8.  The themes were "Evolve" or "A Special Place." However, we were also given the freedom to create whatever we wanted. That's what I did.

You are an adventurer exploring a cave on your way to a research facility in the mountains.

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Goal

Navigate and survive the guarded cave outpost and find the exit.

Playtime: ~3-5 minutes

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Level Inspirations

Uncharted 4 Chapter 09 - Those Who Prove Worthy: The shape language of the cave. It uses columnar jointing as well as hexagonal blocks. See also Giant's Causeway and Devils Tower. The structure of Fingal's Cave provided great inspiration as well.

Star Wars: A more temperate version of Tatooine. Specifically for its mountains and canyons.

Dune: The Sardaukar, sword-wielding combat experts of Salusa Secundus. They influenced my general attitude towards combat.

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Features

3 enemy encounters 
Melee combat
Stealth
Light platforming
Optional reward items [placeholder]

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Controls

WASD - Move

Spacebar - Jump

E - Interact

Mouse - Look

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Retrospective

I set out to improve my level design skills and grow my confidence in sharing my work. I have accomplished those goals. There is still so much to learn, but this level is a step in the right direction.

I received valuable feedback that helped me realize that I need to have a stronger intention behind some of my designs. While I succeeded in creating the space I set out to, there are specific parts which lack cohesion. I believe this was caused by creating too large of a space. Next time, I will focus on refining each space and be able to justify every element present.

Initially, I planned all the gameplay beats before blocking out the cave. Then, after playtesting, I adjusted when they occur. However, after further playtesting and feedback I came to the conclusion that the pacing needs improvement. Certain mechanics are onboarded too late which means player choice is restricted.  Stealth, for example, can be introduced sooner which will create more unique gameplay opportunities during earlier combat encounters. 

Lastly, I'm happy with the different perspectives I offer the player. There are multiple points where you can see where you're going and where you came from. One thing I will work on is further utilizing focal points. The player's ability to orient themselves in the level  is limited due to the lack of recognizable landmarks and points of interest.