This is a game and leveldesign I made in Unreal Engine 5 using characters from Mixamo and art assets from "Edith Finch" assets from Unreal Marketplace. 

The intention of this project was to make a vertical slice of a horror game set in an claustrophobic environment. 

It is a first person game but with no combat. With an stalking AI the player must run, hide and find a way to escape in order to survive. 

I did use background music from Pixabay in the main menu but the background music in the game is made by myself using a Minilouge XD

Gameplay Overview

Player navigates through a deserted bunker. Equiped with nothing the player has no way of fighting back. Instead the player needs to use her flashligh, push objects, gather keys and interact with objects to survive and escape.

Player faces a monster that stalks her. To survive the player needs to stay out of the monsters sight, hide in lockers or run as fast as she can.

Maps

Gameplay

Leveldesign Document

Main Pillars

• Tension
• Claustrophobic
• Danger
• Mystery

Flow Chart

Onboarding

One of the most important things in any game is making the player know how to play it. Every game has a different approach but my personal belief is that the best onboarding is when the player doesnt notice that it is a tutorial and the text is minimal. 

To teach the flashlight to the player. I decided to start the player without it. The first room the player gets to is too dark to see anything but as seen in the picture. The player can see a flashlight in the next room. This does not only teach the player that there is a flashlight but makes the player want to use it right after collecting it

Right after collecting the flashlight the player encounters this door. This door is locked and the player needs to find the key. I placed the door here so the player first encounter the locked door before finding the key and guide the player to backtrack and explore the previous dark area.

With the flashlight the player can now see this bookshelf in the dark area. To teach the player without text that this bookshelf is moveable. I put scratch marks on the floor and discoloring on the wall. This shows that the bookshelf has been moved before and probably can be moved again. By teaching the mechanic this way without text makes the gameplay more satisfying to the player since the player feels like they discovered the solution themselves and not just doing what the text told them.

To teach the locker to the player. I first played a "growl" sound to foreshadow the monster. When the sound is playing the locker is right in front of the player. Even though this might be enough I still placed some text next to the locker just to be sure that the player understands that they can hide in the locker and its not just set dressing.

The Monster

When creating the projects I wanted a enemy that stalks the player. A enemy that works as a mix between the Xenomorph in Alien Isolation and Mr X in Resident Evil 2 Remake. To make a enemy that worked that way it needed to

• Be unpredictable = no waypoints
• Find the player
• Unable to see the player when player is in a hiding state
• Not be a pushover

To be able to achieve this I started to prototype different way for the player to move. I started with a "always move to the player" to test if the AI worked at all.

When this worked I made a simple "wander" script to further investigate how the monster would work

Now was the time to finalize the script

What I needed now was a way to make the AI seem frightening. After some searching online I made the decision to use this character from Mixamo and I think it worked pretty good in the game.

Using Sounds

As a musician I may be biased but I believe that using sounds is one of the best tools to use when guiding the player. When making this level I wanted to use sounds from the start. Some examples where I use sounds is.

• Monster growl before monster shows up
• Crack sounds to foreshadow the cave in
• Cave in sound
• Power on sound
• Footsteps

These are what I believe the most important sounds.

Monster growl

Foreshadowing is always good. A growl creates suspense and makes the player tense before the monster shows

Crack sound

The cave in is something that I think makes the ending more memorable. Without any foreshadowing it may seem cheap or very "gamey" to the player but having something that hints what is going to happen. Does no only make the eventual cave in more believable but creates some tension during the whole level since the player does not know when the cave in will happen.

Cave in sound

Even though the player have heard the crack sound. It is nearing the end and the player is focused on getting to the elevator. Without any indication that the ceiling has caved in. The cave in will feel very cheap. Therefor I believe that the cave in sound is crucial for the level to work.

Power on sound

Compared to the rest of the sounds this may sound trivial but I think it is really important. It may not warn the player of any danger but it heightens the satisfaction of getting the power on. Even though it is a horror game the player should always be rewarded when achieving goals.

Footsteps

The last sound of this list but maybe the most important. To create immersion which is not only important in all games but absolutely crucial to horror games there must not be anything that breaks immersion. If a AI or the player walks there must be a sound. 

In this level it becomes even more important since the AI will be away from the players sight most of the time and even though it is a horror game. Punishing the player is never a good idea. With footstep sounds the player can listen for footsteps and know when it is safe to leave a room even if they doesnt see the enemy.

What didnt work in the first design?

• Lockers didnt work as intended
• A bit lacking in horror
• Did not "feel" right

What did I do to fix it?

• Changed to first person perspective
• Slowed down the walking speed
• Added sprint --> Made lockers actually work
• Added more moveable objects and repositioned keys 

Reflections

What did I learn making this?

• Better understanding on how to use blueprints
• The importance of the level design document
• Make a game from scratch in Unreal Engine 5
• To keep on reviewing the level. What works and what does not and how can it be improved?

What can be improved?

• Wall and floor placing could be better to not make visual bugs
• I could have used better replacements for the items I needed that didnt exist in "Edith Finch" asset
• Level could have been longer
• Enemy AI is a bit janky
• As a horror fan I feel like its better to introduce the monster later and build up tension before. Maybe there is a better way that I could have onboarded the lockers?

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