Halfway Point...

You've reached the halfway point of my first game! It isn't much but it's certainly something. 

I received a GDD to work from with the requirements listed below. Here's the inside scoop of what I got done and my interpretation of it!

Level Design

• When blocking out your level, focus on designing spaces that make stealth gameplay possible and interesting. 

Before playtesting: The main aspects of the stealth were to use the corners, planters, and "classrooms" to hide.

After playtesting: I added columns to not only make it more difficult for the enemy to spot the player but also vice versa.

• Think about sightlines, shadows, and how players can move unseen. Long hallways, corners, and elevation changes all create chances for sneaking or being spotted. 

The enemies also have low visibility and rely mostly on hearing. I felt implementing this would add a bit a character and make the players ask, "Why?" Unfortunately, no one asked because they were too distracted by the goal. I'm hoping the visual elements down the line will help with this.

• Cover should feel natural, not like obvious “stealth props,” and players should have more than one path through key areas so they can choose between sneaking past, distracting enemies, or taking risks. 

The environment felt pretty natural according to my play-testers, especially with the added columns. Also, the main path follows a full-circle square so the player can choose what path to take to get to the next goal. The halls with the columns are only slightly guarded, whereas the beginning area and the classrooms have none and the hall near the end is highly guarded. I wanted it to be the players choice to explore out of curiosity or stumble upon the different rooms by chance. I'm happy to say that both occurred!

• Block out with simple geometry first - just walls, floors, light sources, and cover - so you can test visibility and patrol routes before adding detail. 

The before and after playtest pictures are the first 5 provided! The original blueprint of this map is in the cover photo. The original concept was to only have one ending. After beginning to block out the level, I decided, "Let's make two endings! That will be cool and fun!" And then I changed it back to one... You'll find out why in the final note of this post.

• The goal is to build tension through space itself, where every step feels like a choice between safety and danger.

You may never know when an enemy will creep around the corner... unless you find yourself in a classroom. Then you get to let go of that breath you've been holding. 

Systems Design

The core goal for your game mechanics is to allow the player to conduct playful movement through a wide possibility space. Give the players new and creative ways for players to solve levels.

Holy moly, this part took forever. The code worked in terms of "W key makes PC walk forward," but I spent literal DAYS trying to figure out the animation for the PC. The code seemed right but it still didn't work. Thank you, teacher, for dedicating your 45 minutes to help me solve this issue. You're a real one. (Pictures #6-7)

The coding for the mechanics themselves, though, were all instructional. 

Game Loop:

• Sneaking: The player is undetected and is traversing to the level’s goal, while avoiding enemy detection.

Can you snoop around the facility unspotted? I've heard the columns and the plants make good hiding spots.

• Fleeing: The player is detected by the enemy and must survive until they trigger an event that returns the game to the Sneaking State.

Or will you get jump-scared when an enemy walks around the corner and spots you. Run for your life!

• Pick Up Items: Players can pick up various items and interact with them through the Primary Action Event.

Oh, look, some rubble! What can you do with it? (Keys are cool, too. They open doors or whatever.)

• Throw Items: Players can throw items to distract the enemy AI.

You threw the rock! Now, laugh as you watch the enemy chase it down and cluelessly stare in its general direction.

• Crouch: Players can crouch to hide behind shorter cover.

The enemies can't see very well under their noses. Or at a distance. Or behind the plants.

• Dash: Players can choose to quickly dash to cover.

TUCK AND ROLL!!

Player Advantages:

• Mobility: Players are awarded greater mobility than the enemies.

Be ready to put an L to your forehead and say "Later, loser!" But only after you've gained some distance, of course. Or run to the nearest classroom.

• Hiding: Players are awarded the ability to hide to allow for easier traversal through the environment.

Have I mentioned the plants? I mean- they're currently shaped like blocks. But they'll be there. Soon... Very soon...

• Intelligence: Players have knowledge over the current gamestate. This allows players to strategically plan their movement around the environment to seek out paths of least resistance. 

Ok, this is something I am actually missing...

• Gadgets: Players have the ability to interact with items in the level that aid in their goals. The goal here is to make items with broad use cases to encourage emergent gameplay.

Have I mentioned the rubble? And the Keys? And they even glow! The keys - not the rocks. Glowing rocks sound ridiculous.

Another thing added:

• Enemy animations and skeletal mesh: OoooOOooo scary (Pictures #8-9)

Also after playtesting:

• Checkpoints: Because no one likes being punched in the face and having to go all the way back to square one. (This also took forever. Thank you, friend, for dedicating your one and a half hours to help me solve this issue. You, too, are a real one.) (Pictures #10-14)
• First-Person Camera: The less the player can see, the spookier (Picture #15)
  
• Collisions: Actually making the tables in the classrooms not walk-through-able

Final note:

I originally had two enemies (duplicates of a generic and one boss) and two endings (defeat boss, collect final key, leave OR defeat boss, collect final key, back track to find secret ending). However, the more issues I ran across, the more I realized that it may be a bit too advanced for me right now, but it may be something I implement in the future to improve the game. It is my very first genuine game, after all! It's going to be buggy and it's going to be messy, but that's okay. What matters right now is the time and effort I put into it. 

- your noob game dev

<3