Pirate Dreams
Overall Design
Quick description of Pirate Dreams and its components
Pirate Dreams is a top-down shooter inspired by the Call of Duty: Black Ops zombies mode "Dead Ops Arcade".
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Between the player and the end goal are skeletons that will chase the player if the player gets too close. The player also has a small amount of health and ammo at the start to create a sense of danger, but there are health and ammo pickups spread across the map.
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Much like the video game it’s inspired by, I wanted to emphasize the feeling of being in the middle of "controlled chaos". Having intense moments when the player is on low health and ammo while being surrounded by enemies chasing them. But then, seeing a health/ammo pick up at the end of the road and giving them hope.
Level Overview
Describing the level and thought process when coming up with it
Original Sketch
Due to the setting of the game, I got inspiration from old pirate towns such as Port Royal and New Providence. I know I wanted to have a castle that overlooked the town and the town center, I just needed to figure out where they would fit best.
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I went for the design on the right, which would make the player traverse through the city to reach their destination.
Graybox of Sketch
I grayboxed the level and play-tested it for a bit and found multiple issues.
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The first issue was that there was too much empty space. Even after setting in all the props and enemies, I figured that it would still feel empty to the player.
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Another issue was that it was too "geometrical" for an old pirate town and there were too many straight roads. The player would just run straight for a while before finding the end. Because the road didn't continue, the player would have to turn around and walk the entire way back. This would be especially boring if there was no more enemies to fight or pickups to find on the way back.
Graybox Version 2
After moving the blocks around to try to make the level more interesting, I came up with this.
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I went for tighter roads and more corners for enemies to hide in. I also changed the design so that the player wouldn't have to travel far to find a new path.
However, another issue appeared. The level was too big for the type of game this was going to be. It had to be cut down in some way to make the level a quick fun experience instead of a large chore.
Graybox Version 3
This is the final graybox version of the level.
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I decided to cut the top side of the level (when viewed from this angle) since it felt unnecessary. I moved the large red cube at the top-left of the picture downwards and moved the end goal towards the end of the road at the top-right of the picture.
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This transformed the level into a quick, enjoyable experience. In addition, it allows the player to play the level in different ways, without making one path extremely long and boring to play.
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Final Version
Finalized version of the level with environmental detail. The level is set at sunset, but lighting here is only bright for the photo. I decided to add a small section to the red block at the top right of the map (when viewed from this angle). Now, there is a sort of "hidden market" where the player will find extra ammo and an extra foe.
The assets were made by Synty Studios.
Pickups
What are the pickups in the game
The player starts on low health and ammo, but there’s a health and ammo pick-up right in front of them when they spawn in. This is so the player is familiar with the pick-up system, as well as preventing them from just rushing forwards without worry.
Health Pickup
The health pickup is using a bottle asset and has a red shade and glow, similar to a first aid kit. The red glow is intended to get a hold of the player's attention, even if they're in the middle of a dozen skeletons.
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Obviously with the setting being pirate themed, it seemed fitting that the way the player restores health is with a bottle of "rum".
This pickup can be found through out the level and restores 25 hp to the player (they start off with 25 hp out of 100 total).
Ammo Pickup
The ammo pickup is a couple of boxes filled with cannon balls and has a blue glow to it. Like the health pickup, the blue glow is intended to get a hold of the player's attention, even when distracted.
They're spread around the level and picking one of them up will grant the player 6 bullets (they start off with 4 bullets).
Player
What is the player's goal and what can they do
Pirate
The player is a pirate that is trying to escape the town and reach a treasure on the other side of the map.
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I wanted the player to feel powerful when there is one or two enemies in front of him, but somewhat overwhelmed when there was a large group of enemies. Therefore, the player has a total of 100 health points but start off with 25. As stated before, the player starts on low health so that they're discouraged from rushing the level. They need to fight their way through the level to get the pickups and eventually reach the goal.
They also have 6 bullets in their inventory. Each bullet deals 15 damage to the enemy, meaning that it takes a total of 2 shots to kill (enemies have a total of 25 hp). This damage goes back to the idea of wanting the player to feel powerful or overwhelmed depending on the amount of enemies. Too many shots to kill and the player feels weak and this makes them rush the map. If the player can one-shot the enemy, then the player never feels like they're in danger as long as they have one to two bullets with them.
Enemy
Who is the enemy and what is their goal
Skeleton
This is the enemy in the game. They're a skeleton that will follow the player if they get too close.
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They deal 15 damage (the player has a total of 100 health points). I chose that amount of damage because it gives the player a bit of a pass if one skeleton hits them, but will overwhelm the player if too many pile up.
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The skeletons also run at the same pace as the player, making them a constant threat if the player gets too close. This speed create tense moments because the player must act quickly and defeat them before they run into other skeletons along their way.
