Point: Bridge
Game Work in Progress
Overall Design
Quick description of Point: Bridge, its components, goals, and critique
Point: Bridge is a first-person shooter inspired by mission elements in Dishonored and the mission “Numbers” in Call of Duty: Black Ops.
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The player wakes up slightly injured inside a home in a friendly section of the town. The first thing they see is a window. Looking out the window, the player can see the hangar/airport section of the map, as well as the tank preventing anyone from walking down the road. I framed this part of the level like this to instantly let the player see the objective and the major obstacle of the level in one frame. Stepping out of the house, the player finds a Sergeant who will task the player with two objectives: rescuing a captured General and securing the hangar/airport part of the town. Completing both objectives signals the end of the game for the player.
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As the player progresses through the level, they will face multiple enemies, including a tank stationed at the bridge between the town and the airport. The player starts off with a pistol and a rifle, low ammunition, and missing health; but they can find pickups across the level, including two different weapons hidden around.
Goals In Mind
One of my objectives with this project was to take a deeper dive into AI since my other game Pirate Dreams. In Point: Bridge, enemies are programmed to detect, track, and shoot at the player, including forgetting the player's presence if they have run away. I also wanted to go more in-depth with my level design and encourage player exploration.
Conclusion & Self-Critique
Overall, I’m very happy with this project and what I managed to accomplish. The gameplay was fun and engaging, and the enemies provided a good challenge. The level made sense and it flowed well. However, there are areas I believe could be improved.
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To begin with, there wasn’t enough of a difference between each combat zone. The different weapons certainly helped, and I tried to cater the level towards a certain weapon at portions of the map, but having most/all of the combat be on the street did not help. Second, there wasn’t enough variety of enemies. Having some use different weapons would have been more entertaining. Lastly, adding extra mechanics commonly found in shooters, such as grenades, crouching/prone, or bullet penetration, would have improved the overall experience.
Level Overview
Describing the level and thought process when coming up with it
Original Sketch
I knew from the beginning that I wanted to create a World War 2 first-person shooter set near a mountainous region. I began researching rural towns from that era, and many had very similar characteristics. The streets were narrow, built out of cobblestone, and had a more organic layout. The buildings varied in size and were placed right next to the road. This rural town design allowed me to add optional paths that rewarded exploration and created dynamic combat zones. Based on all this information, I came up with the sketch on the right.
Sculpting – First Draft
I went ahead and sculpted the picture shown on the right based on my sketch. Considering what the player would see at certain portions of the path, I made slight modifications to the level. I then surrounded the level with mountains, added cuboids to represent buildings, connected a couple of paths to make the town more interconnected, and included a lake/river to better visualize the final version of the level. As I walked around the level, I encountered two main issues. The first issue was that I felt like the terrain was too flat, which would be the opposite of what a town would look like in a mountainous region. The second main issue was that the optional paths felt too similar to one another.
Color & Detailed Blockout – Second Draft
I addressed these issues and came up with what’s shown in the picture on the right. Below will be my thought process on how I corrected the two problems. The pictures to the right of the paragraphs are used to further explain my approach.
To fix the first issue (too flat), I lowered the elevation at the northern part of the map (A) and elevated the starting/friendly area of the map (B). However, the terrain still felt a bit flat after that, so I raised the elevation where the General is being held captive (C). These changes resulted in a more realistic town structure based on its regional location and created some unique scenarios. For example, engaging the enemies from a slightly higher point (e.g. the yellow arrow) empowers the player and makes them confident in shooting duels, especially if they found the hidden weapon farther back. However, as the player progresses, the tables turn, and now the player must face the enemy from a lower point of elevation (e.g. the blue arrow). This adds a layer of difficulty and tension as they fight their way upwards towards the objective.
The second issue was resolved in a couple of different ways. I decided to convert one of the paths into a cave instead (B). This change made the combat zone in this optional path feel completely different from the rest of the level and it’s where the player can find their first hidden weapon. However, most people would not assume there would be a cave in a mountain, so I included a preview/hint earlier on (A) to alert the player of the possibility of encountering more caves. While this cave (A) is smaller than the optional path cave (B), it still provides a slight reward to the player for exploration. Next thing I wanted to change was the section where the General was being held (C), but that was already unintentionally improved by fixing the first issue (terrain was too flat). I still wanted to add more distinction to this path, so I narrowed down the road and moved around the obstacles. This made the player feel claustrophobic and heightened tensions. Thanks to these changes, I didn’t have to modify the third optional path (D) much as it was different from the rest. However, I made the decision to not have any enemies in this area to give the player a large break from the action. The second hidden weapon is found here and is given to the player by a friendly soldier who is hiding from the enemy.
Final Version
This is the finalized version of the level, and I’m very happy with how it turned out. I added foliage around the map to fill in empty areas and moved a couple of obstacles around to improve the flow. Additionally, I kept some of the buildings open so that the player could walk in them and find extra ammo/health, as well as adding extra environmental storytelling to the level.
The assets were made by Synty Studios.
Player
Who is the player and what tools do they have
Unidentified Soldier
The player, an unidentified injured soldier who has just woken up, will immediately face a window revealing the level's objective and primary obstacle. Stepping out of the starting home, they will find a Sergeant who will instruct the player on what to do next. Next to the Sergeant, the player can pick up weapons, health, and extra ammunition. This is intended to familiarize the player with the pickups that are scattered throughout the map. The player starts off with 50 hp out of 100 total, but the health pickup at the start gets them to 75 hp. While the player receives enough supplies at the beginning to start their journey, they will have to explore the map further to locate additional health, ammo pickups, and new weapons.
Weapons
In the game, there are four weapons: a pistol, an assault rifle, a sniper, and a sub-machine gun. However, the latter two (sniper and SMG) can only be found by exploring the secret/optional paths. Each weapon has unique stats that excel in different scenarios, but the player can only carry two at a time. The sniper and SMG (secret weapons) are particularly effective in a specific section of the level following the optional path. This design allows players to test out the new weapon in an optimal scenario, allowing them to decide whether to keep it or not.
Hip-fire Only vs Aim Down Sights
I chose to do hip-fire only for two main reasons: player perception/feeling and maximizing different weapon usages.
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Restricting the player to hip-firing lessens the realism by reducing the incentive to aim for headshots and be 100% accurate. In addition to this, there is no speed penalty when shooting and walking, which encourages players to advance without relying on perfect cover and accuracy.
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To maximize different weapon usages, I adjusted the radius of the hip-fire reticle for each weapon until I achieved the desired effect. I also designed the level and obstacles in a way to make a certain weapon superior over the rest at a specific section. For instance, the sniper has the smallest reticle, and it’s intended for longer distances where the player has time to take precise shots. The SMG on the other hand has the largest reticle, but its rapid fire rate gives the player confidence in close-quarters combat. The assault rifle is somewhere in between the previously mentioned weapons, and it can be effective in most scenarios. Finally, the pistol has the second largest reticle, yet its large ammo reserves turn it into a weapon they can use at any time without worrying about wasting ammo.
Enemies
Who are the enemies and how they interact with the player
The enemy soldiers are spread around the map in clusters. Many of them patrol an area, while others are talking to one another. They all start out in a passive state, but can transition to an attacking, investigating, seeking, or dead state. Each enemy has a perception system so they can see or hear the player and switch states to the appropriate response. If the player runs away, the enemy will switch to the seeking state and search for the player. If unsuccessful, the enemy will revert to their passive state and continue their patrol route. The AI is programmed to navigate to specific points of interest in the area and engage the player from there. This pathing gives the player enough time to shoot at the enemy or seek cover. There are also numerous health pickups along the way, ensuring most players will complete the level if they don’t try to run and gun the entire game without seeking any cover. While the game is designed for a casual experience, I still wanted to give the player a challenge.
Soldier - Ranged
The ranged enemy deals 20 points of damage per shot and will reposition around the player after each shot. This damage value felt ideal in as it was enough to scare the player into cover but not enough to make it too challenging and annoying.
Soldier - Melee
The melee enemy deals 35 points of damage per slash. This amount of damage is higher than the ranged enemy because of the larger amount of time the player has to eliminate this enemy. There is also a small difference in how this enemy attacks. This enemy will get to a specific point of interest around the player, similarly to the ranged enemy, but now they will run straight towards them to attack.
Objectives & Interactions
What are the objectives of the player and how they interact with one another
Captured General
The player's initial objective is to rescue a captured General, who is located relatively close to the starting zone (marked by the red circle). However, it’s impossible to breach that area since the player is the only one healthy enough to complete this mission. To get to the General's location, the player must traverse the town and explore alternative routes. Around a third of the way through, they may encounter a hidden path leading towards the General (indicated by the blue arrow), but an obstacle will impede them from continuing forward. Once they reach the end of this path, there will be conversational text that pops up that will signal to the player that the General is located there. As the player traverses the map, they will encounter another alley that will eventually lead to the General (marked by the orange arrow). To thank the player for their rescue, the General calls an aerial strike on the tank guarding the bridge. Afterwards, The General will stay at the same location for the entire game.
Tank
As mentioned earlier, a tank is guarding the path leading to the town's airport. The tank will signal its attack with a sound cue, which works to warn the player before firing. If the player ignores this warning or attempts to rush towards the objective, the tank will fire a single deadly shot at the player. If the player is eliminated, there is a checkpoint system that will place the player a slightly farther back from the start of the bridge. This tank can be eliminated by rescuing the captured General.
Airport/Hangar
The player’s secondary objective is to secure the town’s airport. Upon spawning, the player faces a window overlooking the airport, which serves to provide a quick look at one of the objectives before receiving instructions from the Sergeant. There is a tank that guards the road which leads to the airport, but it can be destroyed by rescuing the captured General located farther back on the level. Within the hangar lies a radio that the player must use to call for reinforcements, thereby concluding the game. However, to access the radio, the player must first eliminate all enemies within the airport area.
