ChaosRains RunThru from Jackie Huchel on Vimeo.
Level OVerview
Overview
Chaos Rains is an alternate version of the single-player Crysis 2 level “Seat of Power” where Alcatraz seeks to escape and regroup to safety from the collapsing city as the Ceph begins their full-scale invasion. The goal of this level was to deepen player immersion of an interactive collapsing environment as well as a create tension of a looming threat slithering around in the shadows.
Design Goals
Note: This level is Part 1 of 2 in collaboration with another student.
Chaos Rains is an alternate version of the single-player Crysis 2 level “Seat of Power” where Alcatraz seeks to escape and regroup to safety from the collapsing city as the Ceph begins their full-scale invasion. The goal of this level was to deepen player immersion of an interactive collapsing environment as well as a create tension of a looming threat slithering around in the shadows.
Design Goals
- Create a level that appeals to both explorer and killer types of the Bartle test by having open levels numerous enemies and hidden rewards and fit within the Crysis 2 universe
- Implement cinematic triggers to cause environmental interactions of the world falling apart
- Focus on the environmental storytelling and immersion of the realism surrounding the player
Note: This level is Part 1 of 2 in collaboration with another student.
Map & Walkthrough
Area 1 : Street
This section of the level is where the player starts. The design goals of this level were to inform the player through placing of debris and carnage that a catastrophe has just occurred and the player is running through the debris. The atmosphere adds to the immersion with the nighttime setting and pouring rain.
Since the destruction of the city is a lot to take in, the gameplay in this area is sparse. The only interaction between the Ceph and the player is when the boss Ceph Stalker emerges from the flames of the bus and run off into the shadows, indicating that the Ceph have arrived and caused the chaos. The reason the Ceph were chosen for this level is because they have more interesting acrobatic movement and are able to dash to the player more quickly than human enemies. It is also the part of the game's storyline where there are more Ceph enemies than humans.
Some of the challenges in this level was to establish the setting. I planned to use a cinematic at the beginning of the level and a falling platform was my test for the cinematic. I added it during the gameplay phase and playtesters loved how it took them off guard and they remembered it well. I added a more detailed cinematic using flowgraph at the beginning with numerous models, soundeffects, and voice to have a better understanding of the Track View system in CryEngine.
Goals of this section:
Since the destruction of the city is a lot to take in, the gameplay in this area is sparse. The only interaction between the Ceph and the player is when the boss Ceph Stalker emerges from the flames of the bus and run off into the shadows, indicating that the Ceph have arrived and caused the chaos. The reason the Ceph were chosen for this level is because they have more interesting acrobatic movement and are able to dash to the player more quickly than human enemies. It is also the part of the game's storyline where there are more Ceph enemies than humans.
Some of the challenges in this level was to establish the setting. I planned to use a cinematic at the beginning of the level and a falling platform was my test for the cinematic. I added it during the gameplay phase and playtesters loved how it took them off guard and they remembered it well. I added a more detailed cinematic using flowgraph at the beginning with numerous models, soundeffects, and voice to have a better understanding of the Track View system in CryEngine.
Goals of this section:
- Setting up the level to give the impression of a destroyed city block due to earthquake
- Accommodating to the explorer-type players with rewards
- Angling the player spawn point to show the objective point on the far right and the bus focal point on the far left
The ravine of the level is where the player has their first enemy encounter with the Ceph. The goal of this section was to take the player off guard by dropping them down into the ravine after the road breaks due to a short earthquake. A section of the road blocks the player’s sight and creates a short illusion of safety, but once the player enters a trigger, an earthquake shakes the screen, and the player is knocked down and trapped inside the collapsed street. The sounds of the earthquake alert the Ceph to the player’s presence and the Ceph react by diving into cover behind the cars to defend their position.
Goals of this section:
Goals of this section:
- Setting up the ravine with meshes that created the collapsed street environment
- Creating various areas within the ravine that utilize environmental storytelling of an earthquake aftermath
- Funnel the player down into the ravine rather than jump around the edges
This section of the level is the area 1 exit. Just after the player deals with the Ceph after falling into the collapsed street, the player is lead to an escape route to reach ground level again by going through the storm drains. The goal of this part of the section is to indicate to the player that this is the exit of the section. While the objective goal marker already indicates this, the lighting and particle effects add to make the exit stand out. The lighting from the broken lamp sparks and flickers to draw the player’s eye away from the common, constant orange flames.
Goals of this section:
Goals of this section:
- Replicate the concept and add more natural clutter in the street above
- Adjust the water particle colors to flow smoothly into the water volume
- Draw the player's eye and guide them to the tunnel entrance
Area 2 : Tunnel
This storm drain is located within the second area of the Chaos Rains level. The goal of this section was to create a dark and cramped area filled with trash and debris. Gameplay appears to be easier as players can shoot straight down the tunnel and take out two Ceph enemies, but the Ceph are able to duck behind trash and debris to defend the ammo crates from the player. This reaction by the Ceph encourages the player to move down into the tunnel to take a more direct approach. Once the player overcomes the obstacle, the player gets an ammo refill to proceed safely into the next area.
Goals of this section:
Goals of this section:
- Created a dark and dank environment within cramped tunnels
- Surprise the player with Ceph wandering the shadows and jumping out from the corners
Once the player exits out of the second section of the storm drains, the player emerges back onto street level and climbs onto a building bridge to get to the plaza. One of the challenges of this section was getting the player onto the second story of a building from the sewer level so they are able to oversee and contemplate how they plan to attack the plaza. In order to solve the problem, a car crashed helps boost the player up to the second floor rather than have a large piece of debris tilted at an odd angle and clipping through the sewer level.
One challenge in this section was drawing the player's eye upwards to the broken area of the bridge that connects to the plaza. My solution for it was to use the fire color to draw the player's eye towards the car, the movement of the smoke cause the player's eye to look upward, and the red flickering lights showing the large broken window. This was successful half the time and so to raise the rate of success, I added another cinematic of the Silver Ceph looking down at the player and running away to entice the player to give chase.
Goals of this section:
One challenge in this section was drawing the player's eye upwards to the broken area of the bridge that connects to the plaza. My solution for it was to use the fire color to draw the player's eye towards the car, the movement of the smoke cause the player's eye to look upward, and the red flickering lights showing the large broken window. This was successful half the time and so to raise the rate of success, I added another cinematic of the Silver Ceph looking down at the player and running away to entice the player to give chase.
Goals of this section:
- Accommodating the change from the sewer floor to the second floor according to the concept
- Draw the player's eye upwards to the opening of the bridge
Area 3 : Plaza
The area portrayed above is the last area of the Chaos Rains level. The goal of this section was to create more interesting gameplay utilizing the alien pods as well as a surprise attack from a drop ship. Both the player and the Ceph use cover created by the biomass pods and shields littered around the plaza. The challenge of this level was getting the player to drop down into the plaza and face the Ceph head-on. The solution was having two waves of Ceph attack the player. The first wave of Ceph are already within the area and patrolling. The player then has the option to drop down into the plaza from the bridge or shoot them from the building bridge. The second wave is triggered once the player has reached the central bridge (as down above). Once the player reaches this point, a HUD filter and sound effect alert the player to an oncoming drop ship. The pods slam down into the ground, surrounding the player on all sides, and force the player to react quickly to the situation.
Goals of this section:
Goals of this section:
- Blend the meshes together to create the plaza area
- Surprising the player with a drop ship attack
- Create a dynamic fighting environment against the Ceph maneuvering around the environment
This section of the plaza is the end of the level Chaos Rains. Originally, this section had the player walk down the alleyway and fade to black. However, this was changed to having a unique cinematic event of the full Ceph invasion taking over the area. The challenge grew to try funneling the player directly in front of the sewer grates so that when the cinematic starts, they slam into the sewers and fades to black. The solution to this problem was both angling the cars to point the player down the middle as well as creating debris and a strong fire hazard to the left.
Goals of this section:
Goals of this section:
- Take the player off guard with a cinematic sequence attack from a Ceph spire tower to end the level rather than a simple fade to black
- Funnel the player over the sewer grate
PostMortem
What Went Well |
Challenges |
What I Learned |
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