1. Introduction
TRAUMA is a 3D Single Player First Person Survival-Horror game.
I worked as Level Designer and Game Designer: the main goal was to create a scary experience in an environment that could help the player to orientate themselves and avoid enemies.
The first part is about my work as a Level Designer, explaining how I managed the time and the various steps to reach the needed result in term of experience and layout.
The game is inspired by other games like Amnesia, Resident Evil 7 and Alan Wake.
My role: Level Designer, Game Designer
Genre: Survival Horror
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Team: 8
Total Time: 10 Weeks
I worked as Level Designer and Game Designer: the main goal was to create a scary experience in an environment that could help the player to orientate themselves and avoid enemies.
The first part is about my work as a Level Designer, explaining how I managed the time and the various steps to reach the needed result in term of experience and layout.
The game is inspired by other games like Amnesia, Resident Evil 7 and Alan Wake.
My role: Level Designer, Game Designer
Genre: Survival Horror
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Team: 8
Total Time: 10 Weeks
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2. Game Rules
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For the project, the entire team decided to use a mansion as the main map for the game.
The mansion is a building useful to offer main rooms interconnected with each other, that the player can use to evade from the main game’s enemy. As such, the entire environment should provide the player with a lot of options during the exploration and the chasing phases:
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The player’s abilities are:
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The entire environment is unlit, as such the player will need always the flashlight and batteries to explore through it.
The main enemies are:
- The Trauma, a monster materialized in the environment (in the project there will be only the Boogeyman)
- Ghosts, minions that will appear when the mental health (parameter) of the player will fall below a certain threshold
Important spots for the player:
- Safe Room: A lit place where the player can stay safe without worrying about the rising of the dread or enemies. It also represents the only saving point present in the map;
- Puzzles: It’s important for the player to recognize places/rooms where there is a puzzle that has to be solved. The player here needs to have all the elements to understand the resolution of the puzzle.
Moreover, the entire building has been designed with the following rules in minds:
IMPORTANT: since the game is set entirely inside the house, it has not been realized house exteriors.
- New environments: The main map is designed with the idea of opening new environments that will be connected to the rest of the map in order to feel the progression in game;
- Backtracking: with new environments, it’s important to scatter into the area inaccessible points and mysteries where the player will have to solve later by returning back into previous place where they have already been;
- Goal: Get out from the building.
IMPORTANT: since the game is set entirely inside the house, it has not been realized house exteriors.
3. Prototype
The first prototype has been realized in a week with many iterations to find the right shapes to set players.
The initial purpose was to test the gameplay loop and instead of creating an abstract environment, the decision went on creating a house with a goal and understand how clear was the goal for the player.
Moreover, it was important to put the player in the condition of moving seamless and useful for us to see their approach and the style of the house was quite useful for them.
The initial purpose was to test the gameplay loop and instead of creating an abstract environment, the decision went on creating a house with a goal and understand how clear was the goal for the player.
Moreover, it was important to put the player in the condition of moving seamless and useful for us to see their approach and the style of the house was quite useful for them.
Floor 1
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Floor 2
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As shown in the picture above, there were selected only two floors but with multiple rooms interconnected.
The gameplay results satisfying for the entire team in term of level design, where players were able to orientate themselves but also exploiting the environment to chase the Boogeyman away.
The gameplay results satisfying for the entire team in term of level design, where players were able to orientate themselves but also exploiting the environment to chase the Boogeyman away.
The original sketch layout has been modified in engine many times, in order to guarantee a perfect flow of the player but some problem raised:
- Having only one stairs to go up and down was a bottleneck to face the Boogeyman;
- The house had to be bigger to have a game with a tangled and rewarding exploration.
4. Vertical Slice
Once gathered enough information, we decided to start again from scratch, providing the house with a better exploration and progression in game.
In this phase, we needed to put more emphasis on the house atmosphere through lighting, materials and furniture (assets).
Moreover, there was the need of:
While tutorial has been created in the final steps of the development, the mansion design started with the idea of properly hosting the tutorial inside itself. In particular:
In this phase, we needed to put more emphasis on the house atmosphere through lighting, materials and furniture (assets).
Moreover, there was the need of:
- A proper tutorial
- Very well scripted and timed experience
- Accurate references
While tutorial has been created in the final steps of the development, the mansion design started with the idea of properly hosting the tutorial inside itself. In particular:
- The house should have been divided in 3 sections that could be unlocked with the progression of the game;
- The tutorial is set in the final section of the game.
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In this part of the project, the goal was to create an effective gameplay session for the Vertical Slice, that could represent the final game experience.
As such, I wrote a Level Design Document containing all the information that the team needed in terms of: - Location Breakdown - Objectives - Gameplay steps - Game beats - Pacing Graph - References Gathered - Mansion Layout - First Layout Draft - Blockout On the right it's possible download the document, but in the blockout session it shows only the part about of the mansion that we worked on for the Vertical Slice. |
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5. Mansion Layout
First Floor
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Second Floor
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The Layout Drawing was made looking at realistic houses but a problem raises from it:
we had to guarantee a safe space for the player that could help them to recover their parameters and escape from game's enemies.
With this layout we had the problem that the safe room was placed in a corner of the house without any chance to come back there when the game goes further because too far.
For this reason, I drew again the layout maintaining the same rooms. The idea was to just place the safe room in the middle of the house and then design the rest of the house around it.
The task was quite difficult but challenging and the result was very satisfying.
we had to guarantee a safe space for the player that could help them to recover their parameters and escape from game's enemies.
With this layout we had the problem that the safe room was placed in a corner of the house without any chance to come back there when the game goes further because too far.
For this reason, I drew again the layout maintaining the same rooms. The idea was to just place the safe room in the middle of the house and then design the rest of the house around it.
The task was quite difficult but challenging and the result was very satisfying.
First Floor
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Second Floor
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Putting the Safe Room at the center of the vision of the house, let me think a lot about the progression in the game and how the player can access to it through shortcuts.
The blockout model changed the original vision of the layout, but it keeps the most of it.
Thank to the layout it's easier to see also the progression of the game into the mansion.
The blockout model changed the original vision of the layout, but it keeps the most of it.
Thank to the layout it's easier to see also the progression of the game into the mansion.
The blockout shows four different parts of the house from the view of the second floor:
- Green: The Safe Space (containing the Safe Room where the player can save their progress);
- Blue: The First Zone (already shown in the Vertical Slice document, where the most of the efforts were applied by the team);
- Yellow: The Second Zone;
- Orange: The Third Zone (which also contains the game Tutorial);
- Arrows: they show the access to the Safe Room, the one on the left and the other on the middle would be opened further in game through shortcuts.
Each section were separated by the others using fog doors that will vanish when the player completes the main puzzle of each section. Once, the player resolves all main puzzle, they will be able to play in the entire mansion.
- Green: The Safe Space (containing the Safe Room where the player can save their progress);
- Blue: The First Zone (already shown in the Vertical Slice document, where the most of the efforts were applied by the team);
- Yellow: The Second Zone;
- Orange: The Third Zone (which also contains the game Tutorial);
- Arrows: they show the access to the Safe Room, the one on the left and the other on the middle would be opened further in game through shortcuts.
Each section were separated by the others using fog doors that will vanish when the player completes the main puzzle of each section. Once, the player resolves all main puzzle, they will be able to play in the entire mansion.
First Floor
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Second Floor
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6. Tutorial
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One of the most exciting part of the project was teaching to the player the basics to understand how to play TRAUMA.
For the tutorial, it has been written an other document that could breakdown every aspect: - What we needed to show to the player - Game Beats - Actual Steps The tutorial has been designed in order to finish when the player enters the Safe Room for the first time. To bring the player into the Safe Room, has been added a Ceiling that I used as a way to show for the first time the Boogeyman, meet the ghosts and this place has been used only for this section with no chance to let player walk in it again further. The tutorial has been designed to be set in what will be the final act of the house where the player won’t have access to all the places and also, they will be able to recognize it once unlocked further in game. In fact, in the tutorial will be scattered many inaccessible points that only further the player will be able to recognize and understand their mechanisms to open them: in the tutorial will be always present the door that will introduce the player into the basement, the very final place of the map. |
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7. Environment Design
For the environment, we used 3rd parties assets from the Epic Marketplace. We have modified their shapes and dimension, made part of them interactable and changed their textures in order to enhance them in the dark atmosphere of the game.
The materials were modified in a custom level made for this reason called "Materials Museum"
The materials were modified in a custom level made for this reason called "Materials Museum"
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The playable part of the house has been completely furnished sticking to the layout disposition.
In the tutorial section, the entrance shows rooms to welcome guests and at the back of the staircases there is the servant wing of the mansion.
Upstairs, there are the servant bedrooms and the access to the ceiling that will lead the player to the Boogeyman.
The ceiling has been designed with the idea of being very messy as a rapresentation of the protagonist's confusion.
The darkest places shown in the gallery are supposed to be explored with the flashlight
In the tutorial section, the entrance shows rooms to welcome guests and at the back of the staircases there is the servant wing of the mansion.
Upstairs, there are the servant bedrooms and the access to the ceiling that will lead the player to the Boogeyman.
The ceiling has been designed with the idea of being very messy as a rapresentation of the protagonist's confusion.
The darkest places shown in the gallery are supposed to be explored with the flashlight
The main game offers different rooms dedicated personal offices, living rooms, painting rooms and a great hall with sofas and piano.
