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abysmal_logo.png

This was my graduation project at PlaygroundSquad. My main focus on this project was level design, but I also worked with blueprint scripting for creating events and some UI implementing. I also handled planning and audio implementation.

PROJECT DETAILS

Genre:
Project length:
Team size:
Game engine:

Responsibilities:

Top-down horror
9 weeks
12
Unreal Engine 4.17

Game Design
Visual Scripting
Level Design
Planning

GAME DETAILS

Abysmal is a top-down survival-horror game for PC. 

In this game, you take part as a nameless vagabond in transit through a quaint city. But strange creatures stalk the streets tonight...

​Use your trusty revolver and flashlight to fend off the alien horrors, and reach the train station... before the nightmare consumes you.

 LEVEL DESIGN AND ONBOARDING 

My design pillars for the level design was resource management and survival horror. In the end, we focused more on survival and overcoming enemies rather than resource management, as the length of the game didn't lend itself to exploration and scavenging.

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The layout of the level was designed to teach the player to the core mechanics of the game, as well as lead them to the final event.

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I used spatial UI and harmless critter enemies to teach the player the keybindings and how to use the flashlight as early as possible.

 

 LEVEL LAYOUT 

The player will start off in the onboarding section off the map, where they will learn most of the fundamental mechanics of the game. It will end with the player facing off with just a single enemy, before moving on to the first combat encounter.

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Between every combat encounter, we included a short breather so that the player could collect themselves a bit. These would also include streetlights that would hurt and stop enemies that are pursuing the player past the breathers. (We also culled AI agents to preserve performance.)

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Plenty of resources are hidden nearby enemies or in dead ends, to make sure that there is a risk/reward element to find these supplies. 

 

Layout legend

FinalIcon_Ammo.png
FinalIcon_Enemy.png
FinalIcon_Checkpoint.png
FinalIcon_Goal.png
FinalIcon_Start.png

Player starting point

Goal and end of the game

Checkpoint to respawn at if the player dies

Enemy cluster or final boss

Ammunition and other supplies

 SCRIPTING EVENTS 

This was my first time scripting blueprints, which was a huge learning experience! 

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I scripted a lot of events in tandem with designing the level. Some example events are an enemy running past the player after the tutorial and the final event where the player is waiting for a train to arrive.

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I also dabbled with some UI scripting, like the notifications when a checkpoint is reached.

 

 GAME DESIGN & DOCUMENTATION 

This project was based on a side-project that some of my classmates and I worked on for a few weeks.

The early concept leaned more toward wave-based survival, whereas we pushed it towards a more ambient and thematic experience in Abysmal.

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Over the course of the project, I would help our team plan tasks, and prioritize assets & features.
A major planning component was to plan shoots and needed clips with our animator when we were doing our mocap shoots.

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I also documented major design elements and changes in the game design document. I learned over the course of the project however that the time spent documenting could be better spent helping my teammates. Halfway through the project, I would stop updating the document and focus my efforts on finishing the game.

 

Video of the old project, simply titled Unreal Survival. It was made by
8 developers over the span of 3-4 on and off weeks.

Mocap.gif

Raw mocap data. We planned thoroughly which clips we would need
before shooting. I would also join in sometimes and help direct from a
designers perspective.

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