Octoport
1ND SEMESTER UNIVERSITY PROJECT
ROLE: SYSTEM/LEVEL DESIGNER
SPRING - 2021
My responsibilities:
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Level Design - Designed sections for different levels and guide players through areas with visual landmark and lights
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Creative - Concepted the mechanic and systems
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Research on Narrive - Collected factual information and research on real issues and events
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Communication (Written) - Wrote design docs for all disciplines
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Communication (Verbal) - Tri-weekly stand-ups, meeting
A 5 minute Gameplay Presentation, of the Vertical Slice of Our Game Submitted for Our Project.
Octoport was a game focusing on the working conditions of workers in packaging warehouses. The initial goal of this brief is to develop a game prototype that is based on factual information and would ‘conveys an activist message concerning the problematic aspects of Amazon’. We transposed this topic into a horror setting which exaggerates the personal experience of workers working in such environments, and alerts the players of these issues.
The Systems
Click the right button to download the design Doc I made for the project
I contribute concepts and ideas of core systems and mechanisms in a 4-members designer team. To make players afraid and feel constantly under pressure, I specifically designed part of the player‘s movement including crunching, taking photos secretly, and also the part of action mode of the enemies.
As the player was a journalist, they were equipped with a camera, which is used for progression through collecting evidence, as well as a form of self-defence with the flash, briefly stunning the enemies, allowing the player to break line of sight.
Level and Iteration
On the project I was involved in different aspects of game design from the initial concept of the environment design (talking to our artist and designers, clarifying the vision), narrative design for building an information chain, to parts of the level design:
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Creating the sub-area of the stowing area - the first level as a mini tutorial, allowing the player get a feeling about the control, and giving them their all-important first impression of the first level
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Cooperate with our artist to develop and polish the second floor section (dead-end and colliders)- the end of the first level where the walkway maze brings the game to a dramatic climax
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Expasion levels: Office area and Breakroom/Tent area (The greyboxes of these 2 levels were included in the final build for player to explore but not in the game flow due to time constraint)
Entrance of the Stowing Area
The first iteration of the design of the entrance of the stowing area with a piece of evidence and basic interaction (collect key/evidence, unlock door)
The second iteration of the design of the entrance of the stowing area with more polished surrounding where crunch mechanics is involved.
The theme of this area was developed to a security entrance setting to give players a first impression on the environment and game play.
Final screenshot for the entrance of the Stowing Area
Second Floor
Layout of the walking maze
Final screenshot for the second floor section
The first level ends with escaping from the stalker enemy on the second floor, where I work with our artist to design a walkway maze with 3 loops in the layout so the player can escape from the enemy at multiple points, combining dead ends and broken walkway.
Expansion Level - Office Area
The first iteration of the office area with a more open space for players to escaping from the chaser enemy.
The second iteration of the office area contains clearer loops and reasonable locations of evidence for collecting and taking photos.
The final screenshot of the office area. It still need optimization and simple puzzles to make the experience more cohesive.
I designed the greybox of the second level - Office Area in the build which works for the second enemy type and another four pieces of evidence. It is designed to include more complex routes and hidden evidence, elevating the sense of tension and oppression. Due to time constraint, we minimized the scope of 3D assets and used that level for expansion packs and sequels.
Feedback and Evaluation
This game has finished development, and was handed in at the end of semester 2. The team achieved a grade of 4/4.5, or 88.89%. The aesthetic, atmosphere and design choices were well received by markers, as well as the the use of stylised art to speed up development time.
I myself am very proud of our work we’ve created as a team, we had a solid collective vision from the first week, which carried and guided all our decisions moving forward. During the Covid-19 pandemic, communication issues are going to always be a problem, but the team dealt with them, and progressed past them.
“Overall, excellent evidence of your commitment to the project, as well as of the skills and insights gained throughout the term.” - Final Feedback.