Level Design

There are two levels in the game: tutorial level and major level. In the tutorial level, we introduce all the basic mechanics to players and complete the pact. The major level is where players experience the loops and struggle to defeat the lord.

Tutorial Level

This level introduces the “pact” between the demon and players. The demon drags players into its inner world to teach players how to use its power. This tutorial is separated into the following sections:

  • Move/ Camera

  • Dash

  • Heavy Attack

  • Light Attack

  • Free Combat

These sections are distributed in a linear layout. The demon silhouette is a guidance for players.


Major Level

The demon sends players into the astral realm after they get familiar with their power. This level follows the traditional linear design concept with several optional branches. Each node represents a lodestone protected by a group of enemies. The design purpose is the same as Hades, which gives players multiple choices for each decision making. However, in Hades, players cannot see all the following rooms (choices). Here, players are able to see region 1 & 2 from the rebirth point. When they arrive mini-boss node, they can see all the remaining lodestones. This region design helps us to build an immersive world instead of just several rooms connected by some paths. 

The level is separated into four regions. Region 1 and region 3 have forest & mountain style, while region 2 and region 4 have floating island style. 

Each node in this level represents a lodestone protected by a groups of enemies.  The critical path is rebirth point - mini-boss - final-boss. Players have three choices at both rebirth point node and mini-boss node.

Notice: The environment art and lighting are done by our talented environment artist Kesavan. I am responsible for designing and building the grey box for this level.
His portfolio link: https://www.artstation.com/kns8vfx

Level Variaty

For a Roguelike game, it is important to ensure that the gaming experience for each loop is different. So, besides the variety of abilities, the lodestones also have different types. Each type of lodestone gives players different upgrade when absorbed.

Type 1: Red

  • Increase the damage of the light attack

  • Increase the soul power absorption of the light attack

Type 2: Blue

  • Increase the damage of the heavy attack

  • Decrease the soul power consumption of the heavy attack

Type 3: Purple

  • Decrease the cooldown time of dash

I manually create 6 datatables containing different lodestone type layout, which are randomly loaded at the beginning of every loop. This design refers to The Risk of Rain. In this game, a random handwritten version of one map is used instead of a procedure generation. It helps to control the scope of our project and make an elegant difficulty curve for each map.

Contact

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Email
liuboning2012@gmail.com