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realms

Realms Trailer

Screenshots

Project Details

Roles: Game Designer, Narrative Designer

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Genre: Fantasy / FPS / Arena Shooter

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Team Size: 22 members

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Development Time: 1 Year

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Tools: Unity - Level creation, content implementation

           Audacity - Record voice lines

           Visual Studio - Unique Level Code

           Google Drive - Document Management​

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Box Summary

Take the role of Fortuna, a guardian for the Die of Chaos. This Die is being sought after by a dimension-hopping parasite hellbent on destroying everything in its path.  It's up to you to teleport through realms, battle interdimensional parasites, and prevent the realms from collapsing.

Assignments / Responsibilities 

  • Create and set dress levels

  • Handle combat encounters and puzzles

  • Write content including story and journal entries

  • Record and implement voice lines

  • Design gameplay components and player abilities

Full Game Page:

Level Creation​:

I used the ProBuilder tool in Unity to create and work on levels. After confirming how the core loop for the game, my tasks for making the play area are as follows:

In Engine Tasks

  • Whitebox levels to accommodate platforming, puzzle sections,  exploration, and combat

  • Alter terrain mesh and setup collision boxes to vary outside portions of levels and ensure no clipping issues arise

  • Texture objects and handle level lighting for interiors and exteriors

  • Set dress levels with assets including structure models, puzzle items, interactable objects, enemies and custom objects

  • Customize level specific objects including particles, sound cues, code, and models

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Considerations

  • Ensure the first level's tutorial is easy to understand while the level reinforces the flow of gameplay and fundamentals

  • ​How the level structure paces the story and breaks gameplay into digestible and engaging sections

  • How each level will differ from the last in terms of assets and purpose​​

Level Specific Custom Code

1st Level, 1st Floor - Whitebox to Final Setup

In Engine Examples of Level Creation Tasks

Making Combat Arenas:​

I created combat encounters using the battle arena asset, which allowed me to customize fights extensively in all manner of environments.

Components On Screen

  • Playable area: Collision boxes that the player overlaps with to active the battle arena asset ​​

  • Barriers: Collision boxes that prevent the player from leaving

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Components On Asset

  • Waves: Containers that store a number of enemy entries 

  • Entries: Containers that store enemies and their locations

  • Music: A component that overrides background music for the level until the arena is completed

  • Activate Targets: A place to call the StartArena function once the player collides with  the playable area

How it Works

  • When players enter the playable area, it will trigger the asset to activate, spawning the first wave of enemies​​

  • Barriers will turned on, blocking all exits unless they can take out enemies

  • Once a group of enemies is eliminated, the next wave will be called upon to spawn another group of enemies and will repeat until the final wave

  • Once the arena is completed, the barriers will be turned off and the asset will be triggered to turn off

Battle Arena Asset Chart

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Second Level Arena Test

Third Level Arena Test

Arscana test
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Crafting Puzzles:​

I worked on puzzle sections using assets that are activated either by player interaction or specific abilities. Whether it's platforming or brainteasers, several scenarios were created to keep gameplay interesting. 

Scenarios and Solutions

  • If a ledge is too big to jump across, use the dash ability to travel extra distance​​​​​

  • If a switch needs to be activated, either use the force ability to push an object on or the ice ability to conjure a block

  • If a door needs to be activated, use the lightning ability to charge a generator

  • If something in the environment is hidden, use the insight ability to reveal its aura 

Cryokinesis Demonstration

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Insight Demonstration

Dash Demonstration

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In-Game Writing​:

i wrote content in the game to flesh out the world. The game is very narrative driven, from the plot to the characters' backstories to the lore of the different worlds you explore. 

Cutscene and Gameplay Dialogue

Writing Examples

  • Journal Entries: Passages of information that reside in the game's compendium going over enemies, abilities, objects of interest, characters, lore and much more

  • Dialogue: Spoken conversation by the main character's mentor. He serves as a guide to the player to show them how to play and give insight to the world around you

  • Cutscene Script: The intro and ending cutscenes have spoken dialogue to set the premise and conclude the story respectively

Journal Entries In Game

Journal Entries Document Layout

  • Column A: Category the subject falls under

  • Column B: Subject of interest

  • Column C: Full description of subject of development purposes

  • Column D: Full description from main character's viewpoint

Journal Entries Document

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Dialogue Implementation:

I implemented in-game conversation segments using the dialogue block asset. This allowed me to push the narrative forwarded and provide the player with more urgency to continue

Component On Screen

  • Trigger area: The collision box that the player overlaps with to active the dialogue segment

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Components On Asset

  • Activate Targets: A place to call the SendDialogue function once the player collides with  the trigger area

  • Lines: Containers that store data for the audio clip currently being played, subtitles to accompany the audio, the picture for the current speaker, and a timer before the next "Line" container is activated​

How it Works

  • When players enter the trigger area, it will activate the asset to begin a dialogue segment​​

  • The first "Lines" container plays the audio and activates the UI to display the speaker picture and subtitles

  • Once the timer runs out for the current audio container, the next container is activated to continue the conversation until the segment has been completed and the asset is turned off

Dialogue Block Asset Chart

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Dialogue Script Document

Dialogue System In Game

Designing Gameplay:

i designed or assisted in shaping several gameplay elements. There are many systems at play and the team had to go through extreme revamps quite often during roadblocks, but here's some insights on what came out the other side:

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Player Abilities

  • Problem: The approach was to give players abilities you would see on a character sheet for a TTRPG such as Insight and Intimidation, but players found them unintuitive or forgetful when exploring or fighting. ​​

  • Solution: I proposed we gave new abilities that doubled as combat and exploration tools. This way, players would be required to use all their abilities to progress, better pace gameplay.

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Level Structure

  • Problem: The environments presented early on were much bigger, less dynamic  and more directionless than planned. ​​

  • Solution: With the player abilities revamped and battle arenas added, I suggested including puzzles and platforming sections that revolve around player abilities on top of combat. These new elements allowed the level designers to follow a solid foundation for creation and help polish the content pipeline

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Story Progression

  • Problem: Originally, the story started with the main character's mentor, Alden, being slain by the main antagonist, prompting the player to venture out. This created some plot holes, logical concerns and constraints for content progression​​

  • Solution: I suggested to keep Alden alive and help the player on the journey. which fixed and fleshed out story beats. This fix also lead to the birth of the dialogue system

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Economy

  • Problem: Items you get along your journey included consumables such as power boosts and health crystals, but the lack of urgency and use conditions made rewards feel lackluster​​

  • Solution: With the player abilities revamped and battle arenas added, I raised the challenge progressively throughout the game. The pressure from combat presented a tough challenge, prompting players to use their inventory for an edge to victory. This also allowed us to turn old abilities into consumables for a brief time

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Information Distribution

  • Problem: Playtests showed that players didn't know where to go or what the main objective was as well as how to complete it​​

  • Solution: I proposed we implement a conversation system that activates conversations to explain the story as well as guide players to points of interest. I also assisted with helping develop in in-game journal

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