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Crytek's Sandbox 2.0 Editor

The images below are from a single player level I am working on in the Crytek Sandbox 2.0 editor. For those unfamiliar with Crysis, the player takes control of a super soldier that has a powerful suit of armour that allows them to sprint faster and punch harder than a normal man. It also has cloaking technology, allowing the player to evade enemy patrols and sneak into enemy bases.

 

Important note: This is all work in progress and very much first pass. There is nothing final or what I would call shippable in this level, this level exists as a learning space for myself and needs a lot more work.

 

Crysis is a shining example of sandbox gameplay within a shooter and the player is free to tackle most situations in almost anyway they see fit. The levels are designed in such a way as to allow the player to leap into a base guns blazing and punch their way through buildings and enemies or to sneak around, making surprise attacks and then disappearing. The player can toy with the enemies, testing the extent of the game world and using a whole host of tools to solve each combat puzzle. The game features a pretty breathtaking physics model that allows the player to dismantle buildings either with their fists, explosions or thrown objects. Sneaking into a camp and then punching through a wall to kill a guard is a pretty unique and powerful experience.


I started using the editor and quickly created a series of islands to use for the level. I sculpted and shaped them into three distinct land masses and started planning the flow of combat through them.


I wanted the player to start at the opposite side of the island from their objective and to have to fight their way through to it. The most important thing for me was to constrict the player. Crysis works best when the player can explore and find their own way through the level and so I planned a primary route that would naturally lead the player through a series of encampments where they would engage several groups of enemies before finding a mobile radar trailer that they must blow up. At any point the player is free to hump it up a mountain or grab one of the many boats and explore the islands though. They can miss out entire fire fights should they wish. Importantly, if they choose to explore, the player will find extra fire power bonuses and even a VTOL jet to use.


While I want the player to ‘freestyle’ their way through this level, I don’t want them to blast through it too quickly and feel they have had an insubstantial experience. For this reason, should they skip one of the settlements by grabbing a boat and going else where in the level I will script an alternative fire fight appropriate to the situation. If the player chooses to circumvent a fight by climbing up one of the mountains a small patrol will be spawned nearby which they can either engage or use stealth to avoid. Similarly, if the player takes one of the patrol boats and blasts off round the island, an enemy patrol boat will be spawned to fight them.

 

The initial terrain ended up being far too big however and I cut a third of it out to create not only a more contained experience but a more manageable project. Due to the ease of use implicit in the Sandbox editor it was incredibly easy to resculpt the necessary land and rescript the encounters.

 

I am progressing with the level and now that everything is in as first pass, it is ready for the iterative design process to take place on the encounters.

 

My level to do list:

  • Fix instances of grass not sitting on the ground.
  • Fix terrain near starting bridge, too steep.
  • Plot patrol routes for all enemies.
  • Set up fire fights for exploring players.
  • Force enemies to mount boats.
  • Set up extra waves of enemies to be triggered under certain conditions.
  • Perform another iteration of terrain texturing to replace mountains of sand with mountains of rock.