FLOCKING HELL

Game Synopsis

Flocking Hell is a puzzle game where the player takes control of a Hellhound tasked with leading a group of sheep through various stages of Earth and Hell with for the ultimate sacrifice for the Devil.

Level Design

The Asylum sets out to challenge the player by making use of every enemy type throughout the stage in synergetic groups which will provoke the player into thinking ahead and using all available mechanics at their disposal. Things like crawling for more precise sheep goading and the sheep halting bark will be needed to get through with minimal casualties. The level will have a creepy atmosphere and a theme which gives the illusion of an abandoned asylum. This theme was chosen as we didn’t want to repeat any themes, while also being able to explore different hellish environments 

Going into greyboxing this level, I knew I wanted to make use of different Spatial Size Types explained in Christopher W. Totten’s book An Architectural Approach to Level Design the player would have to adapt as the level progressed while also giving the level a smooth and natural feel to traverse, similar to that of a racetrack.

While Flocking Hell certainly isn’t a racing game, I feel there are some design choices used when creating a race track which can be transferred for this game to make herding a smoother experience. Before that, varying Spatial Size Types help to break up the stagnicity that comes sticking to a single one throughout.

I made sure to begin with a Prospect area just so that the player doesn’t immediately feel hounded for space, though made sure that what was ahead is in view. The player can use this Prospect area to continue familiarising themselves with the sheep flocking mechanic before starting the level. Narratively, this Prospect area is just outside the Asylum’s gates, the player is in danger of losing their sheep as they enter the Asylum’s grounds.

Moving onto the Asylum grounds I made sure to dramatically reduce the space the player has to roam with their sheep, a Narrow Space. From here, the player can choose to either continue forward into the Asylum where things being to open up into larger yet Intimate Spaces, or hook a right with their flock where they will face two Flying Eyes which will require a fast reaction speed from the player if not scouted out beforehand. This route, while more dangerous and claustrophobic, holds a pen of 3 extra sheep the player can retrieve. This simple Risk and Reward section allows more experienced players to reach a higher score and also allow beginner players to make more mistakes going forward as extra sheep to bolster your score at the end is always a plus. The risk being that you may end up losing more sheep than you come out with as the side entrance to the Asylum is guarded by a Confusion Cultist and a Gargoyle. These two have been paired together to create a devious synergy if not handled properly. The Gargoyle is a static enemy which will crush any sheep which run underneath it. Positioning a Confusion Cultist near one will cause any sheep in its radius to run around sporadically, potentially running straight under the gargoyle. This is the first use of this type of synergy and will teach players to think ahead and keep an eye out for similar combinations moving forward.

As for the physical level design, corners are designed to be as smooth of a transition as possible to ensure as little amount of sheep get stuck as possible. During early playtesting we found that sheep would get trapped in corners if the nav-mesh they traverse came to an acute angle. Getting them in these positions essentially meant that they were stuck forever unless the player was somehow able to goad them from another angle, but as these situations usually happened in edges of the map, this was near impossible. So to combat that I made sure to smooth the edges into obtuse angles, allowing the sheep to run across the side of them, gradually running along the wall which changed their direction. This design practise became pivotal to the herding movement functionality throughout all levels

From a lot of playtesting, I found common walls the player might find themselves herding sheep across would cause them to be stuck onto for large sections of the map. To alleviate this constricting occurrence, I added lips in the walls which give the players a chance to, in relation to the nav-mesh, launch their sheep from being stuck to the sides of the walls and letting them be herded around the asylum again. These architectural spatial arrangements were also made across the floor of the Asylum to add extra texture and flavour to the level. Having objects and walls run through the Asylum gives the sheep something bounce off from and run around, adding simple yet effective interactions between the player, the sheep and the terrain.

Left images show the old iterations, Right images show the improved iteration which allow sheep to flow through the level better.

The same design mantras were used for the second level, "Deep Purple" with a greater focus on challenge through narrow spaces and enemy placements