Caroline Zhou | Portfolio

Starweave

About the Project

Starweave is a narrative game that uses squad rpg mechanics to tell an allegorical story about constricting roles and compassion within a cycle of oppression.

Made in Unity engine.

My Contributions

Currently with a team size of 60+ people, Starweave started development in early 2022, and is releasing soon. I joined the project in June 2022 as the lead designer and a level designer and level artist.

Some of my duties include:

leading the design team in order to achieve design cohesion in alignment with the director's views
creating burndown charts for each sprint and assigning tasks to the design team accordingly
writing game design documents for all non-combat maps—lobbies and maps—to clarify the design purpose of each map
greyboxing and set-dressing all non-combat maps in accordance to the GDDs and lobby sketches that I made earlier
working very closely with the art lead to develop/implement shaders and develop custom skyboxes for each unique zone

Other contributions include: paper prototyping level 1, implementing 3D assets—models and textures—into Unity, constantly communicating with the art lead and art producer to keep track of what assets are currently available/being made.

Courtesy from the game director

Narrative Mechanism

The core game loop consists of fighting monsters in order to light a beacon, lighting the beacon, and talking with your 3 teammates in free-talk lobbies.

Play as Mysia, otherwise known as her role Dreamer, as you command your teammates in combat, watch as they refuse your commands, talk with them in the free-talk lobbies where you can learn more about them and what causes them to refuse, and take your newfound knowledge and try and accommodate for them as the people they are, not just the roles they play.

Design Examples: Lobbies

My design process for all lobbies is to first start with a sketch of the layout, specifically detailing where each character will be positioned. Based on each lobby GDD and the game's macro, each character gets positioned in a way that best represents their current mood and disposition at that point in the story.

I also pay close attention to the player's initial view of the lobby when they first load in. This is to better plan the set dressing to lead the player to the other characters, as each lobby is very large.

After I'm satisfied with the sketch, I move to greyboxing each lobby based on my sketch in Unity. I keep the art assets list spreadsheet open so I know what models I will be using to set-dress each lobby.

After greyboxing, I start actually set-dressing/furnishing the scene, making tweaks here and there in order to better fit the lobby's design goal and overall mood.

Deep Dive: Level Design & Level Art

After a tense fight between the characters LightHouse and BlackGuard, they are both upset. I chose to represent this by separating the characters physically in the lobby, each having their own area of the lobby that represents their current disposition—BlackGuard is jaded, closed off, hidden in the shadows of a cramped, claustrophobic area while LightHouse is more mature and understanding, standing in a large open area that overlooks a beautiful mountain and frozen lake landscape.

I used the assets available to try and guide the player visually and architecturally to the BlackGuard and LightHouse, with the broken L-shaped column at the player's initial spawn and the slant of the scenery creating an indirect path leading first to BlackGuard and then LightHouse.

BlackGuard, at this point of the story, is almost at his breaking point where he (spoilers) betrays the player and ends up killed by LightHouse. To convey his current disposition and state of mind to the player, I chose to have him constantly be cast in shadow, placing assets sometimes nonsensically in order to achieve the right mood.