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Will you watch the sunrise?
Will you watch the sunrise?
“I just wanted to reach the top... I’ll never understand why all that security”
During the twilight, our mysterious vampire will have to explore an intriguing fortress hidden throughout some mountains.
Filled with history and secrets, the whole journey will be an adventure inside every room of the castle and beyond.
The objective of our vampire? Reaching the top of the highest tower for a very simple reason: Admiring the sunrise. (No, he will not turn into ashes)
A Metroid-Vania-Platform
A Metroid-Vania-Platform
The distinct element of this game is the mix between the exploration phases that recall the classic Metroid-Vania games, and the platform phases that will radically switch the pace of the game.
By unlocking new abilities, more areas in the castle will be explorable, will you find all the secrets? Or collect all the hidden statues?
Explore the castle, fight enemies, Unlock new abilities, solve puzzles, level up and collect golden statues!
Beat the platform levels with fine control, split-second timing, and a lot of determination! The reward will be a diamond statue!
The World Design
The World Design
Creating the environment of this game was a blast. As always one of my targets was to create a world that feels lived & deeper than what the player could actually walk in.
The main challenge was about giving space in advance for the upcoming platform levels that were still in development. I applied a cascade approach: I arranged the main blockout, then left space (more like a canvas) for the eventual levels. Everything was so modular that allowed me to even swap a couple of these sections without any extra work.
New Abilities to UnlockÂ
New Abilities to UnlockÂ
There are 4 main movement-related abilities to unlock: Lateral Dash, Bosted Jump, Climbing Glowes, and The Size Shifter (the only optional one). Each one of these abilities will unlock new sections before unreachable. To make all of this work there were multiple challenges blueprint related but nothing some solid patience and problem-solving skills could not fix.
Below are the concept diagrams and then the final results:
Boost Jump
Lateral Dash
Climbing Gloves
Size Shifter
Level Designer Observations:
Level Designer Observations:
Below there is an example of how I've kept in mind the player's affordance during the development:
My usage of Valve & Gates:
My usage of Valve & Gates:
The Story - Before Dawn
The Story - Before Dawn
For the story, I aimed to do something simple. Once created the first storyboard, I blocked out the specific key-story locations (The Cliff & Tower). This poor vampire is tired of living into the darkness. Climbing the top of the highest tower to enjoy the sunrise is something so simple and yet so "human". After all his struggles, he just wants to quietly relax in peace.
After some thought, in this project, I decided to embrace the fact that is a short game. And like every game this one must be complete, especially from the story standpoint. The title of this game is both the objective of the player and the mysterious protagonist.
Game Map Diagrams:
Game Map Diagrams:
The Inspiration
The Inspiration
When starting the project on the blank framework, my experience with Metroid-Vania games was quite low. The first thing I did was start a research about what made the genre special. After further research, it was quite unanimous that "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night" was still one the best exponent of the genre. It was time for some retrogaming!
In the meantime, I was also already playing "Celeste" (Winner of "Best Indie" at the Game Awards 2018). I was having so much fun with this game that made me wonder: "Can I combine it with my project?". The answer of course was: "Everything is possible if you put passion into it".
Visuals - Twilight Time
Visuals - Twilight Time
On the outside areas, the game will be set during a twilight phase, by looking at the horizon in some areas of the level, it will be possible to foresee the sun almost ready to rise.
From the first day of development, the overall look of the landscape was already confirmed. This was quite important because the environment in this game is one of the co-protagonist of the simple story to unfold.
Check the full design documentation here: https://1drv.ms/w/s!AgQcqKFW9Rxor2_Cc1qLSY7_ZCwM?e=bcreeLÂ
Check out other game/level design projects I've made:
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