Reality's Edge
Reality's Edge is a 1st person atmospheric platformer game wherein the player must traverse the edges of crumbling realities. My role on the project was to be a game and level designer. I began the project by working with the programming and design team to produce a design document.
We began the project by defining our design pillars which were:
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Atmospheric - focusing on visuals to evoke feelings onto the player
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Linear - Linear level progression across numerous stages
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Shifting Realities - Player is able to switch between 2 level states to progress
We then discussed the potential mechanics of the game, the first of which being a Reality switch (like from Circadia, but this time keeping it in the player's control), where the player will be able to switch the level between 2 states. The other key mechanic of the game would be a grapple: allowing the player to traverse the levels in a very unique manner (eg vertical travel, travel over gaps).
With the mechanics now set, it was time to ideate on some levels. It was clear to me that we needed to produce a tutorial level to teach the player these 2 mechanics, and how they can be entwined, then place the player in a setting where they would have to solve a puzzle with these 2 mechanics. The level pacing is as follows:
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Reality Shift segment
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Grapple Segment
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Reality and grapple segment
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Wall run segment
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Wall Run Shift segment
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Reality Grapple wall run Puzzle
With the level defined, I then moved into Unreal and began to build the level, adding a few extra platforms where I thought it would benefit and other tweaks like elevation.
With the first level completed, I moved onto producing another level. I wanted the level to have the player walking through the woods, but as they progressed, the trees would become dead, and the path would become crooked as they reached an ancient site left in ruins.
