NIGHTLESS LAND
ROLE | SOLO PROJECT DURATION | 3 WEEKS TOOLS USED | Unreal Engine 4, Jank Soul Kit
Nightless Land is an action-adventure level design project set in a fantastical environment where the night is erased by the demon, so the player as a warrior needs to defeat the demon and let people can have a good sleep.
I was the sole developer on this project, and it was built in a 3-week period under the constraint that its gameplay loop be no longer than ten minutes. We are asked to choose a game, analyze and redesign its level. I choose Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as the reference.
THEMATIC AND VISUAL REFERENCE
My first step in designing this level is to collect reference photos and create a mood board that would help me get an idea of the overall visual atmosphere of the level. I collect a lot of The Legend of Zelda's Breath of the Wild picture style as a reference, but I also does not want to exactly copy the color palette of Breath of the Wild. Considering the narrative background that I write for this level is that the night is erased so that time will only stay at sunset, so I chose the red color of the sunset as the overall color palette of the level.
Architecture Mood Board
Block Out
level design
While I build the block out, I also work on the overall level map at the same time, which help me clearly see the looping and level beats. Based on the map, I divide the map into three parts.
The first part [level beat 1 - 2] is the introduction, which allows the player to get the initial equipment and learn the player's goal and the background story of the game world.The second part [level beat 3 - 5] has a simple trial, and further advances the main task.
The third part [level beat 6 - 10] has more difficult battles, but also to get better equipment, and finally the player to defeat the boss.
FINALIZED MAP
AREA ONE - Survivors Church
The area one is a linear map. The players wake up in the church, get their weapons in front of the statue and learn that avatar is a warrior descendant. When the players leave the church, they can see an NPC standing at the edge of a cliff. The cut scene plays and tells the player that the night has been erased by a demon. the NPC also tells the player that if the players want to defeat the demon, they should go to meet the old man who lives with the apple trees. At this point when the player looks down from the cliff, they can see the entrance of Area 2 - Challenger Forest.
AREA two - Challenger Forest
Area two starts to have different branches and looping paths. Players can choose to investigate the moving golden cup on the left side of the entrance or go to the right side to defeat the monster camp. The end of those two options connects together. After player finish the loop, they can see there are two other branches, one where players can investigate the broken bridge to the demon castle, and the other is the house under the apple tree. In order for players not to get lost and remember the places they have explored, I put landmarks at each branch, as well as guide the player to find the apple tree with light effect.
AREA three- demon garden
The previous combat in the area two allow players to gain the melee weapons sword and shield, as well as the range weapons bow and arrow. And players also have access to the explosive barrel mechanism, when players attack the explosive barrel, the explosive barrel will explode and cause damage to everyone around.
Therefore, I design the third area of the monster camp will have more advanced long-range monsters and shield monsters, as well as high platforms and dynamite barrels. So, players need to combine the above combat skills to defeat these more advanced monsters to be eligible to challenge the final boss demon.
FLOW MAP
(CLICK TO SEE THE LARGE IMAGE)