Design Goals
Create a moderately challenging multi-step puzzle.
Design puzzle room to be the player’s first real test in the game.
End the tutorial section by testing player’s current grasp of mechanics.
Train players to stop and survey their surroundings to find a solution.
Showcase the first upgrade by displaying its use in action.
Responsibilities
Design and build level from paper map to final shipping quality.
Script all gameplay events in level.
Place all assets within level.
Serve as art director and lighting artist.
Perform general QA and ad hoc play testing.
Detailed Breakdown
This room was designed to be the first real test present in the game, requiring players to think critically using the game’s core mechanics. Being the final level of the tutorial, this is the first multi-step puzzle players have faced up to this point, and a certain level of trial and error is expected and even encouraged in this room. In addition to creating a challenge, I designed this room to prepare players to stop and survey their surroundings to find the solution. This design philosophy is present in many of the levels I designed and redesigned, as it allows players to figure out parts of the solution before even acting, and provides a satisfying gameplay experience when coupled with the sometimes demanding platforming elements present in GW. This approach is only successful since we made it a point to establish and reinforce certain unbreakable rules throughout the game, creating an expectation that certain things will always behave a certain way. This approach to puzzle design was inspired by my love of Inside, one of my main inspirations when devising puzzles for the game.