Hopeguard is a third-person dark fantasy game about loss and acceptance. You have been chosen to eliminate the Dragon Queen, but the confrontation will not go as expected... Journey through caves, ruins, and forests to solve environmental puzzles and fulfill your quest - but with a new perspective.
This game was made in the span of ~ 6 months, on Unreal Engine 5, with a phenomenal team of more than 20 people for our final BAC project at UQAT! My role was mainly Level Designer, but I also worked on the narrative design, game design and level art.
LEVEL STRUCTURE (V1)
We first started to design the levels by working closely with the narrative design team, which I was a part of, and the art team. We wanted the story and the emotions of the character throughout the game to reflect really well in the visuals, but also in the gameplay phases and levels of the player's journey. Each level of the game is inspired by the character's journey and emotions, so it is deeply related to the narrative.
A visual representation of the emotions the character goes through in the story, and how they are shown visually in the levels.
I made a chart to show what we wanted the player to feel throughout the game levels, the story having some low and high moments. I did a lot of research on the narrative curve to create a more engaging experience.
I made this first plan of the different sections in the level to showcase how it would glbally look like and how we would divide and organise it.
We also started making the Game Design Document before working in engine:
LEVEL DESIGN ''PREUVE TECHNIQUE'' (FIRST PROTOTYPE)
Designed in collaboration with William Despatie-Bonneville (https://williamdbonneville.wixsite.com/portfolio) and Camille Boivin (https://camilleboivin.artstation.com/)
FLOWCHART
L0 (FIRST PLAN)
As we were three level designers on the project at this point, we first throught of the level structure as a whole, and then divided the different sections amongst us. Since I love narrative driven level design, I was in charge of the tutorial, the narrative moment of the river, and the narrative moment of the museum (ending).
Here, we had to show the technical side of the project and our vision with a relatively short level so that the teachers could see what it would look like further down the line.
TUTORIAL
I wanted to start the level with a small tutorial since this prototype was focused on the more puzzle / gameplay moments. I created different "rooms" to gradually allow the player to learn our gameplay elements, using the following logic: first, introduce a new element. Second, introduce another new element. Third, put them together! There are some variations for the very simple mechanics, like in the begining, but mostly I have found it's the best way to teach the players how the game works in a very natural way.
NARRATIVE MOMENT: RIVER
Here, the goal was to show the narrative side of the game. The player hops on a boat and has some inner dialogues about the journey he's on (technically, this is closer to the ending of the game but we had to show it in the prototype). It's a slow moment which is ment to change the pace in the level and show the player the character's tourments and his emotional journey.
At the end of the river, the path is divided by three. One is blocked, so the player cannot access it, but instead has to choose in between the two remaining ones. I wanted to symbolically show the choices of the character in the narrative, the blocked path representing him making peace with his situation (he isn't ready, so the player cannot access it). The two other paths are denial and bargaining, since the character is kind of dealing with those two at that moment. The "denial" path is calm, with no obstacles, but it drops heavily. The "bargaining" path is filled with rocks and obstacles, but the player can still get through it.
When the player reaches land, he enters a "mini puzzle" before the bigger ones to refresh the mechanics he just learned, mixing the previous things showed in the tutorial.
NARRATIVE MOMENT: MUSEUM
For this narrative moment, the character is faced with the terrible thing his kind, the Hopeguards, did to this world. He really starts to realize he is not who he thought he was with the help of the Basilisk, a lonely creature who decided to use his powers (turning living things to stone) for art. That way, he does no harm but instead expresses himself in another way. The character sees his statues through the museum and then talks to the creature with a more open mind. The Basilisk shows him there is another way to life than violence.
LEVEL DESIGN SECOND PROTOTYPE / PREUVE DE CONCEPT
GOUFFRE/MINE (V1)
Designed in collaboration with William Despatie-Bonneville (https://williamdbonneville.wixsite.com/portfolio)
This level was ment to represent the choc and darkness the character feels after the loss of his arm. He is injured, alone and without his sword which previously defined him (as will be shown further down). So the environment is very dark, cold, and shows the darkness and despair of the character as he tries to naviguate the world with his new state.
Step 3: FLOWCHART
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LÉGENDE
Step 4: PLAN
PROTOTYPE INGAME FOOTAGE
Scripted event: cave shaking and rocks falling, to show the emotional torment of the character and to create unique moments where the player feels as helpless as the character.
View in the mine; moving from a confined and narrow space to a larger and more impressive room to create an even more powerful 'wow' effect.
The lever is under some light to be visible by the player, and the camera angle changes to indicate a gameplay moment. The elevator is also highlighted by the light of the crystals on the ceiling, since it's an important gameplay element.
Guiding the player with light, showing them what appears to be the path to follow, so they can be suprised by the scripted event which causes them to fall deeper into the mine, bringing a change of pace in the level.
ALPHA - BETA - GOLD; LEVEL DESIGN
LEVEL DESIGN RESEARCH FOR THE PUZZLES
Before getting back into the level design for our alpha product, we decided to do some research to analyse some gameplay elements from other games. It's something I often do to have a better idea of how to make the experience better and to get some good ideas while looking at game patterns and formulas that have worked well for other games.
I concentrated my research to help better our main puzzle mechanic: the lazer/reflection. That"as why I studied a couple of puzzle games who use similar or identical mechanics.
FORGE (V2)
Designed based on the previous layout of William Despatie-Bonneville (https://williamdbonneville.wixsite.com/portfolio)
And with the precious help of Ariane Laferrière-Martineau (https://arianelaferriere.ca/)
We restructured the level by starting the alpha of the game because the scope was too ambitious for the time we had. Therefore, we focused on the most crucial moments of the gameplay and story, simplified everything, and created a new level structure so that the game lasts an average of 30-40 minutes.
We then had to go through all the zones we designed for the prototype and rework them to fit the new structure better, and also to apply some feedback we got after our playtests. We iterated on the existing designs of the following zones: The forge (begining and ending), the mine, the village (including the church and cementary), the heart of the forest and the storm.
I was in charge of working on the Forge (iI had to edit and rework the first layout by William), which includes the tutorial. I also had to think about a route for the player to pass through at the end, since the character goes back to the forge for the storm and the ending cinematic.
LEVEL INTENTIONS AND FLOWCHART (FORGE V2)
What needed to be shown to the player in this level is the strenght of the character, how every action he does is easy with his sword. He can cut throught obstacles, climb rocks super fast, cut throught grass so he isn't slowed down... The player needs to feel his strenght so that the choc, later on when the character is attacked by the dragon and looses his arm and sword, can really be felt. The ascension of the forge is basically the character running to get to the top, not letting any obstacles get in his way. I also wrote some inner dialogues which show he isn't scared and he is super determined to kill the beast, which he sees as his duty.
LEVEL INTENTIONS
LEARNING CURVE CHART V2
FLOWCHART OF THE FORGE V2
PLANS and DRAFTS (L0)
IN-GAME FOOTAGE
(IN PROGRESS)