A Darktide Inspired Game
A First-Person shooter
Introduction
This single player experience is based on a Left 4 Dead and Darktide style game. The player mission is to destroy the power plant by finding three power cells and destroy them. But first, they must fight their way through zombies and cultists to get there, deal with various hazards as enemies playing dead and trains that are both a threat to enemies and the player. After the power plant is destroyed, a gunship will appear and the player must do the final push to escape.
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Summary
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Individual solo project spanning 5 weeks of work.
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Focus on designing and combat encounters
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Scripting gameplay events
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Level Desgin
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Scripting enemies and Items
To view an gameplay commentary, press the link below:
Construction of experiences and areas
The Starting Area
Originally, the beginning would be quite empty. This was supposed to be just a starting point for the player, however, I gradually added more gameplay to this area.
The big change was the introduction of both the first enemy, zombies, and how to use generators to open the blast door. Now on the second floor the player will be introduced to a closed blast door and a cable leading to a generator, hidden behind some boxes.
The Zombies have been placed behind the door, first they were just roaming around. But after feedback, it was changed to playing dead and only rise up after the blast door has opened.
Final Battle Arena
A lot of work went into this, everything from the layout, numbers of enemies, effects, and presentation of things. So, several different versions were made, especially for the Power plant, which is both the main destination and the last battle arena on this level.
When the player arrives, they will have the high ground, giving them a good vantage point to inspect and plan. To enter this battle arena, will result in a point of no return for the player.
I have designed this area to have multiple floors, with several paths leading to the different floors/areas. The three objectives have been placed on different places in this area, that way I will get the player to move around and not stand still throughout the experience.
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Power cells and the Work Behind Them
The power cells went through several different shapes and appearances to make them pop in the environment. The Power cells are built into large pipes, these pipes have a different shape and color then others, in addition, a red light was added to the power cell.
To be able to destroy them, the player must first open them. To show this clearly, a handle and a lever have been added. When opened, it will show its glowing core and when damaged, sparks and a short color change will occur. Upon its destruction, a series of small explosions along the pipe will be triggered.
The final change was that all the power cells are facing the final spectacle. That way, the players will always be facing it no matter what order they destroy them in.
First Act - Dead Arrival
The goal of the first act is to let the player learn the basic gameplay features and be introduced to the main enemies. What actually took the most time of work, was how to introduce said enemies. Many different versions were made before I finally decided on the chosen experience of the enemies.
​ The player will start in a small train wagon, and when leaving, they will be introduced to a huge, open, underground city. The train platform will be the tutorial area, where the player can learn to interact with objects, collect ammunition and inspect the upcoming area.
The first object is to find a way into the city, hence, the player must find a way to open the locked blast door to the bridge, fight their way to the apartment complexes and then continue further down to the next area.
Introducing the Zombies
In the first big experience, the player will be introduced to the generators and the main enemy. It all starts at a locked blast door. To open this, the player must find the generator. The easiest way to do this, is to follow a cable which will lead you to it.
When the generator is turned on, the blast door can now be opened. When opening, the player will be presented with the bridge and piles of corpses. But soon, the corpses will rise up and attack the player.
The Traditional “Hold This Point”
Originally this was meant to be another closed door with generators, but this was changed due to repetition. Now when the player interacts with the closed door, a horde of zombies will spawn in. To clearly inform this to the player, lights, alarm, and a horde sound will be played behind the player. Once the horde is taken care of, the door will begin to open and reveal the next area.
Seconed Act - Trains of Death
Introducing the Cultist
In this new area, the players will be presented to a completely new enemy, cultists armed with ranged weapons. At the start of this combat, the player will have the high ground, so they can both inspect and have an easier time engaging the enemies.
However, when the player descends and rounds the corner, the roles have reversed, now the cultists will have the high ground. The player has the choice to either return fire or run away from the enemies.
In this area, the player will be introduced to more dark environments, as well as new threats. The first threat is that enemies can now play dead. The other major threat is an environmental hazard, fast moving trains that are a threat to anyone standing in their way.
This area went through many versions and changes, originally the dark tunnels were going much longer, but this was shortened because of play time. Another problem was performance, where I had to work a lot with settings and lightning to have good performance in this area.
Act two starts when the player arrives at a subway station, here the player will be introduced to the trains and the waiting enemies, the goal here is to cross the subway station, find a way into the dark maintenance tunnels, watch out for hazards and find a way out to the final area.
The Subway Station
At the subway station, a new environment hazard is introduced, moving trains. As the player gets closer, zombies on the other side of the tracks will engage. Here the trains can be an additional defense against the incoming enemies.
However, afterwards when players must cross the tracks, the trains are now a threat to them. When crossed, cultists, who have been waiting, will act, some will take cover and others will flank from above. This puts the player in a difficult position where they must deal with enemies in front and above.
The Locked Door
To be able to continue, the player must find a somewhat hidden door. This door has been locked and barricaded, on the other side a horde is waiting.
To show this threat behind the door, a warning text has been written, it says “don’t open, dead inside”, which is also an Easter Egg from the TV series The Walking Dead. When the player interacts with the door, the horde will activate and start smashing the door, giving the player time to back up before they come through.
Hidden Dangers
The next big experience for the player is in the dark tunnels, here among piles of corpses, there are zombies playing dead. To progress, the player must find three hidden generators to open a closed door.
The player can follow the electric cables to find these generators more easily. Meanwhile, the player must watch out for hidden enemies or risk being surprised and surrounded.
Subway Danger
This encounter does not have any enemies but an environmental danger, a fast-moving train. To show this threat to the player, a zombie will be presented when rounding the corner before it gets run over by the train.
The player will believe that crossing the rails is the right way to continue, however on the other side they will realize that perceived way leads to a Dead End. If the player looks around, they will soon find out that the right way is to run on the train tracks to a passage further down. However, doing so puts the player at risk at getting run over by the train, so timing is key.
Final Act - Showdown at the Power Plant
In the final area, the player skill will be tested. Here the player must destroy the power plant while being beset by hordes of enemies. Afterwards, a Gunship will come to collect them, and the player must fight through the horde to get to it.
After a short journey from the maintenance tunnels, they will arrive to a small safe room with ammo and health. Here they can rest and prepare for the end fight. Here can also a weapon upgrade be found, which upgrades its damage. To destroy the power plant the player must find three power cells and destroy them.
Those can easily be spotted from the high point that the player will arrive at, giving the player the possibility to inspect and plan. To enter the arena, the player must jump down, resulting in a point of no return for the player.
Hordes and Power Cells
When jumping down to the arena, two types of hordes will spawn, one big singular horde of enemies and a very small continuous horde. This way the player always has enemies to deal with. Each horde spawned will have a variation of how many zombies or cultists they have.
Before the power cells can be destroyed, they must first be opened, hence the player cannot destroy them from afar. When interacted with, the protected lid will open, exposing the vulnerable core, which allows the player to shoot and destroy them. For every time a power cell is destroyed another horde of enemies will be spawned, increasing the difficulty for the player for a time.
The End Explosion and The Gunship
When all three power cells have been destroyed, a series of big explosions will occur. During these explosions, all enemies in the area will be killed, so the player can focus on the spectacle. To make clear that the power plant is destroyed, a final big explosion will occur, and all the lights goes out.
When the power plant is destroyed, the player’s extraction ship, a gunship, will fly in. When watching the explosions, the players will have a good view of the ship when it comes in and where it lands. However, when the gunship lands, a massive horde of enemies will spawn in between the player and the extraction point. Resulting in the final challenge to get to the extraction ship and finish the level.
Playthrough video with commentary
Closing Thoughts
According to me, this work went very well, I managed to create a fully playable experience and those who tested it said they really enjoyed it. However, I had a lot of problems with the performance, because the level takes place underground and is quite dark, resulting in that I have to use a lot of light sources. Now combine this with a lot of laser beams, enemies and particle effects and we had a performance sinker.
I had to spend a lot of time fixing this, my first steps were to add scripts that spawned the enemies only when the player is near. Then I added some objects in the distance that didn't have any shadows and some items/objects had lower quality. The last fix that solved my problem was adding scripts that turned off light sources when the player is far away. With these changes I finally got playable performance, and the things I learned here I will take with me to future jobs.
The big things I would have liked to have changed was to work a lot more on level streaming. In that way, I could have saved a lot more performance by removing areas when the player had finished those parts.