Echoes of Idra
Project Information
Team size | 5
Engine | Unreal Engine 4
Duration | 5 months
Platform | PC
Summary
Echoes of Idra was my final project for VFS’s game design program, in which me and my four teammates had to create a game from scratch in about five months. The high concept for our game is as follows:
Echoes of Idra is a third person puzzle platformer set in an underground, abandoned city where you must discover the secrets of the lost city and explore the unique environments the city of Idra holds.
Experience
On Echoes of Idra I was a technical game/level designer, encompassing the bulk of feature implementation and sharing the level design workload with one other level designer. I also contributed extensively in design discussions, and helped write multiple game design documents.
For designing our core loop, pillars and general game concept, I helped brainstorm and document extensively. In the end we decided to create a 3D puzzle platformer since our team was composed entirely of artists and game designers. A 3D puzzle platformer allowed for a lower technical budget while giving us lots of agency in creating a large level with plenty of art, which suited our team’s skillset well.
Since I was the one technical designer I was in charge of implementation, so any system or feature in the game would be on me to bring to life. Any new feature that would be discussed was run by me to ensure it was within scope, so I was in constant communication with the entire team for that reason. Throughout development I was also working very closely with my project manager to make sure I had a reasonable workload and prioritized the right tasks.
And I made it clear I wanted to pursue level design on the project from the start, so I was tasked with creating 50% of the level for the game. After the core mechanics were functional in engine I turned my attention to creating a gameplay gym to define clear metrics, then afterwards I made a blockout for the levels. Throughout this process I worked closely with the other level designer on the project, and created a level flow chart with them to establish pacing and flow from the start of the game to the end.
impact
Being the largest project I had worked on at the time, building this game gave me so much knowledge and experience about the game development pipeline. One impactful thing was scope management, as our game was very over scoped in pre-production, causing us to cut an entire area of the level out of the game as well as cut a mechanic that I had already made a functional prototype for. Making these cuts weren’t easy, however we would have had our resources spread way too thin otherwise.
Also this was the project that made me want to pursue technical design as a discipline. Being the sole technical role on this project forced me to learn a ton about implementation which I thoroughly enjoyed. I still am extremely passionate about level design and game design, but the idea of being a technical designer seemed like a very real possibility after this game was complete too!
Design process | Gravity flipping
Here I’m going to go over the design intentions and considerations for when the Echoes team and I were creating the primary gameplay mechanic of our project.
feature intent
The intent for the gravity flip will determine the purpose of the feature in the wholistic game and how the player should be utilizing the mechanic.
We wanted the mechanic to be the focal point of whatever puzzle or platforming section it was present in, since it was going to be the most unique gameplay feature in our game.
Our game was a puzzle-platformer, and this mechanic would be primarily used to inject the puzzle element into the level.
Making sure the player could only flip gravity in locations set out by the level designer was an important design decision we went forward with also, as this played well into our intent to make it a focal point in the level, as well as reduce the edge cases of having the player be able to flip at any point.
User Experience
Flipping gravity in a 3D world is very disorienting and confusing, so we spent a lot of time figuring out how to make the mechanic accessible and reduce as much disorientation as possible.
When flipping we found that keeping the camera follow the exact motion of the player character helped a lot, as the player could focus on the visually stationary character while seeing the rotating environment in their peripheral vision.
Also making sure the player always landed in a safe location with distinct landmarks around them was very important to help them orient themselves while flipped. Player’s often wouldn’t look to where they were going to flip to, and would most of the time blindly walk into the gravity wells to assess the level upside-down afterwards. Making sure they are able to make those assessments with no time pressure or danger was key in creating a less stressful and hectic experience.
Another important decision was to include a blue effect on the player’s feet and have the bar on the back of the player turn blue when flipped upside-down, as well as have distinct audio cues when flipping and while flipped. This makes it clear to the player when they are flipped and when they aren’t, reducing possible confusion and disorientation.
Teaching the player
Having the player understand how flipping works is extremely important, and it’s an easy thing to do wrong with such a confusing gameplay mechanic.
The first time the player discovers a gravity well, the protagonists companion RB60 explains what they are briefly with some dialogue. But even if the player had no audio or missed what was said, the area they find it in is a fully enclosed room that requires use of the gravity well to progress forward.
It’s visual design is bright and emits blue particles, which player’s will be naturally drawn to. And the player just needs to walk on top of it to flip, making the flipping action incredibly simple requiring no input from the player to activate. This provides tutorialization through discovery rather than reading a description or listening to a monologue describing the mechanic. And since the first gravity well is in a contained environment, the player can discover what the mechanic is in a safe space.
