Darkest Canopy is a captivating video game that transports you to a mysterious and adventure-filled universe. You play as a South American archer on a quest to free the curse of an Aztec temple. You'll have to explore the depths of the temple and face formidable enemies to progress in your mission.
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ROLE
Game Designer / Level Designer
Team
13
YEARS
2023 (1 month project)
TYPE
Dynamic TPS
PLATEFORM
PC
What was my role in this project?
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In "Darkest Canopy," I was primarily responsible for designing the game's levels and gameplay mechanics.
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Having spent more time on the design of the main level, I will explain the steps involved in its creation. As for the "tutorial" level, I mainly contributed to how it unfolds rather than its layout.
Research
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At this stage, the goal is to determine the location of the main level, which is usually done in collaboration with other designers. We do not start from scratch as we rely on the research and "concept art" creation to begin imagining the potential location of the main level. Due to the project's deadline and our priority to ensure fun gameplay, we quickly settled on the interior of a temple, a simple large square room where our entire level will take place.
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Once the location for the level was chosen, I began to imagine and conceptualize the level on my own.
Stele
Stairs
Energy crystals
Pillar
Enemy spawn
Fountain
Arrive player
Plan/gameplay
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In this step, taking into account the game's lore and the 3C principles, I proposed an initial level design that integrated simple gameplay for the programmers to implement while minimizing the workload for the artists. As a result the player was to engage in a game mechanic where they would destroy crystals to deactivate the stele, which would and them end the level. Each crystal destroyed would trigger a wave of enemies. The player could only destroy a crystal once the wave of enemies would have been defeated. The difficulty increased with each destroyed crystal, adding interest and challenge to the gameplay experience.
progress part
Blocking
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Once the previous steps have been approved by the team, I began the blocking process to create the first version of the level in the game engine. This step allowed me to quickly visualize the dimensions and the space needed to provide the player with a smooth gameplay flow, with dynamic movement in line with the experience we wanted to offer in our game. It also helped me identify a potential issue concerning the points of interest throughout the level, specifically the areas where the player would be encouraged to move.
Interesting area for the player
Stele
Stairs
Fountain
Enemy spawn
Pillar
Energy crystals
Arrive player
V1
Area of no interest for the player
Stele
Stairs
Enemy spawn
Pillar
Energy crystals
Arrive player
V2
Iteration​
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During the iteration phase, the goal was to improve the level by adopting the player's perspective and addressing previously identified issues. One solution to encourage better exploration of the temple was to distribute the crystals across the four corners, thereby expanding the playable area. However, after resolving this and testing the level, I realized that the design still felt too flat. therefore, i thought about Adding verticality to break the monotony wich would open up new gameplay opportunities, taking advantage of the character's mechanics.
Final version
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In this final version, a balcony running around the temple hall was added, with two of the four crystals placed on it. This new feature forces the player to reach the balcony to destroy the crystals, breaking up the flatness of the level. This level design choice also encourages the player to combine gameplay mechanics, such as jumping and dashing, to jump off the balcony and escape enemies, adding depth to the gameplay experience.
Stele
Pillar
Enemy spawn
Stairs
crystals
Floors
1
2
progress part
