DARK VOID

DARK VOID is a short roguelite maze game with no combat, that is infused with some horror elements, and features a giant rotating maze.

CONTEXT AND CREDITS

Project completed in 6 weeks for the New Year, New Level Challenge with CG Spectrum College

We were awarded 2 prizes (out of 3): Best Game Design and Best Game Programming

Teams were randomly created and our group name was Team Magenta

Game Designers: Manuel Bissonnette & Inez Gill
Modeler: Tom Alderton
Programmer: Alan Myers

Engine: Unreal Engine 5

Delivered: March 2023

my role in a bit more details

The overall game, level and UI/UX designs were made alongside my incredible partners, Inez Gill and Alan Myers.

Narrative design and world building are derived from Tom Alderton’s immense talent to create rich models.

Game designer

systems design and integration

game balancing

level design (gameplay elements placement)

ui/ux design

basic narrative design and world building

gdd writing and maintenance

visual scripting (blueprints)

testing and debugging

DETailed contribution:

+ In collaboration with the team, define themes, mechanics, features and a global vision
+ Ensure that all elements work together cohesively to fit the intended vision
+ In collaboration with the developer, support the integration of systems and mechanics
+ In collaboration with the artist, ensure the faithful production of concepts based on the designs
+ Develop UI mock-ups and elaborate the overall second to second UX experience
+ Update documentation continuously to guide the team
+ Place gameplay elements in the level and visually script some of their interactions with the player
+ Validate environment playability
+ Track and eliminate critical issues

about the game

We had 6 weeks to develop a level limited to a 20x20x20 environment, using a maximum of 10 low-poly models made solely by our modeler, and integrating a minimum of 3 PC interactions.

core game pillars

Decision making

Forcing decisions upon the player with every mechanics - which pick-ups to use and when, path to choose, enemies to avoid, etc.
Stress Inducing

Visually representing threats (inherent to the systems and mechanics) in a constricting and confusing environment, so the player can see and feel the pressure.
Simplicity of Design

Keeping systems and mechanics’ implementation simple but efficient for the sake of time.

design principles

Answering some of the whys.

why a rotating maze?

Since we were constricted with specific level dimensions, we wanted to use every available surface.

A rotating maze provided the perfect opportunity to have multiple paths in a small area, use all planes (horizontal and vertical), and play with the player’s perception, making navigation interestingly challenging.

why pick-ups?

We wanted to encourage the player to explore these multiple paths before them and not go straight for the exit. Pick-ups are a boon and a curse, as things look so close but are sometimes yet so far because of the wall layout. Therefore, pick-ups can save the player, or lead them to their demise.

So, in the end, it forces them to choose to walk to it or not and this is what compelled us to go for it.

why only one pick-up active at a time?

For the same reason the pick-ups exist - volition and agency reinforced in the second to second gameplay. What do they need, in this exact moment, to overcome the most immediate threat?

This also deeply resonated with our third pillar (simplicity of design) and the time constraints. We decided to turn this to our advantage and integrate this in the mechanics rather than fight against it.

why a “light” as the core mechanic?

To visually represent the remaining life of the player and make it harder, as time goes by, to see where they are going, thus creating panic and stress, impeding their decision process.

why moving enemies?

It is one of our core pillars: all mechanics are to be “seen” and “felt” in order to put pressure on the player as well as force decisions upon them. For example, traps wouldn’t have had the same impact, since they are static elements.

If the player takes longer to complete a level, more enemies will spawn and follow them. Deciding which pick-ups to use then becomes that much more important and prioritizing escape versus enemy collision in certain situations can be a trade off that is worth it.

Full gdd

In order to better work as a team (with members located in different time zones), even though it was a small game, I decided to write a short GDD and I kept it up to date during the project.

You can have a look at it:

HERE!