Green Northern Residences
Gameplay Trailer
High Concept
Fight evil forces in the world of Voodoo as you navigate past a dangerous Crypt and stop the Gargantuan Warden.
Design Summary
"Green Northern Residences" is a single-player map I solely designed for the Voodudes capstone game. The player controls Virgil, a Voodoo doll with a good heart looking to restore balance to the realms of the living and the dead. The level is available for play after completing the Market District level. Shopping markets and high end suburbs align the streets as Virgil fights past evil voodoo forces. Along the way he navigates a treacherous Crypt with platforming gameplay. After exiting the Crypt and fighting his way past the Courthouse, Virgil must defeat the evil Gargantuan Warden to secure "Green Northern Residences".
Map Overview
Design Goal: Introduce Platforming
The designers working on their individual levels for Voodudes were all encouraged to make their levels unique and their own. The idea of a Crypt seemed exciting for numerous reasons:
- It provides an opportunity to introduce platforming to the game
- The possibility of a new visual theme
- A great area to introduce the boss of the level (Gargantuan Warden)
After three redesigns, the Crypt provides a unique blend of traditional Voodudes combat with platforming gameplay
Crypt Overview
Design Goal: Script a Challenging Boss fight
For "Green Northern Residences" the boss is a Gargantuan Warden. Each designer was responsible for scripting the boss fight in their respective levels and making it as enjoyable as possible. The Gargantuan Warden possesses three attacks in its arsenal:
- Standard melee
- Ranged projectile
- Melee that summons minions
The "Voodudes" programming team provided the designers with the abilities of the bosses, as well as a health state kismet node to assist in scripting the encounter. After being provided with these tools, I scripted a loop in kismet giving the boss three stages of attacks that were dependent on its health state. As the boss came closer to death, each new health state allowed increasingly volatile summon attacks that brought more dangerous minions to aid the boss.
Design Goal: Avoid Visual Monotony
Most assets provided for Voodudes comprised of street and building pieces to bring the city of New Orleans to life with a cartoon, stylized aesthetic. Although this provided a great look for the majority of the game, I grew weary of visual redundancy. The Crypt provided relief from this problem to a degree. But I also wanted a forest area that took advantage of some beautiful assets and textures that were not getting enough use. In my final revision of the Crypt I designed it to exit into a forest area on the outskirts of town, providing "Green Northern Residences" with three unique visual themes.