Klemens Reckfort
Level Design - Game Programming - Game Design
Inner Circle (2015)
A Twisted Path To Follow:
"A Curious Little Midget and a Sleeping Giant. Triggered by an Accident, the Events are set in Motion and before you know, You Are Being Hunted. Start a Journey to make your Error Amends. Watch your Surroundings, be Careful, Attentively, Clever and Fast. And in the End you will see that Behind the Greatest Danger, there sometimes is a Good Friend."
About The Game Project:
Game:
Third Person Puzzle Game
Team Size:
Five
Date:
October 2014 - March 2015
Game Engine:
Unreal Engine 4
Achievements:
• Designing Workflows between Tools for Efficient Production
• First full responsible Game Programming Job using the Unreal Engine 4
• Fully understanding and implementing Keyframed Spline Animations and Calculated Spline Animations
• Overview of the Project and deciding Time and Workflow Crititcal Descisions for the Team
• Advising Team Members how to create Efficient Content
This Project demanded a lot from me, but in change I gained a lot of Experience. I proofed myself that I have a very good Overview and Sense of Foreshadowing when working on a Game Project, and that I am able to Convince and Motivate Team Members in a Constructive Way.
My Tasks:
• Responsible for the Game Programming
• Designing the Teams Workflows
• Managing the Process of Content Creation
• Managing the Production of the Game
• Level Design
• Bringing the Boss to Life
Production:
In the following I will show some Insights on how I brought the Boss to Life, the Development of the Project and I will talk about the Level Design.
Bringing The Boss To Life:
In the Game the Players control a Little Midget that is able to Collect Resources to Feed a Big Creature: the Boss. It can Fly around and Trigger Events for us or even Put Parts of the Environment to different Locations.
I decided to let the Boss Fly through Keyframed Animations. The Results were very good and had the Right Impact to the feeling of the Players about the Boss. It seems that it is Powerful and Heavy but Elegant and Agile in Air.
The Unreal Engine 4 only lets you be able to Blend Current Animations into the Beginning of the next Animation, but luckily from Any Frame of the Current Animation. So I had to Arrange the Animation Splines in certain Rules and Positions.
Game Programming & Project Development:
The Task was to create a Game out of just Ten Objects.
At the Beginning we did a lot of Prototyping to figure out, what Kind of Game want to Develop and came up with the Idea to have a Boss as a Dangerous Companion.
The Player can order the Boss to Fly through certain Rings by Throwing something into it, that the Boss will Consume.
I also Created Some Level Design Tools the artists used to work with to Develop an Artstyle of the Gameworld.
After I had Implemented all Logic Behaviours, I took care of the Level Design and Implemented Scripted Scenes to Tell the Story of the Game and the Game Content.
As said before I also had to take care of Design Descisions Regarding the Workflows of the Team so we could work Together in a Fluent and Efficient way without taking too much Pressure on us.
Also a Team Member happend to cut itself out Not Taking Part in the Process anymore, through which we had to Manage that workload too, but I got Everything Solved for us in a way, that we also Learned a lot from it and got Everything Done.
Level Design:
In this Project I also managed to Take Care of the Level Design, my Team Member Developed the Environment around it later on. The Level Design orients to the Story and Gameplay Development.
I used the Start Area of the Map as an Introduction to the Movement Controls, the Boss and the Environment.
This is one of Two Areas in the Level that is not built in a Linear Shape, the Players can Start Getting Familiar with the Controls without doing any Mistakes. And if they find a Way Out they will fall to Death and Respawn.
This is Intended because Breaking Out is Not Harming the Play Emotions we want to Achieve and the Players Felt Rewarded, now willing to Find Out what will happen if, they Follow the Intended Storyline, Breaking the Shiny Marble of the Boss by Mistake.
I Designed the Next Area in a Linear Shape because now the Players have to Focus on Time Critical Movement by having a Good Overview of their Surroundings.
Because from now on the Boss is Dangerous and Crosses the Players Route in Different Intervals.
The Linear Level Design also Provides Enough Room to Introduce the Players to New Gameplay Mechanics and Control Options.
The Area for the Turning Point of the Story is built as a Little Arena to provide a Clear Scenery and to give the Players Enough Time to Try Themselves Out for the Next Control Element.
From now on the Players have to use Collectable Energy to Activate Rings themselves to Show the Boss Where to Fly through.
The Little Arena also Takes Environmental Dangers Away from the Players, so they can take a little Rest before they move to the Next Area which contains Puzzle Elements and Difficult Movement Tasks.
The Puzzle Area provides a quite Linear, but in the same way Twisted paths. Here the Players are able to Choose which Rings they want to Activate so they can Try Themselves out and Control the Boss.
This Part is also Designed Around a Central Mountain, which is used as a Final Climax in the Game and Level Design.
In the End Sequence you Ride the Boss Flying Back to the Beginning Area. Here the whole Level is Reused Again to Present it to the Players from the Point of View of the Boss.
This Final Sequence also functions as a Big Reward for the Players, reimagining the whole Path they have Played Through.
I also Designed the Level for the Camera, best noticeable in the Two Following Sequences, where I Introduce the Next Areas to the Players by Panning Shots that the Players will Produce through Their Movement Ingame themselves.
