As with the AI Threats in Exploration, the use and design of encounters in Directive 8020 were a first for SMG. We set out a pipeline for developing encounters across the game in accordance with varying parameters, e.g.: Story point, environment, AI entity, player tools and mechanics, and lessons. Alongside this, it was critical to go back and forth with the design director on the project to create the required gameplay loop to bring the best out of encounters, before assembling the team to work on them.
Messhall Encounter
Using the final game encounter as an example.
This encounter acts as accumulation of all the player’s previous teachings. It also applies changes to how tools are used to keep the player engaged, whilst still focusing on creating the tension and dread required of the location and story point.
Each encounter was built up from base combat stories, creating an understanding of the pacing, tension, and themes of the encounter. These were constructed in three segments:
Before encounter:
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Are the enemies aware? How are they introduced?
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Does the player choose to enter? Or cinematic trigger?
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Is the player aware of the layout and/or enemy beforehand?
During encounter:
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Short or long?
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Any scripted events/beats.
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Routes or strategies.
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How is tension & horror being constructed?
After encounter:
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How will the player know it’s over?
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What exit states exist?
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Multiple outcomes?
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Narrative implications.
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Encounter Progression Tracker
With an understanding of encounters gamewide, we could track and plan progression of difficulty and mechanics accordingly. Keeping this information up to date supported a quick iterative process for the team and allowed us to address content issues with context in mind.
Messhall - Early 2D Map
2D maps were created to block out the metrics and scale of each encounter, alongside, cover assets, critical paths through the space, enemy pathing, interactions, and duration. These aided 3D whiteboxes to get developed efficiently and iterated quickly with a strong understanding of the play space.
Each encounter was constructed with an understanding of what tools/features we want to highlight, introduce, or teach to the player. We tracked the progression of feature use throughout the game to make sure each member of the design team was working on theirs in context with each other; ensure a steady progression in mechanics and difficulty.
Cover, footholds, encounter styles, and line of sight were adjusted per encounter during the whitebox stages and in communication with the level design team to ensure a healthy progression and varying between encounters without breaking metrics.