Tuesday, 3 June 2014

Game level audio

Discussion
Level sound is very important because it is what will set the mood for the player. Having little amounts of sound can also help with the mood depending on the level and how you want the message of the level to get across to the player. Many levels use a combination of background music, a few ambient noises and noises that happen when the player does something (move, attack and equipping stuff). in most games without sound it can be half the fun of the game gone, because sounds will put you in your characters shoes and allow you to experience things from their perspective.

Asset list

  • Wind
  • Birds
  • foot steps
  • eerie backing music when close to fortress
  • (due to the fortresses size and the 3D sound with it the rest of the scene will have no (music) because when you move close to the fortress there will be)

3D assets

I made the fortress large and symmetrical to give it an overwhelming look to scare off travelers who got close by.

The Mountains were made with the terrain editor to make them in the shape of a giant rock wall to surround the valley that the fortress is in.
 The trees were made using the tree creator package in unity, the trees are here to show that it can still look nice in such a desolate location whether they are illusions or not.

Game level asset list

High

  • Trees
  • Fortress
  • Mountains/Hills
  • Lighting
  • Player controller
Low
  • Skybox
  • Rocks
  • Grass textures
  • Sounds
  • Animals

Environment draft

The fortress will be secluded and in a large valley surrounded by mountains high above sea level. The valley is just like a valley at sea level would be with trees and grass but the question is. "Is this just all an illusion"? Either way there will be trees surrounding the fortress and  it will look as if the mountains surrounding it are like a giant rock wall.

Game level characters

World Leader
Not much is known about the world leader. He is a male of 50+ years and has 0 tolerance for magic of any form. He has completely outlawed it, even card tricks will earn you a fine. He is strong willed and will not change his mind once he has made a decision. He hates being wrong and told what to do. He commends an elite army of soldiers specifically trained for dealing with dark magic users called the Raiders. He designed the armies suits to be magic resistant because he stumbled upon an odd material that the dark mages sought after greatly. He discovered it's true purpose and 10% of every armor suit has this material sewn through it. Though it does not provide complete protection it is enough to prevent any form of mind control or subconscious effects.

Dawn
Dawn is the leader of the Raiders and has been commissioned personally to take down the last fortress and bring back the High Mage alive. Dawn became leader of the raiders due to his natural resistance to magic, with thew only types of magic effecting him being physical attacks or illusions. It is not known what gave him this resistance to magic, but unknown to anyone else he want's to find the answer inside the last fortress. His quest for the last decade has been to find out what happened to is parents and find out if it was in any way linked to his natural resistance. He strongly believes the answer lies within the fortress or the high mage will know more. In reality he does not fight for either side, he chose the raiders for a greater chance at survival and finding out the truth.

High Mage
The High Mage's appearance is deceiving, Visually she looks like a stereotypical wise old man but in reality she is actually just a young girl who is very skilled at illusion magic. No one is 100% sure of her identity, Dawn and the World Leader are sure she is an old man who is leading the fortress but they couldn't be further from the reality. She is the most skilled illusionist in the world, she has above average abilities in every other magic style but they way she can control someone through the way she uses illusions has earned her the High Mage position because no other mage had as much control and precision as she does. She is very intelligent and has out smarted the likes of the world leader on several occasions, and these smarts are keeping her alive today.

Game level idea

Set in the present day, Earth is still the same planet except for the fact that dark magics have made their way into existence and the users of the dark magic have made large protected fortresses in the mountains to practice their arts. They did this in order to not cause conflict with other people, they see it as a hobby rather then a crime, but the world leader thinks otherwise and order all users of dark magic to be executed. For this reason they have made these protected fortresses far away from sight except over time every fortress was found and taken over, except one. This fortress is higher and farther away then any other before it. It is not the largest but it is said that the most powerful mages call this fortress home.

The level will be set either inside the fortress or on the mountains leading up to it.

Good level design

A good level design is simply a level that a player will find enjoyable. As long as the player of the level is having a good time completing objectives or exploring the level then it is safe to say that it is a good level. A good level will in most cases be based off a successful level of the past from a previous game. I find that in general people have been wanting new and original levels in games and then when they get them they are disappointing or liked what they did in the previous game more, I'm not saying that anything new is bad it's just that in most cases it does not work as well as it could in keeping an audience entertained as a previous successful level. The main key to a good level is something that will keep the player playing the game, that is why previously successful levels with their core greats about them can be re used and altered slightly to give the player the same exciting and fun experience again yet still experiencing this games own mechanics and design.