Nathan Bowden
Level Designer
This area addresses the design goal of teaching the player by providing a minor ramp up in difficulty.
-
It contains a group of Combine enemies and the first health pickup.
-
When the player approaches, they see three enemies, but the pile of crates separates them into two groups.
-
The first enemy opens fire on the player, but because the second two do not have line of sight, they do not attack. This way, the player chooses how challenging the encounter is.
-
When the player shoots the first, the ball also breaks the crates, and allows the second set of enemies to engage the player.
-
When the player dispatches this pair, the energy ball disintegrates them with a shower of particles, as pictured above.
To address the design goal of creating Breakout style gameplay, this area makes extensive use of angled surfaces.
-
Players ricochet the energy ball off various catwalks that send the ball in unique directions. Several of these fire escapes send the ball on a course that causes them to bounce to multiple platforms.
-
The player must ricochet the ball off the platform to the left in order to dispatch the enemy attacking from the higher catwalk.
This screenshot highlights the Mega Man jump-and-shoot style gameplay.
-
The area promotes the combination of jumping and firing at different heights, requiring more precision from the player
-
The player sees the higher enemy first, and engages by jumping and firing a projectile.
Level Layout
The start of the level gives the player a chance to familiarize themselves with the new gameplay mechanics. When the player fires their weapon at the first enemy, the energy ball ricochets into an exploding barrel. This helps teach the player about bouncing the ball as well as interacting with the environment.
The second area increases the difficulty by presenting the player with multiple enemies. It also provides the first health pickup.
Area 3 gives the player two opportunities to utilize the bouncing ball mechanic. Firing at the slanted balcony allows the player to hit the two enemies beneath it. Following this, the player has the option to use the exploding barrel to dispatch the third enemy. Both of these options encourage the player to interact with the environment instead of attacking enemies in the typical manner.
After dispatching the first two enemies in this area, the player must navigate vertically through a section of damaged catwalks. Finally, the player ricochets the energy ball upward to dispatch the last enemy.
The final area provides straightforward gameplay and a cooldown area for the player.
-
Concept and documentation for creation of alternate game mode
-
Created level layout including player path, progression, and implementation in engine
-
Implemented 2D platformer playstyle, bouncing ball mechanic, and animation state system using scripting
-
Placed clutter meshes and decals to achieve aesthetics goals
Download
Game: Half Life 2: Episode Two
Engine: Source SDK
Genre: 2D Action Platformer
Development Time: 7 Weeks
Game Type: Single Player Mission