Game & Level Designer

The PIT

Test Overview

Playthrough video

Level elements

• Energy spheres: Ancient technological spheres that give energy to elements, positioned in rails inside the ruin walls.
• Golden door: Entrance to the Relic room.
  
• Central platform: Central structure that serves a platform and can move and rotate.
  
• Control Room: Rooms around the pit that contain a Switch that can move the Central platform.

Golden Door

Growing and Retractible blocks

• Platforms: Pieces in the environment destined to use while platforming that could be used repeatedly.
  
• Blockage: Elements with collision placed to block the expected open path.
• Growing Platforms & Blocks: Blue rectangular elements that respond to the player shots by growing their size. They slowly return to its original size over time.
• Retractible Doors & Blocks: Red rectangular elements that respond to the player shots by reducing their size. They slowly return to its original size over time.

• Switches: Elements that trigger an event that activates an element or changes the level layout distribution (cylinder shape in blockout).
• Destructibles: Elements that can be destroyed by shooting at them (green color).
• Collectible: Pickable by the player hidden in the environment that adds narrative info about the world.
• One-way door: Door that can be opened by one of its sides.

Destructible elements

Combat encounter

• Elevators: Platforms that connect the player through areas: Introduction elevator, Central elevator (shortcut), Final elevator.
• Platform Cube: Physics cube that serves as Normal platform for the player when positioned in place.
  
• Enemies: Alien creatures that populate the area, attacking at melee range.

LEVEL FLOW

General

Level side view

• Several view moments serve as hints of the objectives and as a reminder to the player that is approaching them.
  
• The elements in the level change during the playthrough opening new paths and unlock blocked rooms.
  
• Opening shortcuts let the player return to a floor after falling, evading re-doing an already solved path.

Descending

1. Player starts outdoors, in a path that leads to a corridor structure.
   
2. They fall on top of a corridor ceiling and observe sestructible elements that can be shot to open a hole into the inside of the corridor.
   
3. Inside, a glass wall let the player see the big Golden structure at the upper part of the pit. The two big Golden spheres, which are the main objective to solve the level, are highly visible from here.
   
4. The corridor leads to an elevator, visible during the navigation, with a Retractable piece that serves as a door to an Elevator, that can be activated by a switch.

Reaching the main entrance

1. The player arrives at themain entrance to the pit, but finds a blockage. Here several aliens lay around, so the player must defeat them.
   
2. On the left of the entrance, a growing platform can be seen, which the player can shoot and use to jump onto a path.
   
3. This path, formed by rocks and rubble, leads to an opening inside the pit.
   
4. By falling through it, the players enters the first floor of the central room.
   
5. At this point, the player clearly sees the Golden Door and, maybe, wonder what is inside and how to open it, which is the final interaction in the level.
   

1st Floor

1. Once the player falls, a Combat encounter starts as there are several enemies lying around in this spot. With the combat finished, the player can explore the room to find an Elevator that does not serve for now, but later will serve as a shortcut between the floors.
2. To continue, the player must perform transversal platforming with Growing platforms involved apart from Normal platforms. During this part, the character will go through a tunnel built within the walls that exits facing the Central platform for the first time, to which the player should jump.
   

Central Platform

Elevator connects with upper rooms

1st & 2nd Floor

1. The next platforming path section leads the player to the 2nd floor and the entrance of the first Control room, where a switch can be shot and thus activated. This triggers the Central Platform movement,raising it and splitting it into two pieces, leading to the next reachable door in the central room. This is highly visible for the player as it happens right in front of them.
2. Advancing through the path ahead, the player can open a One-way door that leads to the Central Platform in order to reach the new unlocked entrance door, learning how this new elements work.
   

2nd Floor - Room A

1. This entrance door leads to a new room where a Combat encounter starts.
   
2. After defeating the enemies, the player has several paths to take. One of them leads to a One-way door that gives access to the Elevator from below, opening a shortcut in case of a falling while platforming.
   
3. Another path, slightly less visible, allows the player reach an optional collectible (A) in a vent, which could be seen before from the entrance of the room.
   
4. The remaining path is reachable by light platforming traversal. An opening in the higher part of the wall on the right connects to another room, which is the path to advance.
   

2nd Floor - Room B

1. The player falls to a room with several new type of elements: Growing and Retractable blocks. The exit is on the right, but unreachable for now.
2. It can be reached it by solving a light platforming puzzle using the Growing and Retractable blocks to make the path:
   - First shooting at the red Retractable block to jump on it and use it as a way to gain height when it returns to its original size.
   - Then shooting at the blue Growing block near to use it as a platform.
   - Shooting at the red Retractable block at the center of the room to reduce it and jump on it before blue block retracts.
   - Waiting until it returns to its original size to gain height and shoot at the Growing block near the door to use it as a landing platform and exit the room.
3. A collectible (B) can be found behind the Retractable Block on the left.
   

2nd Floor - Switch B

1. Again in the central room, the player can see a glass broken window right in front of them which their new objective to reach. An entrance door is visible on the right too, in addition to an another Control Room that excels the central room walls. Navigating to the right, the player traverse platforming to reach the entrance door to the room.
2. A blockage on the left does not let continue the path near the broken glass window. On the right, a switch can be activated to make the Central platform move again. A One-way door is available to open too to use the elevator reach this 2nd level of the structure.
   
3. Now the player can perform several jumps to reach the glass broken window corridor, where the Golden landmark seems very near. Continuing through the only path available, the player can reach the 3rd floor.
   

Central Platform moves for a second time unlocking a new path

3rd Floor Room

1. First, they must break the destructible element that blocks the piece inside an air vent from the left of the room.
   
2. Then, shoot at the Growing blocks to make the Platform cube gain height by pushing it to a location where they can jump and exit the room.
   
3. With the path to the exit available, they just have to destroy some destructible elements to enter the next room.
   

3rd Floor - Energy Spheres

1. Once they enter the next room, the player encounters another switch that activates the fall of the Energy spheres through several rails.
   
2. In the path of the Energy spheres there are several Retracted Blocks that prevent the spheres from rolling, so the player must shoot at them to maintain the rails without obstacles.
   
3. Once the Energy spheres reach the bottom of the pit they give energy to the structure, making the platform where the player is descends, working as an elevator to close the gap between the player and the Golden door, now opened when the player reaches it.
   
4. The Central platform moves and rotates its pieces too, to line up with the player view with the Golden door and making a direct linear path to it.
   

Energy spheres fall following rails

Relic Room

The structure leads the player to the Relic