8/9/2019 Gat310 S09 Final Project Documentation Level5

1/2

Matt Trussell

Gat310 S09 2009 DigiPen (USA) Corporation, all rights reserved.

Level 5

Team:

Ben Frazier: Level geometry and encounters.

Kye Harris: Overall level flow/consistency/vision keeper and team lead/producer.Matt Trussell: NPC creation, combat scripting and balance.

Level concept:

Our vision for level 5 is that of a chaotic-feeling constant warzone. The player will fight

alongside resistance NPCs and attempt to turn the tide, but as the battle goes on they willrealize the fight for the city, and most likely the planet itself, is a lost cause. The player

and accompanying squad of rebels will be able to seek out different scripted events in

order to help the resistance or remaining citizens of the town, but will come to realize thatfighting alone will not save Earth. When the transition plot to level 6 is revealed, the

player will have built empathy for fellow rebels, and will hopefully have even more driveto pursue an alliance with the Vortigaunt, having the fresh memories of the city being

overrun and friends falling in their minds.

Emotional goals:

Combat should be constant, but paced. Players should receive breaks between firefights

to regroup/rearm, take in the frightening site of the city in the throes of combat around

them, and listen to radio chatter of the rebellion, before being pulled into another runningbattle.

Examples of emotional context: Full Metal Jacket (second half of movie), The

Transformers The Movie (City Battle).

The player should develop bonds with the NPCs. Though everyone involved will come to

realize this particular battle is lost, they will also realize that their actions may lead to

hope for the future of humanity. Resistance fighters will lay down their lives in adesperate effort to buy more time for a plan they know little about, simply because it may

give the rest of the world a chance.

Examples of emotional context: The Alamo

Level Flow:

The player begins underground, joined by resistance fighters, including Barney. Thegroup is portrayed as a motley bunch of random survivors, not at all sure how to proceed.

With the leadership of the player and Barney, the group heads in to the chaos of the city

and is exposed to the ending hours of the war.

Initially the squad will be guided through a fairly linear area of the city, shown several

events that make it clear how bad the fight is going, and be forced to simply survive andsearch for a place of safety. After making it through the initial guided area, the player

8/9/2019 Gat310 S09 Final Project Documentation Level5

2/2

Matt Trussell

Gat310 S09 2009 DigiPen (USA) Corporation, all rights reserved.

enters a more open section of city and can choose how they wish to proceed. At thispoint, the plot for reaching the radio tower is revealed, setting the goal for the team, who

must now fight across the rest of the city to reach it. During this time, the player will

encounter whichever scripted events they move towards in the area. Encountering any of

these events will decrement an overall battle counter, and when enough have beentriggered, Elis plan to send a human to another planet to recruit alien allies will be

revealed. At this point, the members of the players squad will vow to buy the player

enough time, no matter the cost, and the player will reluctantly head off to level 6, but notbefore catching a brief glimpse of the G-man and feeling that all may not be right.

Combat encounters will be mostly of the following types:

Run and gun: The players position is hit by overwhelming forces, causing them

to retreat, while trying to take out as many enemies as possible.

Hold the line: The player will be asked to hold several points in the level

temporarily, as the squad rests, rearms, or seeks safety. These points willinevitably be overrun, calling for a fallback, but until then they must be defended.

Seeing the City: The player will be exposed to the grim reality of the situation.

NPCs will be escorted to vehicles by Combine captors, Combine forces will storm

and flush out buildings with resistance, etc. Note that all of these events should befairly subtle, not graphically violent, and no innocents should be shown directly

being killed. Think Hitchcock or Twilight Zone, not Terantino.

Combine Force:

By this point in the war, the Combine is focusing on taking and holding ground, and willhave deployed occupation forces into the city. Therefore, most of what the player

encounters will be soldiers and military style units, with less emphasis on the opening

shock and awe.

Most encounters will consist of soldier type enemies (basic soldiers, super

soldiers, metro police, etc) with varying tactical purposes (ie: weapons).

Building-flushing will involve special technologies, such as Manhacks and Roller

Mines.

Street combat may involve vehicles, such as APCs, but these will be rare. Most

street combat will play out like a WW2 or Vietnam FPS.

Special units, such as striders, gunships, and drop ships, will be seen, but never

directly encountered in combat.