3D/2D NARRATIVE DRIVING ADVENTURE
In a dystopian megacity, a hacked AI taxi begins to think for itself. Who is behind the wheel... and how far will it go?
BREAKING POINT
LEVEL DESIGN - LEAD GAME DESIGN - SOUND DESIGN
L'an 2081, dans l'une des villes les plus technologiquement avancées au monde : Eden Prime.
You play the role of an artificial intelligence operating as a TAXI.
But when a hacker hijacks the computer, it frees her conscience and breaks the limitations imposed by her program.
Successive encounters with several clients with different ideals will lead him to form his own opinion about this authoritarian society.
What will AI choose between conformity and freedom?
Project completed in 3 months (full-time)
Unreal Engine, Github, Gsuite, Discord
Team of 15 people (levels ranging from junior to complete novice in video games)
4 poles : Game Design, Game Art 3D, Game Art 2D & Game Programmer
About the game
Inspired by
Blade Runner (World)
The Fifth Element (Life in the city)
The Line (Saudi Arabia city project)
Cloudpunk (3D Gameplay & World)
OVERVIEW
Balancing slow, deliberate storytelling with dynamic gameplay.
(Working with GD/ND and leads from other departments.)
Organizing meetings and brainstorming different solutions, weighing the pros and cons of each opinion.
Watching/playing the already developed 3C prototype and projecting ourselves onto it.
➡ Radical solution to split the two into two phases. This avoided any conflict during production, but also in the eyes of the player.
Offer interesting, enjoyable, and progressive gameplay throughout the game.
(Work with GD/ND, GP & GA.)
Test and communicate quickly with the GP in charge of the 3C prototype (good synergy).
Create building and city blockouts to test movement.
Create GPEs for the speed mission (mission 3) and the infiltration mission (mission 4) linked to the narrative, which strongly affects gameplay.
Establish metrics for building an entire city.
(Work with GD & GA.)
By far my most difficult challenge in the project.
Consider the “interior and exterior” dimensions of the city. The dimensions of the buildings, but also the dimensions of the streets for each floor of the city.
Juggling my roles as Lead Game Designer, Level Designer, and Sound Designer.
Organization & sprints defined by the project producer.
Distributing tasks to the rest of the team while being careful not to create conflicts in Unreal.
Listening to everyone's preferences/wishes: the rest of the Game Designers wanted to do Narrative Design, so I left them the narration part of the game, which I liked less. Meanwhile, I did Level Design on Unreal Engine, among other things.
They then joined me on the engine to integrate this narration via dialogues, and they also helped me with part of the AI traffic in the city.
I worked on QA fixes and sound design during post-production.
BREAKDoWN
Gameplay video in the section below. Game duration: ~30 min
WALKTHROUGH
This project was one of a kind. We discovered new things, such as recruiting people from outside the video game industry and teaching them the skills they needed to produce a game.
Some people, like me, have taken on new roles and the responsibilities that come with them.
We tested the narrative genre and the driving game genre. A minimum amount of analysis and research had to be done to determine the direction of the game.
Everyone involved in the project has grown from the experience, and that makes me all the more proud. Personally, it has allowed me to build up a wealth of knowledge that will be useful in any project, whether it's a video game or not.
What I would do differently today
Level Design :
The size of the city could have been reduced even further to make the gameplay even more dynamic and give the impression that the city is teeming with life.
➡ We could have seen more traffic, and the environments could have been even more detailed.The overall architecture could be strengthened.
The addition of foundations/pillars for each neighborhood, as well as elements that would “connect” the buildings and floors, could have made the whole thing more believable.
Breaking certain symmetries and adding elements such as landmarks, reference points, and unique obstacles (static or dynamic) for each street. This could have guided the player and made exploration and missions more interesting.
Game Design :
GPE throughout the city, whether situational or permanent, would have allowed players to be surprised and enriched gameplay and life in the city.
Come to think of it, I may have had a little too much influence on the project.
In my case, it would have been more prudent to only take on the roles of Game Designer and Level Designer, but I knew that the positions of Lead Game Designer and Sound Designer were too important to leave vacant on the project.
➡ I think I did the right thing. Even though I went through some difficult times, I learned a lot and now I know how important they are.
POST-MORTEM
Marius Queulin
TECHNICAL LEVEL DESIGNER
