Vincent Gagnon
Game Designer

Level's overview and flow

Level Design (Mission)

Following Japan's victory in World War II, San Francisco became Neo Francisco due to a radical cultural and political change. Now it is 1980 and the citizens are starting a rebellion after being oppressed all those years. It is time for change.

Design Objectives:

• Conceptualize a level (mission) based on the book United States of Japan by Peter Tieryas
• Incorporate the mission (narrative) from the map template of the Soul City asset pack of Unreal Engine 4 as a level art basics and restriction.
• Demonstrate Japan's cultural and architectural clash over the actual city of San Francisco and this new version.
• Create a hostile climate in an small and tight environment
• Make a pacing change through the same mission. From Stealth gameplay to a very fast gameplay to simulate a stressful situation during the chase sequence and then finally back to a calmer gameplay focusing on the narrative aspect.

Mission Objectives:

• Key moment for the character (change of perspective regarding her role as a police officer.
• Meets with a high-ranking militia official to better understand their motives and potentially help them.

• Credits to UE4 Soul City asset packages
  

• Beginning of the mission: Dialogue through a telephone system with the militia's spokeperson (in connection with the story).
• Show the player the updated version of San Francisco by offering a vista of the Golden Gate Bridge on his path.
• Determine a game experience atmosphere (Stealth) with the presence of the first enemy to be bypassed.

• The player's attention is drawn by a glimmer of light that suggests an important place (where to hide).
• First moving enemy
• The player is warned by the projected shadow of a guard and will therefore have to react accordingly.
• Presence of a hidden secondary path which rewards the more explorative players since this path skips the pursuit sequence.

• Pursuit sequence through a multitude of sinuous and narrow stairs
• Debris is blocking the path and the player must therefore perform a quick-time event in order to mantle and thus evade the guard.
• A vista of the Transamerica Pyramid Tower, during the pursuit sequence, proves to the player that he is in updated version of the city of San Francisco, Neo Francisco.
• A 2nd vista, on a non-mandatory complementary object that shines through a window. The place is guarded and therefore the player has the choice to take his chance on getting that intriguing object or simply to complete the mission.