Misadventures of Spiky
Platform: Pc
Engine: Unreal Engine 4
Production time: 4 Weeks.
A 2.5D puzzle-adventure game with focus on environmental storytelling. The main objective in this project was environmental Storytelling and destruction. While you play the game you encounter interactions which has their own story beats or entwines with other events further into the game.
Level Designer
In the Level Design, I was mostly responsible for the Forest and Road levels while also setting up att the sequences in the game where I worked closely with the animator for planning and execution. The other sequences were played in the Camp and House Level.
As the character could die and some events had to be reset I also made the saving points through the game.
UI
As a UI designer I made the menu of the game and worked together with our 2D artist for the animations that would explain the controls as we avoided to use text as much as possible.
Forest
The player has been introduced to the items it can interact with in a more safe environment, but has so far not faced the natural enemies of a hedgehog. We wanted to introduce an enemy that is easy to recognize in the scenario given which is why Spiky now encounters a fox.
It’s divided in two areas so that the player has a safe spot in between them and an introduction to the fox and its reactions to the player.
-
The fox reacts to vision and sound that would indicate Spikys presence and location. If she hears Spiky, she will go to the location. If she sees him, she will attack him.
-
The leaves covers patches on the ground, if Spiky walks over them, a particle effect plays where the leaves puffs up and makes a rustling sound.
-
Obstacles along the path can be used to hide behind, such as logs, boulders and trees.
 |  |  |
|---|
First enemy encounter
Easy difficulty
I wanted this to be a simple introduction to the fox, yet if the player was careless, they would get spotted. The fox walks around 3 points, where it pauses for a few seconds before it keeps walking.
Spiky is not safe when the fox moves but when it moves away, Spiky can walk without getting spotted. You can see that the fox moves in the background in its own tracks that are dividing the area for the player and the area for teh fox which leaves the ‘safe blocks’ easy to see and understand their purpose.
 |  |
|---|
Second area, harder difficulty
I wanted a more intense part of the level, yet you still need patience with the fox. It’s in a more open area with obstacles that will leave you exposed and slow you down. The fox has a bigger area to patrol, with more stop points that are faced towards Spiky but also with more open areas with obstacles for Spiky so he has to climb while still being within sight.
1. Boulder block, safe spot to for waiting.
2. Log, Spiky will be exposed while he climbs the log. More intense moments with exposure.
3. Leaves behind the log, still exposed. Even after the log, you need to hurry and still make sure that you’re not walking on the leaves.
4. Trees to hide behind, but they are thin, making the waiting unsafe while the fox has a recurring waiting point facing it.
5. Hollow log. Last safe obstacle followed with a big exposed area, the challenge is back to waiting until the fox is taking the long way around.
Road
On the road, there are bumps that will make Spiky slow down and disturb the pacing, so that the player has to be more careful not to get run over by the car from believing that the is walking in an even pace as the surface is uneven.
Traffic signs shows the warnings of a car crash, we made a warning for hedgehogs sign, but one that is run down next to an uneven fence to hint to a previous car crash. The poor driver doesn’t know what’s coming.
​
​Spiky reaches the road, the player will recognize the sound, feel rumble in the controller and visual warnings but little Spiky only knows that these big metal things might hurt a little. The cars are set to move from a start, to an end target by a randomized pace, the values can easily be edited.
 |  |  |
|---|
Other Sequences
In this project, I was mostly in charge of the sequences as they were a part of the narrative storytelling playing in the background. The scenes with the sequences would be triggered after a certain event to tell a result of an action or letting the player know about an upcoming event. Spiky have no knowledge of the human world, but the player will recognize some things which makes the sequences more informative to the player while Spiky remains oblivious.
