Pacificus

• Role: Product Owner, Game & UX Designer, Visual Scripting

• Project length: 2 weeks

• Engine: Unreal Engine 4

• Genre: Adventure Puzzle/Platformer

• Team size: 7 people
(4 designers and 3 artists)

GAME & UX DESIGN

• Core gameplay loop

• Player mechanics

• Environment and progression

PRODUCT OWNER

• Conceptualizing the team vision

• Keeping track of backlog

• Structuring deadlines and tasks

VISUAL SCRIPTING

• UI elements

• AI patrolling behavior

• Light caustics and wavy screen

The first puzzle requires the player to collect three tokens that are scattered throughout the temple. In order to do so they need to pick up the trident and possess nearby manta rays to use as platforms. When the player brings the tokens to the door it will open.

The second puzzle requires the player to match the rotation of three pillars to the poses of statues on the sea floor. The player needs to possess jellyfish to swim around and inspect the statues until they find the right combination. Once all pillars are turned correctly the door opens.

The final puzzle requires the player to walk on pressure plates in the correct sequence. To reach the puzzle the player needs to possess whales and line up a bridge to cross over. Once the sequence is complete a podium, to place the trident on, will appear.

Walking & Jumping

To emphasize an underwater setting we needed to tweak the values of friction and gravity extensively. When jumping, the player gives off a strong initial burst that then carries them slowly down again – like buoyancy floating the character back towards the surface. The walk is slow, as if dragged through the water, and has circle undulations appearing as the feet hit the surface.

Possession

We decided to give the player the ability to possess sea creatures in order to add a level of complexity to the platforming. Possession allows the player to take control of any sea creature and move them freely. Releasing the control of a creature makes them remain in place for a duration, giving the player the possibility to use them as bridges between platforms. The creature then disappears and returns to its original location.

To balance this mechanic we made it only usable after the player has equipped the trident, and limited the player to only being able to control one creature at a time. If the player tries to possess a new creature while they already have one as a platform the stationary one will disappear directly, in order to prevent endless bridges.

The Ocean – Upside Down

One of the most important aspects of our environment was the water, which needed to feel alive. To that end, we added floating particles around the player as well as both corals and fish that would act and move on their own. For more realistic water aesthetics we actually submerged the player, by taking Unreal Engine 4’s water system and inverting an ocean. This meant that we needed to construct the levels upside down – resulting in the base of the corals becoming platforms for the player to jump on. I also added a wavy screen effect to simulate the water’s natural movement.

Lights & Illumination

The lighting was another factor that played an important role in the environment’s feeling. Since the ocean was upside down we placed the sun beneath the player, which created a gradient light that made the areas closer to the surface bright and the depths darker. Through the water’s surface we added god rays that moved together with the waves, as if the sun’s beams were shining stronger at the surface. To the main light source we also attached caustics to make it look as if the waves created reflective patterns of sunshine along the sea floor. As player guidance we placed jellyfish to light up a path with supposed bioluminescence. However, it was very dark in the depths so we made the character consist of shining particles that would always provide the player with light for their immediate surrounding.

Soundscape

The final piece of our environment’s puzzle was the audio. We wanted the player to enjoy the beauty of our environment, so we needed the soundscape to accomodate that enchanting emotion. Along the calm and mystical music I added an ambience of muffled water movements with soft bubbles floating through it. In the distance, the player can also hear the whales singing with each other. As the player reaches closer to the final puzzle they also reach closer to the whales and can hear the singing more clearly.

Introduction

We did not want to overwhelm the player at the start by throwing them head first into the deep end, so before they pick up the trident we give them a chance to familiarize themselves with only walking and jumping across the platforms. This section ends with the player surfing on the back of a manta ray towards the first temple. By letting the player ride along with the manta rays we aim to show how the sea creatures can be used to extend the player’s reach.

We positioned patrolling creatures around the first temple for the player to easily possess as they try to solve the first puzzle. To affirm that creatures could be used at platforms we wanted to introduce the player to flat and stable creatures first, and manta rays were the perfect candidates.

Exploration

After solving the puzzle in the first temple, a new area opens up for the player to explore. The passageways are quite narrow between the corals, but on the outskirts are jellyfish that roam freely. Here the player can possess the jellyfish and use them to discover the statues located around the area. The upcoming temple puzzle require the player to turn pillars to match the poses of the statues. The smaller jellyfish can turn in any direction and are a good fit traversing the tight corners.

Jellyfish are not used for platforming due to their rounder shapes, but we experimented with using them as launch pads. However, we decided against it since it offered unpredictable movement that went against the water’s flow.

Turning Point

The final area surrounding the heart of the ocean has big open spaces with long distances between the platforms. In order for the player to traverse these spaces we needed to provide large creatures for them to use as bridges. We went with whales that roamed long distances around the heart, but we also placed some sleeping whales convenienty within the player’s reach in close proximity to the edge of the final platform.

Once the player solves the final puzzle they can place the trident back at its pedestal, and finally turn the ocean back around.

UI Elements

We decided to keep the UI elements of the game minimalistic, as an effort to keep the player’s attention on the world around them. Widget pop-ups and collectibles were displayed on the screen only when interactions or numbers were required for puzzles to be completed. Additionally, I added a crosshair that appear when the player is aiming, to help them more accurately look for sea creatures in their surrounding to possess.

AI Patrol

A more significant system I made was the AI patrol. We wanted the creatures of the sea to feel like they were at home in the ocean so I set up a migratory pattern of behaviour. The AI follow several different paths of vector points in the world, that eventually loop around so that the ocean will always be populated. Since the creatures needed to fit into many areas I made their paths customizable, to accomodate the level design. To simulate that the AI were swimming I made invisible colliders that only affect the creatures, and placed vector points for them to slide along the different elevations.

Screen Effects

With hopes of making the environment feel more believable I added two visual elements that could facilitate an underwater setting; light caustics and a wavy post process screen effect. The light caustics produce a texture that is passed through a chaos filter which causes it’s movement. It then lands on all surfaces and actors in the scene and adds vibrancy to the sea floor. The wavy screen effect uses a slightly distorted normal map that pans as a blurry filter and resembles a flowing oceanic movement.

GAME DESIGNERS

• Per Hallros
• Benjamin Hallberg
• Niklas Pålsson
• Mikael Owlheart

3D ARTISTS

• Hugo Svedstam
• Lolo Lin
• Petra Aderlund