CODE S-44
Student Project
Technical Game Designer - Narrative Designer
October 2018 - JUNE 2019 | STEALTH / ADVENTURE
WORK FEATURES
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Worked in a 25+ person team
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Focus on the 3C for an original character
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Unit & AI design
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OCR loops
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Learning curve & tutorial
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World Building
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Parallax cut-scene writing
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Blending the narrative with the game design
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In-engine cut-scenes (writing, directing, implementing)
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Selected and attended the Busan Indie Connect Festival in South Kore
CODE S-44 is a stealth / adventure solo game on PC made with UNITY. You play as S-44, a small spiderbot looking for his lost friend in the dangerous city of New Bot City...Today, the game is in Early Access on Steam.
CHARACTER
S44, from concept to in Game
Design Goals
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The character must be cute so we have empathy for it
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The players must feel SNEAKY and VULNERABLE
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The character should be visible through obstacles
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Allow emergent situation: you can climb and drop everywhere, even on ennemies !
CAMERAS
The main camera
All the cameras in action
Design Goals
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Give the player a tool to see everywhere (Freelook camera with zoom-in/out available)
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See the character in every situation (transparent shader on the character, dissolve shader on the buildings)
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Allow the players to be precise while moving (Character related controls)
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Appeal to the Spy Fantasy (thanks to the level centric camera and the point of interest cameras)
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Allow the players to plan their actions and analyze their paths
UNIT/AI DESIGN
I also designed with Hugo, the other GD, 4 types of ennemies and hazards working in synergy in the game:
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Guards
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Security Cameras
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Drones
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Laser Fences
The guard in action + climbing on a guard + its behaviour tree
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Creating synergies between ennemies: the guard can listen to some sounds like the ennemy drone's bomb or cameras' alarms
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Create a feeling of "improvising" when the player is in sight
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Allow the players to survive when they are seen
Design Goals
"Pulling" the game system
We also wanted to let the players have some control on the game system.
While, most of the time, the players will be pushed by it (destroyed at sight), they will have opportunities to pull the system and trap the guards thanks to the level design and some triggers or use the ennemies as a locomotion mode.
The Laser Fences
Design Goals
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Give the level designers some tools to restrain the players' movement
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Challenge the players on their precision skills
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Block paths without putting invisible walls
The Security Cameras
Design Goals
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Give the players a "smart" feeling by forcing them to take not so obvious paths
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Challenge the players on their precision skills
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Challenge the players on their reflexe skills when they are seen (like the guards their shootings follow the players but don't touch them instantly)
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Work in synergy with the guard (the guards can hear their lasers)
The very first drone of the game
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Oppress the players: when they are seen, the drones will follow them until they lose sight of them
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Create variety thanks to their alternative shooting system (bombs)
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Allow new paths if the players succeed to drop on them: they turn into a moving platform !
Design Goals
FIRST TIME USER EXPERIENCE
I designed and prototyped alone the whole FTUE of the game. Here are some extract of them in their final version.
Teaching that the character stick on walls in the main menu thanks to staging + E to interact with interruptors
Teaching how to use the main camera with some UI
Teaching how to move and climb walls in a pipe with a fixed camera (intro)
Teaching how to interract with interruptors with a cutscene + objective
Teaching how to use the drop mechanic in a safe environment
NARRATIVE DESIGN HIGHLIGHTS
Code S-44 features a great narrative part. Here's what I did as a narrative designer on the game :
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Working in pairs with the lead narrative designer
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Building the world story and a scenario that can be cut in 5 levels
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Allowing different kind of objectives thanks to the scenario (following a target for example)
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Create a rising tension through the game and hit a climax in the final level
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In engine cinematics (writting, directing, implementing in Unity)
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Narrative windows mechanic
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Parrallax cinematic writting
PARRALLAX CINEMATIC
Thanks to my previous experience in Folimage Studio, I managed to deliver template of documents for cinematic scenario and follow-up sheets. I also wrote and directed the Level-1 ending cinematic as you can see here.
Extract of this cinematic's script
Sample of the follow-up sheet
IN-ENGINE CINEMATICS
Exemple of a sequence shot I did for a "secret" in the level 2
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Introducing and showing the game's objectives
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Adding depth to the narrative
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Showing specific elements that needed to be seen
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Giving rewards to the players
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Adding rhythm and variety to the levels
Design Goals
I've been working on the in-engine cinematics for the level 1, 2 and 5. It implied :
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creating the shots/directing
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writing the dialogs
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taking narrative decisions
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asking for the character animations when I needed some
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creating custom script systems
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Implementing the cinematics in the level
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Adding the sound design
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Animating the objects
NARRATIVE WINDOWS
A narrative window in the level 1
Each levels has 5 hidden narrative windows linked to achievements.
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rewarding the players that likes to explore
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add more lore to the game
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add some life in the game
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enhance spy feeling to the game
Design Goals
COMMUNICATION
I also took the initiative of doing the game's communication on social medias. During several months, I managed the game's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and filled it with concept arts, gameplay videos, interviews...
You can see the game's social medias on the buttons below !
Goals :
- helping everybody on the project to find a job after the school
Interview of Hugo and me, explaining what is a game designer.
During these 8 months, I also participated at many pro events to showcase the game and have feedbacks from professionnals:
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pitching the game during a Lyon Game Dev. evening (a french game dev association) during the early stage of the prototyping
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showcasing at Indie Game Lyon in February 2019
- Geek Touch-Japan Touch Haru in April 2019
- Busan Indie Connect Festival (South Korea) in September 2019
Players testing our first level at the Indie Game lyon #1
OTHER
Hugo, Mickael, Victor and me at the BIC festival in South Korea
The game is available now for FREE on Steam and you can download it here.
We were finalist for the Game of the Year award from The Rookies. You can check out our entry here!
MEET THE TEAM !
VICTOR JAFFEUX
PRODUCER / ART DIRECTOR
Victor was the producer of the project. He managed our teams with confidence and did everything to help everybody achieve their goals on the project.
He also created the art direction of the game and did a huge work on the mood, the post process and the level art.
REMI SALOMON
LEAD DESIGNER / LEVEL DESIGNER
Rémi worked with Victor to deconstruct all the design task for every sprint and was the peer reviewer for almost all the design tasks. He also designed many awesome levels, scripted them and did some cool level art!
MICKAEL BROUSSAL
LEVEL DESIGNER
Mickael created many ambitious levels on the game and always had a fresh view on the tasks he reviewed.
MATHIEU SIBOULOTTE
TECHNICAL GAME DESIGNER / NARRATIVE DESIGNER
Well, it's just me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
CLEMENT AUDRAS
CREATIVE DIRECTOR / LEAD TECH
Clement helped all the teams to harmonize their work in order to have the game that we all wanted to do.
He also was the main programmer and created a whole awesome level.
HUGO KIHL
GAME DESIGNER
Hugo worked with me in the game design. He helped me to create the ennemies, led playtests and did so many things on the signs and feedbacks, the gamefeel...
FIONA BIDAUT
NARRATIVE DESIGNER
Fiona was the main writer of the game. She did a great follow up with the artists involved in the narrative design of the game.