Boss Level Design and Process

Forming concepts for the boss level was initiated with group dialogue and the exchanging of ideas. The collaborative approach formed the basis of a ‘flesh wall’ creature chasing the player down an endless corridor with the game goal being to shoot the eye targets, damaging the entity. A plane was utilised prior to this enemy construction by Khyl to allow level progression and code construction. The initial construction of infinite corridor was implemented through segmented sections spawned one after the other with 20 added for every 20 segments travelled by the player. An issue was encountered using this method as objects would not move and variety within the scene was constrained. The solution implemented by Khyl was removing oldest segments and implementing the newest as the player progresses forward. Weak points were then defined through a modelled/animated eye, which the player must target with their weapon to damage the boss. This combat is also linked with tendrils scattered throughout the corridor as when the player shoots these, another eye is added to the enemy (with a set maximum of three). The more eyes destroyed by the player, the faster the enemy becomes, increasing the urgency of combat.

The modelling of the enemy began with the intention of integrating parts of lesser enemies (crewmates fought in previous levels) and combine this with the flesh wall concept previously discussed. The wall was created from a simple cube scaled to fit the game corridor and much attention to sculpting the flesh texture. Although this increases poly use in this area, limiting poly for this removed distinguishable features making a higher detailed model preferable. The only issue encountered in this is slight distortion at the top and right side of the mesh, only occurring in gameplay as this was not an issue within Blender. Movement was added through animating these individually and adjusting timing so this was consistent. The targeted aim was to reflect a sense of ‘struggling’ from the morphed crewmates and leaving appropriate room for the spawning of the eye models. The torso/head area struggle animation also moves with the flesh wall, making it seem as though it propels the enemy forward. The animation for the wall is a simple ‘wiggle’ movement built from a series of three bones.  The shape initially started as a ‘meatball’ form before this was developed further into the ‘walled’ shape implemented within the level. 

Considerations of accessibility have been implemented within the user interface with a toggle for head bobbing. The target users of this are those who experience motion sickness triggered by gameplay movement styles. In implementing this, increased accessibility reaches a wider audience and promotes a positive gameplay experience. By default head bobbing is activated as this is a part of our intended gameplay experience with the option to uncheck this box to make movement more fluid instead if this impacts the individual.

(With Selected Head Bob)

(With Deselected Head Bob)