Whispers in embers
Summary
The video game Whispers in Embers takes the player on an adventure against time in an icy post-apocalyptic world.
Alongside our survivor, the player will have to make difficult decisions that will influence the course of history. Each choice brings its share of consequences and the player's attention is essential to make wise choices.
Particularly focused on narration, this story questions humanity and appeals to the player's compassion.
My role
Level and game design.
Establishing the path taken by the player.
Supervision and support for programmers with mechanics.
Recurring game playtests.
Help with sound design.
Supervision of the general work of the artists so that nothing interferes with the design of the level or with the comfort of the player.
Team management
This project is a game demo created as part of a 5th quarter course at the Nad school of digital arts, animation and design.
This demo is also part of a research project by NAD researcher and professor Laureline Chiapello
Production time: 15 weeks
Team: 9 artists, 3 programmers
Tell a story...
The game had to be attractive and enjoyable to explore freely. It was therefore important to allow players to have an impact on their environment.
Effects with every jump
Each action of the player is accompanied by a visual effect and a sound to make everything a little more interesting
The player is followed by an effect that highlights his speed
The character leaves petals on his path
An embittered Survivor
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She's been alone for a long time
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She is an efficient and strategic survivor
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She doesn't want to die alone
Interaction objects
The game takes place inside one of the bulbs of the clitoris. The plan was therefore to exploit the round shapes but also to draw inspiration from the shape of shells and therefore snails. The goal is above all to be able to explore space at high speed with ease.
The level is built on height.
The platforms follow the curves to highlight them.
The center of the bulb has been kept clear for readability of the level.
The climb was highlighted also showing the player their objective.
Interaction objects
The game takes place inside one of the bulbs of the clitoris. The plan was therefore to exploit the round shapes but also to draw inspiration from the shape of shells and therefore snails. The goal is above all to be able to explore space at high speed with ease.
The level is built on height.
The platforms follow the curves to highlight them.
The center of the bulb has been kept clear for readability of the level.
The climb was highlighted also showing the player their objective.
Hut
Main Player Journey
Objects
City
Lake
Construction de la mécanique
Blueprint pour établir le comportement de l'objet lorsqu'on le prend et le dépose.
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Possibilité de jouer un son lors du ramassage de l'objet, utilisé pour déclencher la narration.
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Le mouvement et la rotation de la caméra sont bloqués lors de l'inspection.
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Le ramassage de l'objet est détecté par un "sphere trace" partant de la caméra du joueur.
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L'objet retourne a son emplacement initial lors du dépôt. (pendant les test on pouvais lancer l'objet librement , ce qui résultait en de nombreuses erreurs de collision).
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On peux retourner les objets sur les deux axes ( uniquement pour des raisons narratives, aucun indice n'est visible sur les objets).
Ingredients
Focusing on exploration, we established mechanics that would serve the player's entertainment and speed.
Simple and instinctive mechanics for the player
Natural gradation of difficulty in the ascent
The Ramps
Ramps help the player travel through space at high speed
They establish a clear path for the player
The ramps were first pre-programmed but the control was returned to the game for a better experience
Problematic for non-players
Automatic camera implemented to help non-players with controls
The ramps are the most present element in the level to allow speed gain
Travailler avec le pluggin
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Courbe d'apprentissage
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Création "d'histoires" constituées de séquences
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Set up des QTE's et de leur propriétés ainsi qu'intégration des QTE dans les séquences.
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Les conséquences n'étaient pas pris en charge dans le pluggin sauf si construites en une seule "histoire', j'ai donc du créer une logique manuellement
Le pluggin nous apportais de base une interface codée simplifiée pour les ramifications de séquences et pour les QTE
The plans
Before the production phase I had to work on planning the full game (the initial plan was to produce the full game which unfortunately was not possible)
The pillars were slightly different at the start of the project
The first bulb was mainly composed of balconies connected by bumpers.
secret paths were hidden in order to allow the player to save time during their subsequent passages (the player had to pass several times in the same areas in the initial game)
The second bulb was composed almost entirely of ramps (the gameplay had to be different in each game)
Speed was more exploited in this level
Each area had its unique use
Création du sytème de tags
Il y a plusieurs chemins qui s'ouvrent selon les choix du joueur
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Ajout d'un tag au personnage via les séquences
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confirmation du tag présent sur le personnage dans le Blueprint du niveau
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changement de la version de "l'histoire " jouée d'dépendamment du tag trouver sur le personnage
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méthode visuelle pour suivre ce qui est arriver au personnage
V2 of the tree and possible consequences
Too many choices and ill-defined consequences
I was able to work, with the help of another member of the team, on the prototyping of all sections of the project.
These "blockings" were unfortunately not used for the rest of our project but remain in the research project documentation.
Carrying out these tests took several weeks (this pre-production phase was not taken within the 15 weeks allocated to us for the project)
City
Lake
Hut
The course
The player's journey is guided and quite instinctive but there are also alternative paths which offer unique points of view on the environment.
The main path respects the spiral established in the level
The path is easy to follow and instinctive to find
the vast majority of players found their way quickly despite the lack of instructions
Flowers are also placed to reward the player on the main path.
More contemplative than playful objective of the game
Guider le joueur
Évènements et "Triggers"
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Déclenchement d'évènements pour guider le joueur (narration qui lui indique quoi faire)
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Ex: murs dans le campement qui bloque la sortie si le choix n'a pas été fait
Walkthrough
Walkthrough
Credits and thanks
This project is based on the ideas and for the project of Laureline Chiapello
he was supervised by Pierre Tousignant, Yannick Francillette and Kevin Lavigne-Bourque
A special thank you to my team:
Ge Qiao: character and concept artist