Summer Project Week 7: Blockout Part 3

16/08/21

Mirror Room

While passing the green door, the player will enter a hallway leading to the mirror room. This is probably the most significant and difficult challenge the player must face when progressing the level. The walls in this room are covered with large mirrors, making this area particularly difficult to navigate through. The player must focus intently on their reflection in these mirrors in order to successfully reach the end of it. The player can also find secrets by paying close attention to certain angles displayed within these mirrors, sometimes having to look at a reflection of a reflection in order to see a hidden powerup that is tucked away. Once the player moves past the initial area, they will notice ahead an enemy being reflected in one of the mirrors. Normally, this would be a useful hint to the player to warn them about the upcoming danger, but it is actually a red herring. Once the player gets close enough, they will realise it is a statue of an enemy, with a piece of lore sitting next to it that explains the origin of these creatures and how they became so hostile in the first place. Moving on, the following camera angle will also show an enemy being reflected in the glass, but this one is actually genuine. This is possibly the hardest enemy encounter in the game, as the player’s muscle memory of the controls has been twisted in a way that they must abide by the reflections in the mirrors.

Upon testing this room when making this particular blockout and in order for a defined picture to be displayed on the mirror texture, I decided to use the planar reflection class to have as clear a picture as possible. This managed to work out well, but it did raise one issue, which made the overall performance of the game slightly worse. With the way the planar reflection class works, I was unable to confine it to this one small room, therefore it now leaks into the rooms above it and next to it. This results in one part of the level dropping in frame rate, which may be an issue later, when obtaining feedback from testers. I do not consider the frame rate to be so drastic that it makes the game unplayable, but I can completely understand that the majority of players may see this as a major issue. If I had more knowledge and better skills with using planar reflection, and therefore was able to implement it in a more optimised way, then this would not present a problem. However, the reason I decided to include it, is because I consider it to be an excellent way of highlighting another great capability associated with fixed cameras. Something like this would simply not have the same effect, if the player had a more traditional camera. I think the small sacrifice in frame rate is worth the mechanic, as I truly believe it is one of the better ways to demonstrate how unique fixed camera angles can be, and this is one of the major points I am trying to make with this game.

Figure 1: Using reflections to find the right path.

Figure 2: Seeing distant objects via reflections.

Figure 3: Seeing enemies in the reflections as a warning.

Study

Once the player escapes the challenging mirror room, they will be led to another hallway with three doors, two of which they can access starting with the study. This room is optional and hides the final health upgrade, as well as a piece of lore, and introduces another way of using fixed cameras. Upon entering the room, the player is greeted with an unusual angle. This camera is placed inside a plant, which is a very common location for cameras to be hidden. If the player manages to find the location of the camera and interacts with it, then the back wall of the room is removed, therefore revealing a large block of light. By following this light, the player will enter a new room that houses the previously mentioned upgrade. This is probably the most obscure secret in the game, but it can feel immensely rewarding if the player happens to find it through experimentation. I tried to put myself in the player’s position when facing puzzles like these, to imagine how they would act when presented with this situation.

Figure 4: Hiding objects via the camera's position.

Storage

The other door in the hallway leads to the storage room. Within this room, the player can see a conveyor belt with multiple boxes rotating around it. The way in which these boxes are set up, makes it look like the player can jump onto the conveyor belt at the right moment to see what is on the other side of the boxes. By timing this correctly, it will bring the player to another section that will be familiar to them, if they headed to the study first. They will see a window, with the red key located on the other side of it, with no clear way to retrieve it. Similar to the hidden camera with a switch located in the plant within the study, if the player interacts with this seemingly inconspicuous wall, they will see a dash of light come through, if they move back to the previous camera angle. They can now obtain the red key, which opens the door to a bedroom back in the previous hallway. Since this section of the game is mandatory, I anticipate players will use the knowledge gained here to head back to the optional study room and claim their prize. Also located in this room is the switch that unblocks the door located back in the living room, allowing for a very handy shortcut back to the other side of the level.

Figure 5: Rotating boxes, with a gap.

Figure 6: Hidden switch, with Red Key in sight.

Figure 7: Light revealing new hidden doorway.

Bedroom

With the red key in hand, the player can now access the final room. Similar to the last three rooms, another camera angle is set up here to make it look like the camera is hidden within a bookcase, which is another location to hide cameras. Interacting within this area will unlock the cabinet behind them, therefore revealing the key to open the room that the player was initially told to open at the start of the game. It was important to me at this point, to make sure the cabinet was in frame to show the purpose of the switch, as it may encourage positive feedback from the players who should appreciate it. Also located in this room, on the bedside cabinet, is a photograph. This photograph shows an older version of the library that reveals the location of the hidden passage behind a bookcase. If the player backtracks to this room and interacts with the bookcase not originally found in the photograph, it will allow them to get another health upgrade.

Figure 8: Hidden button with it's function framed in clear sight.

Final Room

The player must now make their way back to the hub, which is easy enough now that they just unlocked a convenient shortcut for themself. The player can now enter the final room. Upon entering, a long narrow corridor leads them to a room full of interesting statues and the final combat encounter in the game, which is facing two enemies simultaneously. This is the ultimate test in terms of showing how rewarding it is for players who went out of their way to find the secrets in the optional areas. Without these upgrades, this encounter may prove very difficult and may take several attempts to become successful, but with the second dagger and health upgrades, this can prove to be achievable This was important for me to implement, as showing in a visual manner what the player has overcome to make them strong, is another Metroidvania aspect I wanted to incorporate into my game. As it was the player’s own doing and choices that made them this powerful, it shows the effectiveness of hiding secrets within video games.

After this enemy encounter, the player continues and finds another room that indicates to them the need to make their way back to the living room in order to be freed. Upon pressing the switch in this room, a loud clang can be heard. While making their way back to the living room, the player can see that the peculiar shelf, from earlier in the game, has been pushed aside and that there is a hidden room located behind it. A glass door is located in this room, showing the player the outside world. The level ends as soon as the player leaves through that door. I wanted this ending to be full of impact, as the player has experienced nothing but the macabre and sinister throughout the entire level. Therefore, by seeing something akin to freedom and familiarity, the player is presented with a dramatic shift in tone from the rest of the level. Hopefully then, the player should feel nothing but relief, after escaping from such a tense and dark, yet atmospheric and unique, environment.

Figure 9: Two enemy encounters at once.

Figure 10: Final hint towards the end.

Figure 11: Revealing the watcher and freedom!

Progress at the end of Week 7

Final blockout