Astral Hues
Astral Hues is a First Person, Puzzle game about RGB Light combination . The player will play as SVATII, a humanoid being, that embark on a pilgrimage in hope to become a god. The player will have to climb an ancient temple by completing sets of puzzle rooms that will test your knowledge on real Lights color combination. This Game was a final school project of a team of 6 students.
Game Trailer
Main Task on the Game
- Conceptualize plans for puzzles rooms
- Create the Right balance between Art, Metrics and Mechanics
- Prototype blockings and establish metrics
- Collaboration with another Level Designer
- Give advice and feedback
- Create coherent composition
- Organize playtests for the game and receive feedback
- Adjust Level Design after Feedback
- Give Feedback in other departments
My Levels
Intro : The Search
This area is the start and the introduction of the game.
I planned the level knowing it will need a linear path to learn basic mechanics.
- The player starts in a straight and narrow corridor.
- Climbing gear at the back to show where he comes from.
- Kept the level linear for a narrative & mechanics purpose.
- Easy to read area, so for learning the character movement and basic grab controls.
- Not overwhelming the player with unnecessary details & information
- Give glimpses of the temple at specific locations.
- Guide the player with natural lights from cave openings.
Turorial : Dreamscape
For the Tutorial, I made all the puzzles of our pre-production. For the production. I worked with my colleague Marianne Ouellet on the reconceptualization of the rooms. All the drawings in white are drawn by her.
- Prototyped in 3D the plans, adapted the less satisfactory and improved with new ones.
- Keeping everything clean and simple with only gameplay objects.
- Always have a clear view of the level, so the player can see the objective right away and make the level feel smooth and natural.
- I reinforce the understanding of the mechanics, gradually increasing the difficulty.
- I programmed and made the transition effect between levels. When the player completes a puzzles the level that he just cleared will dissipate into blue dust and in front of him the next level will appear.
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To help our artists, we found a way to not only make the tutorial levels clearer, but also reduce the amount of work for our colleagues.
The area has become astral and non physical, allowing only gameplay elements to be shown.
For level 02, the mechanics remains the same.
- I hid the yellow cube and made guiding lines to create visual & logical thinking.
- In order to give it a twist, a receiver will act as a way to unlock a normally inaccessible yellow cube.
- Increased the level of difficulty to master the mechanics.
-Created a giant temple to immerse the player in the world
Level 02 : The Hidden Gem
Level 03 : Above the Rubble
As puzzle 03 is the last level with the basic mechanics, I segmented the level into several rooms which adds a better sense of progression & breaks repetition.
- Reused learned mechanics in interesting ways.
- Reward the player with a nice outside view at the end.
- Create logical backtracking using mechanics and different points of view.
- Made sure it is impossible to softlock the player
- Using height and cubes platforming to add verticality
- Programmed checkpoint and respawn for cube and player
Gave the player multiple solving options.
1. The player can grab the green cube and bring it in the next room.
2. Go in the room without retrieving the charge and not bringing the green cube
3. The player can take the light charge and rush in the next room before the door closes.
Puzzle 06 : Bathhouse
The bathhouse is a nice large room that will support several puzzles.
As the last level it's the hardest so far.
- The player will have to observe the location to know what to do.
- As triggered event animation
- I created larger areas, containing several puzzles.
The entrance is a long narrow corridor with windows that let the player have an overlook at the whole location. Exploring further the room a marked location on the floor incite the player to use the Cube to climb on the ledge to reach a locked path.
- Combining the color combination and the reflection on the mirror.
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- The player must use the previous charge to complete the 2nd puzzle.
- Rewarding the player mid level with a secret staircase.
- Put all the elements clear despite the size of the level.
- Block the player so as not to let him go anywhere.
Why RGB Lights ?
The choice of the Red, Green and Blue color was taken over the known color combination Red, Yellow & Blue. Why ? Because it is more accurate and realistic when it comes to real lights combinations. Lights are perceive with the human eye as additive lights. The Red Blue and Green are primary colors that comes from sunlight (white). So pure white light is a combination on those three colors. Light combination is also not commonly well known. Most people have a misconception of the color result, because the RJB as been commonly learned in painting and practice for many years. Furthermore, in recent years, computer merchandise as marketed RGB as colorful lights, which made people misinterpret RGB as artificial lights and unealistic.
Credits
- Arthur Gauthier – Game Designer
- Natalya Fedorenko - Environment Artist / Concept Artist
- Timothy Ramsey - Environment Artist / Technical Artist
- Marianne Ouellet – Level Designer
- Jade Coté - Character Artist
- Nicolas Vön Moreau - Musician
- Maxime Vézina - Project Director
- Laurence Ouellette Plouffe - Level design Mentor
- Leo Ferland Labbé - Character Mentor
- Laurie - Level Art Mentor
- Louis-Michel Lebeau - Level Art Mentor