Gameplay Video
Golden Path playthrough where the player interacts with more enemies, encounters close-quarters combat and can acquire the shotgun
Project Type: Personal
Tomb of the Iron Maiden is a first-person level made using the Skyrim Creation Kit. The main goal for this experience was to create a large multi-directional space using Skyrim’s proprietary engine to create a high quality Skyrim experience. Additionally, I used this project to better understand the connection between various modular kits and learned to blend between kits that were not initially designed to be combined seamlessly. Finally, as a designer who always considers combat interactions and the desired player experience, I used my understanding of combat situations to lead the player through the level while offering challenging and stimulating interactions with enemies.
Responsibilities:
- Studied and understood the use of different modular kits used in Bethesda’s Skyrim and utilized them together to create a seamless and more diverse environment
- Designed the initial Layout of the map on paper and then began architectural construction in engine using modular assets
- Performed several passes of clutter and debris to break up the modular pieces and create a more realistic feeling dungeon
- Established several lock and key instances using scripts in editor including a claw puzzle door that uses three rotating rings to open
- Populated the environment with weapons, coins, ingredients, and hidden chests to encourage and reward exploration of the level
- Created a custom nav mesh utilizing the Creation Kit’s tools, followed by several in-depth passes to optimize the mesh for ease of AI navigation
- Set up and balanced numerous enemy encounters, including several ambush instances
Software Utilized:
- Creation Kit (Skyrim)
- Skyrim Base Game
Preproduction and Design Principles
Research and Prototyping:
From the start of this project, I had a good idea of exactly which themes from Skyrim I would employ in my level. After extensive research into the kits and tools available to me, I created a dwemer/dwarven style dungeon where the mechanical pieces’ constant movement would add an additional layer of life to the space. During this stage, I was also gathering and studying various resources to ensure I understood the different tools available to me within the Creation Kit such as the Havoc System and the navmesh building tools.
Layout Design:
I wanted to keep the dungeon’s structure as linear as possible while still offering plenty of areas to explore. I was able to accomplish this through interconnecting the different rooms and encouraging the player to move through linearly completing objectives, and discovering keys to unlock new areas along the way. Additionally, due to the shorter timeline of this project, I wanted this experience to be completely indoor and have positive reuse of space. Through the previously mentioned interconnecting of several of the areas through different hallways, I was able to move the player through the same space in several unique ways while maintaining engagement and keeping the gameplay fresh.
Production
Building the Level In Creation Kit:
The next step was to begin laying the foundation for my entire level. For this, I began by building the basic dimensions of each room and connecting areas and then followed that with a pass adding in more complex architecture such as stairs, pillars, ramps, water, and internal wall divides.
The process of building the space took many iterations as I experimented with the different assets available to me. The modular set that I found most interesting was the Dwarven/ Dwemer set, which featured moving gears and pieces, combining a medieval fantasy with machines and magic. As a level designer, I love creating environments that feel alive and seem to move and function alongside the player. The Dwarven kit allowed me to include those moving pieces, which added several layers of complexity to the space and better resonated with the types of environments I enjoy creating the most. After constructing the basic architecture of the level, I performed several in-depth passes, adding pipes, gears, and other large moving parts to further break up the large interconnected rooms.
The next step was to conduct several passes of clutter and debris to break up repeating textures and sections of level created through the use of modular assets. Using various debris assets, I was able to easily and seamlessly break up the floors of each area within the level to increase the natural look of the dungeon.
Now that the physical space was defined and finalized, I added weapons, armor, various loot, ingredients, various functioning tables and chairs, and chests. Adding in these essential pieces greatly increased the level of depth within the level, offering the player tons of interactables and collectibles to engage with, further increasing the level of player engagement and further aligning itself with other Skyrim experiences.
After adding in the loot and interactables, it was time to add in all the required functionality to ensure that the player could only enter specific areas after collecting the proper key or overcoming the obstacles in a particular area. I began by adding in several locked doors, some of which required specified keys that I created and others that could be picked with enough skill. The nature of the key required doors forces the player to explore each area of the dungeon in order to move throughout the different areas. The most interactive of these lock and door situations was setting up a claw door, which is made of 3 rotating rings which when displaying the correct symbols, will open.
Now that the level gates were set up, it was time to begin the process of creating a custom nav mesh. The navmesh tools within the Creation Kit were some of the most interesting I have come across as a designer thus far. Creating a clean mesh through specifically placed triangles (much like creating a retopo in Maya) afforded me an immense amount of customization and optimization, which I haven’t encountered in other engines. Honestly, I thoroughly enjoyed creating my navmesh in this capacity. The level of freedom facing the designer was like a breath of fresh air, allowing me to push my creative understanding further as well as optimize the number of triangles that made up my mesh.
The last step for creating this level was adding in enemy encounters and further balancing those encounters. All of the enemy types used were specific to the modular kit I utilized early on, enemies such as Dwarven Centurions, Spheres, and Spiders. These enemies were presented to the player in several different capacities, including ambushes, roaming between points, and stationary enemies in specified locations. One of the greatest challenges of this stage was the balancing of the combat. As I began adding enemies to the areas and testing them, I learned that I was creating combat situations that were too overwhelming for the player. By shifting the enemy types throughout the space as well as decreasing the number of enemies per interaction, I was able to more finely tune the combat to be on par with the player’s level while still creating a stimulating combat encounter.
Lessons Learned
Understanding Proprietary Engines:
This was my first experience using a proprietary engine, so it’s natural that there would be some learning curves. I spent a large portion of my time while developing this level, learning and practicing with the different available tools within the Creation Kit. At first, they felt awkward and clunky, but as I practiced with them and increased my proficiency with the tools, I was better able to understand why they were designed in that particular way and use them with ease to create this experience.
Balancing Combat for All Types of Characters:
Creating combat encounters on this project greatly improved my understanding of developing for multiple styles of combat. Since Skyrim features so many unique combat styles, it was tough at first to create interactions where each style was successful on its own. But through iteration and playtesting, I was able to cater to each player’s style. This experience reminded me of the importance and the delicate balance of facilitating combat for multiple player types.
Blending Between Worlds:
Skyrim levels are created using different modular kits. These kits are not all designed to fit together seamlessly; however, with the right attention to detail and blending of the assets, it can be done in a way where players feel it as natural. Throughout this process, I played with blending the Green Cave kit with the Dwarven set. This allowed me to break up the repeating look of a large Dwarven level that much more efficiently. The best trick that I learned when blending the assets was to create instances where small walls were overlaid by small cave walls, these overlapping pieces though awkward on their own, aid in blending the two kits together in a more seamless fading capacity. This principle of blending between the kits through an overlap added another powerful understanding of designing for modular assets that I will be sure to use again.