Frequent Flyers

Personal Work / Half-Life 2 / Hammer

Overview

Alyx Vance has been captured by the combine and is being held on an off-shore oilrig. Gordon Freeman, with the help of a pulse cannon and helicopter, must infiltrate the rig and save Alyx.

Concept

Gordon Freeman has been an icon for video game action heroes and I wanted to create a level played with this concept. Additionally, Half-Life is known for the interaction it gives players with vehicles as well as moving elements within a level. Therefore, the beginning of the level has Gordon strapped to a platform under a helicopter armed with a pulse cannon. This on-rails shooter segment at the beginning of the level challenges the player’s ability to deal with a large number of enemies and give him a fun experience. After the player finishes the segment, I wanted to give the player freedom to explore, so I set up the level to facilitate player choice through branching paths.

Design and Technical Highlights
On-Rails Shooter - At the beginning of the stage, the player is strapped to a platform hanging from a helicopter. Armed with a pulse cannon, the player unleashes fury on combine soldiers guarding the rig below.

Branching Paths - The player is able to explore the oilrig freely. There is one major building along the critical path and three others that the player can enter to find ammo, weapons and health.

Oilrig Combat - Combine movement changes depending on how the player explores the oilrig. This level features cover based on what you might see on a real oilrig, large containers and catwalks. The player can take advantage of explosives on the rig to take out soldiers with a well placed shot.

World Building Highlights

* See the image gallery for an initial 2D map and screenshots with comments about the level.
Google SketchUp and Photoshop used for initial design maps and 3D block out

Oilrig made completely of BSP with static mesh for decoration
Decals and texture overlays used to give the rig a realistic feel

Level Breakdown

Assignment Requirements

"Congratulations! Upon graduating from the Guildhall, you have been hired by Valve Software to work on the Half-Life 2 expansion pack. The Game Designer tasks you to design an original gameplay sequence that is creative, interesting, and fun.”

With this assignment we were told to “push the box,” in whatever way we saw fit.

Design Goals

Create an on-rails shooter segment at the beginning of the level
Allow exploration and player choice through branching paths
Create an oilrig that facilitates first person shooter gameplay

*Please note there are videos below, under goal 1, goal 2 and goal 3 that are annotated and show how the above goals were meet in the level.

With Frequent Flyers, I wanted to push the first person shooter gameplay that is at the core of Half-life 2. I did this in two ways: First, I created an on-rails shooter segment at the beginning of the level that is a two-minute long wow moment. Second, I facilitated player choice and exploration through the inclusion of branching paths.

During the development of the level, most of my time was spent balancing the encounters. The on-rails shooter segment had to challenge players’ shooting abilities but not be too grueling. The infiltration of the oilrig had to facilitate player exploration while not punishing those who do not want to explore.

Overview

This map shows the infiltration of the oilrig only.

Goal 1: Create an on-rails shooter segment at the beginning of the level

In order to make the on-rails shooting segment of the level work, I had to utilize Source’s scripting language to create a hierarchy of parented objects. The platform that the player stands on is parented to the helicopter. To avoid situations where the player was pushed off the platform due to the movement of the helicopter, the player is parented to an invisible cube which is attatched to the platform.

Air path nodes denote how fast the helicopter moves and control its route around the oilrig. I set up trigger volumes that spawn enemies depending on what section of the oilrig the player is currently circling. Combine move around the oilrig during this segment, which creates a challenge for the player. However, initial testing found that players had a difficult time shooting combine. To resolve this, I slowed the helicopter down and created a custom reticule via text entities.

This video is annotated. It shows the on-rails shooter segment at the beginning of the level.

Goal 2: Allow exploration and player choice through branching paths

I wanted to test my ability to facilitate exploration and branching paths with this level. In order to do so, I gave the player two routes through the level. One leads them through a building and up onto catwalks in order to find Alyx. The other has the player progressing straight to the catwalks to find Alyx. Once the player frees Alyx, combine soldiers spawn to create a challenge as the player attempts to escape the rig.

To communicate to the player that the combine don’t just appear after freeing Alyx, I created a room under the main platform of the rig that is locked off by a gate until the player frees Alyx. Additionally, there are two buildings, a sleeping quarters and a room of operations that act as exploration elements and contain ammo and health.

This video is annotated. It shows the two paths through the middle of the level.

Goal 3: Create an oilrig that facilitates first person shooter gameplay

When I was planning this level I knew that I would be using large containers and catwalks as the primary pieces of cover. The thought behind this is that I would provide ample cover while the player is on the ground level with the containers, so they could pop in and out of cover freely. In addition, the containers and catwalks fit the oilrig theme. I placed small explosives around the rig to reward players with keen eyes and a fast trigger.

The catwalks gave the player a better strategic shooting position but are more open. I was trying to set up risk and reward scenarios – I didn’t want the player to always stick to the lower ground or always stick to the catwalks, so I set up the spaces to facilitate both types of gameplay. Additionally, the combine utilize the same cover elements as the player, so while he goes through the level he is experiencing different combat scenarios and challenges, depending on which height elevation the enemies are located.

This video is annotated. It shows the middle and end of the level.