Dong Nai Crossing (Level Design) (Far Cry 5)
Goal:
I wanted to create a small level inspired by games like the MGS series within a short time frame (~1 workweek) to get back into working on something video games related. Therefore the level could still use some polish here and there (mainly decoration) but I sticked to my time limit and released the level after working roughly 40 hours on it (did not track the time exactly but it matches roughly with the ingame time tracking).
Idea:
Set in a jungle, the player has to infiltrate a military camp and eliminate three targets. Since the level is based around being stealthy, there are multiple different paths the player can take to get around the guards within the camp. Some of the paths are easier to find but there are also more hidden passages which allow the player to skip bigger chunks of the level to make it possible to finish the level without attacking anyone besides the target. In addition, there are some items hidden within the buildings that reward the player for exploring which either help the player in case they are spotted or even allow them to take out the targets from further away with a silenced sniper rifle.
Progress:
Due to my self imposed time constraint I decided to only use pre-made buildings in the level. I used the buildings to quickly create a blockout of the playable space. After that I sculpted the terrain roughly in the way I had it imagined to test out the dimensions and how it feels to walk around. The next step was to properly set up the buildings in the first area and to create a smaller space that is a bit more polished to see how it works out. This included placing some enemies and creating paths for the player to move around. When I was satisfied with how the first part of the camp felt, I moved over to the other half. I decided to make the space a bit smaller because it felt a bit too large. Especially the upper area was too big which is why I made it smaller with fewer buildings. But I wanted to keep the elevation within the camp to make it more interesting. After the layout of the level was done I started placing the enemies and decorating everything. When I was done with that I did some more playtesting and fixed smaller issues and iterated on enemy placement.
Limitations:
The Far Cry 5 editor has some limitations that forced me to cut down on a few things. For example it is not possible to create routines for the NPCs. It is possible to place so called "animation points" which allow me to select an animation that should be played on that spot but I cannot assign the animation point to a specific NPC. The result is that the NPCs walk around on their own and by chance they decide to move to one of those animations points. Therefore I don't have full control over the NPCs and cannot create carefully crafted enemy setups.
Bird's-eye view
Progress of the level
The different paths of the level. The yellow line is the main path to the target. The blue lines consist of secret passages and alternative routes that the player can utilize to sneak around enemies.
At the start of the mission the player is in safe distance to the camp. The player can immediately see a guard at the entrance and an alternative path to the left.
If the player decides to go up the alternative path they are presented with a small vantage point. From here the player can look into the first part of the camp but they can also see the building of the target in the distance on top of the mountain.
There are various animations points set up throughout the level to breath more life into the NPCs. They are also used to create predetermined locations the guards will move to in order to make them stay in the right areas.
Certain guards are placed in a way that allow the player to perform special stealth takedowns on them.
The second target is the easiest and most difficult one to kill at the same time. He is out in the open and close to explosive barrels. However, choosing the easy way will surely draw the attention of all the other guards.
The player can find hidden items within the buildings. They are not required and the player may not even stumble upon them, but they can offer new solutions to take out the targets in different ways or from different positions.
The only path to the third target. With the right timing it is possible to sneak past the guard. Alternatively the player can find the sniper rifle and search for the right angle so that they don't even need to get up there in the first place.
Finally reaching the third target. Getting here undetected is not easy to pull off.
There are two ziplines that lead from the third target all the way to a boat with wich the the player can escape quickly.
When finding the right tools, it is possible to engage the enemies in open combat.
Trying to catch the boat while hell breaks loose.