Open Scandinavian Island
Throughout the island are challenges to overcome. Follow the lost souls and find the runestones spread out across the island in any order you want.
Pacifist Viking
Bøf being a gentle viking means he wasn't allowed into Valhalla the usual way. Reach the top of the mountain and find a new way in.
Movement Instrument
Use Bøf's horn to maneuver around the island, complete challenges, or explore. Follow the path or make your own by combining moves.
Viking Hiking is a 3D skilled platformer in a small open-world level with a complex character controller with moves flowing together. Use your horn to pole vault across the island and help Bøf collect the runestones.
About Viking Hiking
Organization
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Planned the level layout, the areas we wanted, and how they would be distinct.
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Worked with environment artists on the list of assets required for the level.
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Assisted another level designer with references, level documentation and metrics.
Blockout
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Blocked out the island and iterated upon it based on feedback from environment artists.
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Created a section for the core gameplay loop to help system designers test their work.
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Created the tutorial area along with a programmer and an environment artist.
Playtesting
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Playtested internally and externally with playtesters, both inside and outside our target audience.
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Worked with playtesting feedback gathered by team members at events.
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Tracked iterations throughout development as well as playtesting feedback to inform future iterations.
Role responsibilities
About
Tutorial
Planning
For the tutorial, I created a nodemap of the moves we wanted the player to learn and sketched multiple layouts to find what would best teach the players.
The tutorial teaches players the most important moves and then allows them to go anywhere. I avoid tutorialization in the rest of the level which allows players to teach themselves while completing challenges.
Blockout
I blocked out the terrain, and examples of challenges that we would use to teach the player. I also added the necessary building blocks to be able to test the gameplay loop, with the start, middle, and end of the level
While blocking out the tutorial, I set up a specific build language, indicating what was playable space and what could be used by the environment artist.
Iteration
Using internal and external playtest data, I iterated the tutorial, such as spacing the challenges more out and added spaces for the player to explore.
Due to the limited time of the project, the environment artist started set-dressing while I was still testing, which gave playtesters a better impressions of what the space was supposed to be which they quite liked.
Set-dressing
Towards the end of production, I handed the tutorial over to the environment artist and focused on other parts of the level.
After this, I mainly gave feedback on the set-dressing when it interfered with the playable space, or allowed players to break the intended path.
Tutorialization
We attended event such as "Night of the Nerds" and found through playtests that our target audience of 8-12-year-olds would struggle with some aspects of the horn movement, that were explained using an NPC. They would experiment with the controls and learn the basics but would struggle later in the level when required to use harder moves.
Because of this, we added decals to the tutorial sections, showing the required inputs to perform the actions, and the action itself. This helped a lot, even outside the target audience, as more would run past the NPC but still understand the move.
As our playtesters in the target audience didn't all speak English, we also tried to keep the decals language independent.
Final Product
Waterfall beach
Planning
The waterfall beach is stonier and more jagged than the shipwreck beach, so we planned it with more terraces and platforms.
We planned to have gameplay behind the waterfall, but this was later moved into the cave behind it, to allow us to expand it into the mountain.
Blockout
I blocked out the waterfall beach with the different layers and platforms we had planned for and created traversal challenges between them. I based challenges in the area on using different layers and using the water around the area.
The section was cut for the Itch release so we paused work on the section until the Steam release.
Iteration
We had cut the waterfall from the level for our Itch release, so we made major iterations on the layout of the area when preparing it for Steam.
I added a tower challenge in the water which was a longer challenge using every move the player has to challenge them. I also started using the level ingredients in new ways as seen below.
Set-dressing
I worked with the environment artist to set-dress the beach and clean up the challenges. I created the landscape, placed the stones around the beach to visaulize the paths around the area.
Challenge Iteration
As we got more used to the level ingredients throughout the project, we started to use level ingredients in new ways to avoid the different areas feeling too similar, such as the moving platforms, compared to before and combined them with other level ingredients or hazards.
I created the tower to combine all the level ingredients and moves the player can make, and added a dive at end which gives the whole thing a more unified feel and unique ending.
I found that some art assets could be used for narrow platforms such as the swords, which added to the challenge, while tying it into the location around it.
Final Product
Scripting
Raven
I created a raven that will fly between multiple points when the player gets close. I used this throughout the level to guide the player through the tutorial or towards hidden runes throughout the level. When the player approachs at the final spot, the raven explodes to indicate that they are the end of the path.
Pillars
I created a level ingredient, wooden pillars that lower when players jumps on them, and will stay lowered until the player jumps off. I used these in a couple of challenges at the waterfall beach, where they are used to test the players in precision jumps and speed.
Organization
During production I created a map of the level, that allows me to toggle on and off multiple different layers of information at once. This helped give an overview of the level we had, and how different paths connected with eachother.
The map was updated over time as the level was iteration upon, and was a great help when getting an overview of our checkpoints, NPCs, etc. to avoid overcrowding a specific area in the level.
Toggle map
Node map
LD Decision Matrix
Area concept
Micro-open-world
The island is made up of four sections, each having its own identity, main level ingredient, and visual style, while reusing assets to stay in scope.
The island was created by myself and another level designer, and we kept the building style, landscape, and shape language consistent across the island. Our goal was for players to be able to describe each section using a "The one with the X" sentence, and based on feedback, we've succeeded in that.
I worked on high-level planning, traversal loops, and guidance. I also created challenges throughout the island as well as the tutorial. Towards the end of production, I helped with set-dressing and gave feedback to the environment artists.
Island Overview
Take-aways
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Open-world level design relies more on guidance through goals, and sub-goals to motivate the player to continue and avoid players aimlessly running around the level.
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Tutorialization should be spread out throughout the whole game, rather than the first section of the game only, to avoid confusing the player by giving them too much information at once.
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Experimenting with tutorials and different ways of teaching the player can give a great insight to show different games or mechanics can be taught visually, and through doing.
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Working with environment artists early in the process helps the level of identity and consistency regarding assets and set-dressing.
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Paths that overlap each other, giving context to where the player has been or creating excitement for where they will go, can improve the impression left on the player.
Reception
95+ Reviews
88% Positive (Very Positive)
60k+ Downloads
School Awards
Y2 Industry Award
Y2 Best Overall
Y2 Best Design
Y2 Best Art