Doomed Flux
(ドゥームドフラックス)

Movement and Traversal

The first issue was the form of movement I wanted to implement.
I decided on a 2.5D game utilising planar movement. I could accomplish some interesting level design and scenarios by using the box.
I wanted the player to be able to use the box for multiple tasks.
The player could jump on the box and use it as a platform to reach other areas of the ship. One such use was to access air vents.
I wanted the player to crawl through the vents in a first person perspective. To achieve this I had a separate actor that could be possessed.
This would break up some of the 2.5D sections and lead the player to secrets or other sections of the ship.
Some areas would have 3D segments where the player could walk in the background and foreground. I used collision areas to switch the movements.

The player could kick the box at enemies which would defeat them.
To add tension some sections would separate the player from the box meaning they would be powerless.

I wanted to drip feed the story to the player in a manner similar to the 'Dark Souls' games.
To accomplish this data pads were scattered across the level. Collecting them would provide story elements regarding the crew.
The level was crafted in a way which required the player to use the box to progress.
The box could be used on certain panels to power up the space station allowing teleporters and elevators to be used.
Some segments involved leaving the box behind, which meant the level had to be designed to loop back to retrieve it at a later point.
The next challenge was to provide tension at the right points through pacing and finding ways to surprise the player.
A singular vent section included crawling away from a zombie.
For the final segment I had to establish what the purpose of dragging the box to its destination was. What was the goal?
The box would also act as a bomb and when put in the right place a countdown would begin.
This meant the player had to escape the space station within a time limit, whilst avoiding zombies.