THE RODENT'S TALE

Timeline

2.5 weeks, October through November 2023

Team size

13 game developers

Roles

Product Owner | Level Design | Narrative Design | Gameplay Design | Sound Design

Software

Unity | Miro | Jira | FMOD | Perforce

Trailer video

About the project

Why was it made?

The Rodent's Tale is a top-down adventure platformer with a heavy focus on immersion and environmental storytelling. The project was inspired by games like Little Nightmares, Journey and It Takes Two. It's premise was to develop the very first game project following the themes of: "Running Out of Space" and " Sense of Scale".

I was responsible for designing all levels and set dressing, writing the story of the game, 3C game design, music and sound direction and implementation, designing enemy encounters and obstacles, balancing, leading the team and vision of the game.

My objective was to design and include an impactful moment true to the "Sense of Scale" theme as well as implement a stress condition into gameplay true to the "Running out of Space" theme. Having no prior experience in game development, I decided to try and use my film and psychology education knowledge and convert it into level design and narrative design.

Gallery of 50 development images

Level Design

Breakdown

I prioritized spatial design, scale, gameplay and environmental storytelling, closely collaborating with the music producer and the art department to ensure an immersive experience and gradual exposition. I took inspiration from Little Nightmares and It Takes Two while experimenting with mise en scène (scene/level composition) when designing the abstract environment of the ship.

For the level flow I focused on recreating a similar sequence to Uncharted 3 where Nathan Drake escapes a sinking ship; a constant stress source with little space for errors. From a narrative perspective, I adjusted the tone of each level.

Starting with cold, muted environments, the atmosphere gradually shifts to red and yellow hues, symbolizing the growing danger and uncertainty. Drawing inspiration from the game Journey, I wanted to mimic the vast sense of adventure enhanced by music and contrasting environment.

Gameplay highlights

Iterated on design based on internal and external feedback to balance encounters and difficulty.
Designed subtle foreshadowing of future obstacles in each of the levels. Visual and audio cues.
Using Unity's prefabs, I created a camera border template to ensure that camera borders are respected across all levels regardless the elevation.
Through experimentation I achieved a fine result of elevation play when stacking furniture on top of one another, reaching for a similar effect found in It Takes Two or Little Nightmares where the environment, though realistic, is emphasized through size ratio.

Forshadowing, prefabs - Supporting images

Drew concepts, sketches, blockouts and set dressing of all levels.
Made multiple paths across all levels which present an illusion of choice though in reality they serve similar challenge to the player being rather linear.
To safeguard the game, I have designed a system which eliminates the player by rapidly raising the water level if the player was to get stuck or fall out of bounds.
Designed a system to disable water after completing each level to ensure the game's performance.

Concepts, water obstacle - Supporting images

One standout moment in the game revolves around the "Sense of Scale." Using level exposition and composition, I created a scene that emphasizes the importance of unfolding events — a sharp contrast from the preceding levels. In doing so, I wanted to break the monotony and make an impact, reaching previously set goals.

Another "Sense of Scale" moment occurs at the game's finale, following the climax. While the ship-based scene focuses on pacing, the end moment highlights the world’s vastness. I tried to resemble the environmental storytelling style of Journey when designing these.

Sense of Scale - (audio on!)

Narrative

Environmental storytelling and cutscenes

Together with the concept artist we have designed a storyboard of an opening scene as well as the end cutscene. Taking inspiration from a movie Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, we wanted to resemble a scene of sheer panic, the same feeling of stress which turned into acceptance by the end of the cutscene once the rodent realizes its situation.

I have also closely collaborated with the music and sound producer on adaptive soundtrack which helps with pacing and creates emphasis on different gameplay elements such as the sense of scale room. There the inspiration has been taken from Divinity: The Original Sin II where by the end, we get a soft instrumental version of the main theme which compliments the serious tone of the setting.

Beside that I focused on environmental storytelling using obstacles such as a cat or cutlasses or cannonballs to stay true to the pirates ship theme. The main enemy and the constant stress factor is water, swarming in and consuming the ship. Across the game, the player will encounter a number of gold coins with a skull on them, which foreshadow the inevitable end of our character.

Supporting images

Reflection

For future reference

The Rodent’s Tale is my first game, and a first experience in game development. Albeit rewarding, leading such a large team posed challenges, particularly in communication, documentation, and maintaining a shared vision. However, abundant transparency, constructive feedback and team-building exercises helped overcome them — and, dare I say, deliver a half-decent game.

In hindsight, the process could have been improved by creating a clearer structure within Jira for better workflow and priority management. Our Miro board would have benefited from more specific examples of area assets, and a one-page version of the GDD would have streamlined our planning. And at last, more time spent understanding and utilizing Cinemachine could have enabled a more cinematic experience, particularly in key "Sense of Scale" moments.

Takeaways

Almost finished

Create broader Miro mood boards with more examples of area specific assets.
Creating a gym in engine proved to be vital and allowed for a clear understanding of assets size in comparison to the player character. It also helped realise spatial design and the 3C game design better.