Level / Game designer
Eudes de La Barre de Nanteuil
ABOUT THE GAME
REACHING FOR PERFECTION
KANPEKI is a survival horror game, inspired by the classic Resident Evil and Silent Hill games. You play as Hoshi, a young Japanese student in the 2000s, surviving in a nightmarish and twisted version of her world.
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The game tackles heavy themes, the main one being perfection (完璧 or "Kanpeki" in Japanese) as Hoshi evolves in a world forcing an ideal of perfection to everyone.
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The first level of the game, Hoshi's school (and all its mechanics), were already produced before I joined the project.
INFORMATION
Type
Structure
Players
Engine
Project duration
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3C
Survival horror, Third person, Narrative
Linear
Solo
Unity
6 weeks
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- Fixed third person (ref. : Resident Evil)
- Move, Use taser, Interact, Open inventory
- Mouse & Keyboard, console controller
MY WORK
LEVEL DESIGN
I created the level design for the second level of the game : the mall. To find her friend Mari trapped on top of this sinister building, Hoshi must face the dangers of this place and reach the locked elevator.
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This level has a main hub, a hall that leads to the different shops. Players will come back to this area to open the locked doors and shortcuts once they found the good items.
GAME DESIGN
I took part to the game design aspect of the game, giving ideas and iterations to the gameplay mechanics.
NARRATIVE DESIGN
Through my ideas and level design, I implemented various narrative elements, hidden stories and twists for the players to find in the level.
VERSION 1
3D MOCK-UP
I created a first iteration of the level with a 3D mock-up, with the hall as the main hub and unique shops with different key (or secondary) items.
CAMERA PLACEMENT
In this first 3D mock-up, I started thinking about the camera placement, with the classic Resident evil / Biohazard games being as the main reference. The placement was though out to recreate the themes of the mall and the game in general:
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Perfection (with the cameras focusing on many ads and posters selling an ideal of perfection and beauty)
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Loneliness (with an emphasis on the wide mall crushing Hoshi with its scale, adding a liminal aspect to it)
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Illusion of being watched (from the imposing posters reminiscent of 1984 to the cameras acting as security cameras)
REFERENCES
The layout and themes of these rooms were based on the different references of Japanese malls in the 2000s. I created a Level Design Document with all the intentions between each rooms and camera placement.
GOLDEN / SECONDARY PATHS
I established a golden path, where the player have to explore the rooms in a specific order to get the key items that would allow them to continue forward. I scattered on this path important doors that players could see but not open yet, as a foreshadowing for the rest of the mission. I also integrated secondary shops and rooms, where players could find resources once they have the good key.
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I split the golden path in 3 phases :
- Linear : Reach the first floor of the hall and the saving room
- Exploration : Find the different keys to access the electricity room and unlock the elevator
- Escape : Run to the elevator in a terrifying chase while avoiding all the threats on your way.
FINAL VERSION
HALL
The hub area of the level. Massive, crushing, designed to be liminal and expand beyond sight, this area gives access to the different shops of the mall.
As the player gets closer to her objective, the hall slowly changes from its seemingly perfect look to a nightmarish vision of horror.
WEST BACKROOM
This transition room is sure to make player dizzy with its low angle camera, plunging right into a pool of mannequins at the bottom.
HARDWARE STORE
This unique shop is illuminated by the many television screens all around the room, broadcasting unsettling images. In this store, players will find an essential fuse cell for the electricity room, heavily guarded by mannequins...
VINYL STORE
This shop is designed like a liminal maze, where it's easy to get lost and encounter motionless mannequins, building up a tension that will soon explode...
CLOTHING STORES
These shops are very dangerous due to the presence of mannequins. These will start hunting down the player once the room goes dark with scripted events. Hoshi must navigate between them by using the "breathing mechanic" to reach the light switch.
ELECTRICITY ROOM
The final step before going to the elevator, this room is accessible midway through the level, but is only useful when the player has a fuse cell. Once the power for the elevator is activated, the player better start running...
BLOCK-OUT
With the creation of the block-out in Unity, I got rid of the non-essential rooms, and fused some of them together to make the navigation easier.
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The golden path was also simplified, reducing the number of key needed to reach the end.
PACING
I changed the pacing of the game to incorporate more and better narrative elements and motivations behind each room. The overhaul danger of the level was also increased, with additional mannequins (main enemy of the level, attacking when lights are down and player close).