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GRIM DESIGN - OVERVIEW
LEVEL DESIGN DOCUMENT
Made by Romain Bely
Intentions
•Gigantism
•Astonishment
•Grim ubiquity
•Linearity
•Lack of order
Level context
•Tutorial to introduce advanced combat mechanics
•5 to 10 minutes of gameplay
•Introduction to the relationship between the character and its weapon
•Post-apocalyptic world in a medieval fantasy universe
Metrics
•Character size: 1,80m tall x 70 cm diameter
•Average character attack reach: 2m
•Character move speed: walk: 300 units | run: 600 units | height 45 units | angle 44°
•Distance to camera: exploration (walk): 250 units | exploration (run): 300 units | combat (walk): 180 units | combat (run): 235 units
Level charts
Moodboard
Layouts
Layout - All
Flow
Difficulty Flow
Objectives
Objectives overview #1
Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
Column 4
Primary objective
Intention / Environment
completion
Rewards
Objective #1
Get the weapon
• Intention:
à Weapon extraction
-
- Environment: In the ravine, vista
• Success: The character is now equipped with the weapon
• Failure: The character is soft locked until het get the weapon
- The character can now destroy destructible elements
- Cinematic to show the character equipping the weapon
Objective #2
Go inside the cave
• Intention:
- How: Destroy destructible elements in the cave entrance
- Environment: In the cave
• Success: The cave is now accessible
• Failure: The weapon comments to help the player
- Allow the character to perform the first finisher
- New area accessible
- The weapon comments
Objective #3
Perform the first finisher
• Intention:
- How: Hit the enemy enough to perform the first finisher
- Environment: In the cave
• Success: ??
• Failure: The weapon comments to help the player
- Allow the character to perform the second finisher
- The weapon comments
Objective #4
Perform the second finisher
• Intention:
- How: Hit the enemy enough to perform the second finisher
- Environment: In the cave
• Success: The rocks blocking the enemy explode, opening the path
• Failure: The weapon comments to help the player
- Allow the character to perfom the parry
- The weapon comments
- The player can see a vista in the cave
Objective #5
Survive the ambush
• Intention:
- How: Perform a parry, then defeat the enemy
- Environment: In the cave
• Success: The elevator is now accessible
• Failure: The weapon comments to help the player
- Allow the character to use elevators
- New area accessible
There are no rows in this table
Objectives overview #2
Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
Column 4
Primary objective
Intention / Environment
completion
Rewards
Objective #6
Reach the combat arena
• Intention:
- How: Enter the arena
- Environment: In the ravine, after the cave
• Success: Enemies are coming in the arena
• Failure: The weapon comments to help the player
- Enemies coming cinematic
Objective #7
Defeat the opponents
• Intention:
- How: Defeat all enemies without game over
- Environment: In the arena, in the middle of the ravine
• Success: The cave is now accessible
• Failure: Restart to last objective completed
- The weapon comments
Objective #8
Solve the puzzle
• Intention:
- How: Hit the enemy enough to perform the first finisher
- Environment: In the ravine, on the left side
• Success: The bone falls to open the path
• Failure: The weapon comments to help the player
- The character can now access to the path leading to the boss
- Bone falling cinematic
Objective #9
Reach the boss
• Intention:
- How: Hit the enemy enough to perform the second finisher
- Environment: In the ravine
• Success: The boss appears
• Failure: The weapon comments to help the player
- The character can enter the boss room
- Boss introduction cinematic
Objective #10
Defeat the boss
• Intention:
- How: Kill the boss
- Environment: In the boss’ lair
• Success: The elevator is now accessible
• Failure: Restart from the boss introduction cinematic
- Vista behind the boss
There are no rows in this table
Optionnal objectives
Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
Column 4
Optional objective
Intention / Environment
completion
Rewards
Objective #5.1
Get the chest
•Intention: A chest is standing; we can see it from the cave entrance
• Environment : In the cave
• Success: The character gets access to the chest content
- Chest content (grim canister, currency…)
Objective #5.2
Get the chest
• Intention: A chest is standing; we can see it from the first vista
• Environment : In the ravine, at the cave exit
• Success: The character gets access to the chest content
- Chest content (grim canister, currency…)
There are no rows in this table
Walkthrough
•1. The level starts with a cinematic displayed on the player’s screen, showing the character grabbing the weapon.
•2. By the end of the cutscene, the weapon engages the conversation with the character to seem like awaking.
•3. The player moves its character to a vista point and enjoy the vista showing the skull (landmark) where the boss awaits and the level ends; while noticing a chest next to the cave exit.
•4. By moving the character through the path leading to the cave exit, the weapon engages the conversation again to introduce itself.
•5. The character is blocked by some destructible roadblocks in front. By attacking the destructible elements, the combat mode HUD displays on the screen. The destructible elements break leaving grim on the ground and increasing the grim gauge in the bottom left corner of the screen.
•6. After few seconds out of combat, the combat HUD disappears from the screen
•7. The character arrives in front of the cave entrance, before moving its character to get in, the player sees an enemy character being afraid on view and running away.
•8. A step further, the player notices a second chest on top of a corniche. During the journey in the cave, the path is indicated by glowing crystals.
•9. By entering the cave, the character now faces two weakened enemies. The first one on the right side is impaled, the second one is by the other side of the room, blocked in fragile rocks.
•10. The character moves next to the enemy on the right and attacks it a couple of time. By attacking the enemy, the enemy will gauge goes lower every time until the gauge becomes empty.
•11. Once the will gauge is empty, the character performs the grim finisher. The enemy disappears spreading grim around it. The grim gauge increases. After few seconds out of combat, the combat HUD disappears.
•12. The character moves to the second enemy and attacks it a couple of time to empty the enemy’s will gauge and then perform the exploding finisher. By doing so, the enemy and the rocks explode, opening the way to go further in the cave.
•13. The weapon comments about the power that the character possesses.
•14. The character moves in a corridor which contains a vista in a not accessible part of the cave.
•15. The character now enters a new room and is attacked by an ambushed enemy. The character performs a parry to defend, and then attacks the enemy multiple times.
•16. After the ambush, the character walks to a bar. The player presses the contextual interaction button to make its character interacting with the bar. By doing so, the character gets up on a higher ground.
•17. The character makes few steps forward. The player can see the entrance he went from to enter the cave and understand that he is now where he saw the enemy fleeing earlier.
•18. The character turns on a corner to go on the corniche and reach the chest to open it.
•19. The character turns back and follows a corridor that lead to the cave exit.
•20. By exiting the cave with its character, the player sees a big skull that he remdinds having seen on first place on the level start.
•21. The player also recalls about a chest on a corniche by the cave exit. The character moves next to the chest and interact with it. The character acquires the chest rewards.
•22. The player opens the x menu to upgrade the character…
•23. The character moves on a ledge overlooking the arena and drops down the ledge.
•24. The game pauses and a cutscene appears on the player’s screen, showing enemies coming in the arena
•25. The game remains with some enemies in the arena, the combat HUD prints on the player’s screen.
•26. The character fights the enemies in the arena until the last.
•27. The player notices that its character can’t go through the path leading to the skull due to a big hole. He also sees a huge bone above, held by 3 chains.
•28. The character reaches an interactive bar to get on higher ground.
•29. The character moves next to a chain and performs a grim attack on it to destroy it.
•30. The chain breaks, changing the big bone physic behavior.
•31. The character moves to another interactive bar to reach a higher ground, fight a melee enemy and break a second chain.
•32. The big bone physic behavior changes again.
•33. The character drops down the ledge, during the path leading to the third chain, the character fights a range enemy, and then break the third chain.
•34. A custscene appears on the screen with the character watching the big bone falling down, opening the path to the next level part.
•35. The player goes back to the character controls. The character drops down a ledge and crosses the arena to go through the way leading to the boss’ lair.
•36. The character walks on the big bone and continues forward to get in the boss’ lair.
•37. The character enters in the lair.
•38. A custscene appears on the screen with the boss showing up in the back of the lair from the outside.
•39. The character fights the boss.
•40. The weapon comments about the fight against the boss.
•41. The player can enjoy the vista in the back of the boss’ lair.
•42. The level ends.
Signs & feedbacks
•Ledge sign → Indicates places where the character can drop down
•Cave cristal → Indicates the way to go through
•Chain → Changes the bone physics when destroyed
Contrast
•Enemy presence: Cliff – No | Cave – Low | Arena – High | Puzzle – Low | Boss’ lair – Average
•Grim presence: Cliff – High | Cave – Low | Arena – Average | Puzzle - Average | Boss’ lair – High
Game Elements
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