Crysis 2 Level: Crossroads

Development Summary:

Game: Crysis 2
Engine: CryEngine 3
Development Time: 4 months
Genre: First-Person-Shooter, Wave-based/ Horde mode Gameplay

Level Goals:

Play to the strengths of Crysis 2 Gameplay
Provide for multiple playstyles
Develop interesting WOW moments
Multi-leveled combat
Reuse of space through use of new enemy waves

Game Overview:

As part of my Level Design V class, we were tasked with building a level in CryEngine 3. The level had to meet the following requirements:

1-4 areas with a distinct visual theme
Objectives a player could complete throughout the level
At least one WOW moment
One scripted sequence
One scripted event using Flowgraph
And at least One combat encounter.

Being a fan of horde mode and wave-based combat, I decided to build a level that specifically focused on that type of gameplay. In Crossroads, players took on the role of Prophet, the super soldier from the Crysis series, and were tasked to protect a group of marines and help them secure an important intersection for the U.S. Army. At the beginning, the player predominantly fights C.E.L.L. forces, saving the marines from a C.E.L.L. attack, pushing into the central intersection, and repulsing one wave of C.E.L.L. retaliation. And while these initial forces may seem weak or easy, about midway through the second wave, a force of Ceph, the alien forces trying to take over New York, crash down in force fighting both the marines and C.E.L.L.

Level Walkthrough:

The player begins the level and receives their first objective to "Save the Marines," who are fighting on the street below. Here the player sees their first WOW moment as a Ceph gunship destroys a C.E.L.L. helicopter.
Dropping down, the player has plenty of options to engage the C.E.L.L. soldiers, including sniping them from above or dropping down to the street.
The player and their marine allies battle the C.E.L.L. soldiers.
Eventually the player defeats the C.E.L.L. forces in the area and receives their next objective, "Secure the intersection." Both the player and marines move into the intersection.
As the player enters the space, the way point directs them to a small stash of supplies and weapons.
After all the marines enter the intersection, the first wave of C.E.L.L. retaliation spawns.
The player can use the scaffolding near the corner store to climb up onto the roof and grab a scoped rifle, rewarding the player for exploring.
The player engages and defeats the first wave of C.E.L.L. soldiers.
Once the first wave of C.E.L.L. soldiers are defeated, the player has a few seconds to gather ammo and restock before the wave begins. During this down time, three Ceph gunships fly over the street, informing the player of what is to come and increasing the level of tension.
The player engages the second wave of C.E.L.L. retaliation, however about midway through the wave Ceph crash down from a dropship.
With the second wave of enemies defeated, the player has chance to regroup and reload. Here the player sees another WOW moment as Ceph troopers climb through the smoking wreckage of the crashed helicopter from earlier in the level and march down on the player.
The player engages the final wave of enemy forces. This is the hardest wave as it not only includes basic Ceph soldiers, also but a Ceph commander.
With all the enemy forces defeated, the player receives a new objective to regroup with Goulde. They head towards the landing flare and receive a "Level Over" message.

Development Overview:

Area 1: Beginning Street

During the course of development, the beginning area did not change too much in terms of purpose. The goal of the space was to provide players a place to warm up, get used to the controls and figure out how they wanted to proceed. Do they want to grab the rifle and try to snipe from afar, perhaps charge in with the shotgun, this area allows players to ask these questions and prepare. It also gives the player several interesting WOW and story moments that help to give the level character and provide a sense of tension. One example is the Ceph gunship that blows a C.E.L.L. helicopter out of the sky. It is a fun piece to watch and it was challenging and rewarding to put together. Plus, it also serves an important purpose in helping to block off the right most portion of the intersection.

Area 2: Central Intersection

The central intersection is where all the action takes place. From C.E.L.L. soldiers to Ceph bombardment, this section exists to give the player the best opportunity to use all their abilities and provide an interesting challenge. However, getting to that point took time, weeks of polish, and playtesting, all while dealing with strange bugs and level wiping crashes. Several ideas were cut or changed and the map redone multiple times in order to discover what the level needed. One such example, early iterations of the second wave included a jeep with a mounted gun driving into the intersection. And while the sequence was cool, due to the hectic fighting that took place during the jeep's arrival, few if any players even noticed it. In addition, the mounted gun on the jeep disrupted development for later waves as the player's interaction with the turret was inconsistent with some players able to grab turret and finish the level easily and other players unable to use it. As such the jeep sequence was later changed to the flying Ceph gunships, something that was more strictly visual, but still added to the level by creating more tension and cluing players into what might happen next.

Another interesting aspect of design came in the form of a strange bug. Initially, the idea was to have enemies on both the roof tops of the corner store and diner, giving the sense that the C.E.L.L. had the upper hand and were ready to expunge the player and their marine friends. And while most of the A.I. worked fine on the diner roof, for whatever reason the A.I. refused to work while on top of the corner store's roof. Several attempts were made to try and get the A.I. on that roof to work including rearranging the roof cover multiple times, reducing the number of enemies, and reworking the navigational nodes. Unfortunately, no matter what was implemented, the A.I. on the cornerstore roof refused to work and was removed. Yet, the space itself was still useful and as such was re-purposed strictly as an exploration area with as small reward. Players who took a few seconds to jump onto the roof could find a scoped rifle and a precious ammo pack for their trouble.

Another interesting development was the spawning situation. Due to the player's amount of mobility in Crysis 2, there were very few areas where enemies could spawn without the player quickly running in and seeing them pop into existence. As such, there was a need to have a system that prevented players from accidentally seeing behind the curtain. While initially somewhat difficult, especially when there were multiple level, the solution was to use a simple check and rubble. In the corner store and diner there are doors that go nowhere. However, if the player is on the side of with the intersection with the diner, an explosion occurs inside the corner store, covering the spawning of the soldiers in particles and dust. Rubble and other destroyed pieces then spawn into the area around the door, seemingly explaining where the soldiers came from. The player has enough information to infer that the soldiers must have broken into the area through the door. The same is true of the diner spawning.

However, even with all these issues and problems, the central combat area does everything it needs to do. There is plenty of cover that both players and A.I. can use to make informed and tactical decisions. The player has plenty of ways to use the many game mechanics of Crysis 2 such as long areas for sprinting, places to use cloak and armor, and several ways to use the super jump to get around and into better vantage points. There are two scripted sequences that help to build tension and even allow for the occasional surprise as a Ceph troop slams down right in front of the player. It is a level that does what it needs to do, provide players a fun and awesome experience.

Postmortem:

The development of Crossroads was a process that taught me many lessons about using space, combat encounters, and the need to know when to cut. I was so excited when I first got the jeep sequence finally implemented. I was so proud of how it drove into the area, guns blazing, marines panicking, Ceph moving for cover, it had a powerful impact when it rolled into town. So, I was rather sad to hear how many of my colleagues failed to notice it at allr. I tried making it work from different angles, with more of an announcement of its presence, I even at one point had a Ceph pod drop directly onto it just to see if the player would notice it. However, the fact that no one even saw it and the inconsistency with the turret eventually forced my hand and it was cut along with the roof A.I. for the corner store. Even though I had worked on these pieces of the level for so long, tried dozens of things to try and get them to work, I eventually had to ship the project. It is not easy to cut things from a project you care about, but it is something that has to be done every day in the industry. Everyday, the product moves forward towards that end date and while in some cases that date can be modified, you still have to eventually ship it. This means cutting problem areas where you need to and working on the areas that are doing well in order to make sure you have a product that people actually want to play. I am glad I learned this lesson with Crossroads that way I am prepared for this eventuality once I make it to industry.