KIA - Level

  • Singleplayer Level

  • 10 minutes of gameplay

  • Developed over 1 Month

  • Source Engine 2

  • Solo Project

KIA is a “wide linear” map for Half Life Alyx. It features a singular objective, with sections of gameplay that ask players to make a choice that affects how they proceed to the next section, as well as which equipment they acquire along the way.

KIA was built to accommodate the different pieces of information players cling to and the playstyles that info supports.

(1) Layered Destruction points provide points to reconsider persistent equip use

This direction will beckon the player forward to the

(2) Defenders are encouraged to use equipment to negate overwhelming sites

(3) Attackers can create more dynamic lines of sight by breaking hard walls

The Solution

The solve for this ended up being fairly simple, but had interesting cascading effects:

  • Giving certain walls a “hard” descriptor that made them unable to be broken and communicating that to players

  • Giving defending players the ability to harden walls themselves by placing a barricade on that wall

  • Giving Attacking players the ability to break a select amount of hardened walls per round

Gameplay

Map Structure

KIA is built to be a small open world. The player has a singular objective, with multiple approaches available. This is what I refer to as “wide linear”.

The different paths converge at points that act as gates for the player. Skill checks involving combat/puzzles that need to be sorted before progressing.

To make the world feel less linear, I created unique ways for the player to continue exploring- never hitting a true dead end. There’s always a way to go forward, and looping clockwise or counterclockwise reveals new info that wouldn’t have been gained easily if traveling through once.

Special attention was also given to how the player proceeded through the world. As you complete steps to get closer to your objective, the world shrinks- eventually centering the player on their goal.

Player Path

The player starts by waking up in a room. Any input will trigger the NPC in their headset to start giving direction.

HLA revolves around gunplay and manipulating the environment. To support the feeling of exploration and stealth as additional options to progress, I had to lean into context that reflected the player action. This created context that suggested and rewarded players of certain playstyles.

> Mod Content for Half Life: Alyx

Letting players dictate their own angles allowed for me as a level designer to entertain many possibilities with each site. It provides an opportunity for player expression and shifts the focus in the level design process from restricting players to empowering players. Instead of keeping how players cross through doorways and clear rooms in mind, I was able to think of FPS maps in a different way- creating interesting break up of spaces and cover that evolved with the space.

Selected Captures from the Map

North side Map Attacker approach

Top down view of Western Approach / Alternative Plant Site

First Floor Rotate to A Site on Second Floor

South side Map Attacker approach

Back of A Plant Site

First Floor B Plant Site

Decisions made

  1. The map has a minimal amount of material work done.

    I understand that material work is a staple of source mapping. But I wanted to do something different. Any kind of iteration time spent I wanted to devote to iterating on the experience.

Playthrough