Week 8

This week I began creating a second gravity gun puzzle where the player must use the gravity gun to break some wooden boards (See Figure 11). These boards block the door leading into the next apartment. I wanted to add this puzzle in to keep the player thinking, rather than have them simply walk towards and open the door. From playing HL2, I have learned that Valves level designers often will give the player small tasks to do in between combat encounters. Therefore, I decided to make a similar feature in my level to show that I understand valves approach to level design. This will help to maintain the players interest and keep the experience refreshing. 

Figure 11: A screenshot taken of the second gravity gun puzzle

I have also begun designing the combat encounter which will occur once the player opens the door. My intention is to design this combat encounter to encourage more close quarters combat than in the preceding fights. This will help to create variety in the combat.

Before making this puzzle, I was considering making a section where a helicopter or combine gunship attacks the player while on the roof. I ultimately decided against making this section as I felt having it immediately after the previous combat encounter might feel too challenging for the player and ruin the pacing. I am still in the process of deciding if I want to include this section later in the level. However, I will have to keep in mind scope, since my level is meant to take 7-10minutes to fully play and I currently have 4-5 minutes of gameplay. Next week I plan to continue developing the combine gunship encounter.