Patient Zero
Half-Life 2 Mod
Release: March 17, 2017
Designer
Responsibilities:
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Designed the level geometry through concept, implementation, and polish phases
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Scripted puzzles, music, and cinematics
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Scripted enemy encounters and combat sequences
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Scripted custom weapon for desired game feel
DESIGN GOALS
Building Tension
I wanted to set a strong tone that made players feel like a monster could jump out at them at any minute. If I was going to establish that feeling, I had to communicate the key information of the level from the start: the player is alone, they have no contact with the outside world, and there are monsters lurking in the space. I chose to begin the level with a slow elevator crawl that showcases the imminent danger of the space through blood and corpses, flickering lights, and wandering head crabs, all while keeping the player in a safe space before they step out into the unknown.
Dark Atmosphere
As players are exploring this abandoned facility, I wanted elements of the level to respond to their presence. I wanted to make the player feel like they were trespassing in dangerous territory to ramp up the tension throughout the level. I kept enemy encounters brief but significant, making headcrabs and zombies crawl out of vents and jump out of corners when the player drew near. I also used music and unstable lighting to reinforce the idea that players were descending into darkness, approaching the source of the danger, throughout the level.
Brutal Combat
Once players trigger the emergency protocol and unleash zombies throughout the facility, I wanted to kick all of the suspense that I had been building into a huge climactic action sequence, and following through on the promise of intense danger with combat. Specifically, combat against insurmountable odds— the player had to feel like they were barely cutting through a massive overwhelming horde. I combined different enemy types to complicate the information the player could process at any given time and equipped them with a weak and small capacity weapon to force the player to constantly move through the space as they completed the puzzle.
SCRIPTING
Battery Puzzle
I wanted to create a puzzle that blended into the world as opposed to being arbitrary or contrived. I created slots for batteries using trigger boxes that waited for contact with the battery physics objects. All batteries shared the same properties so they could be used interchangeably at every slot, but each slot had specific properties to open doors or turn on lights. Each slot also recognizes when the player removes a battery, and will lock doors or turn off lights accordingly.
Custom Weapon Balance
For combat to feel appropriately overwhelming and horrifying, I had to script a weapon that was powerful enough to defend themselves briefly, but not powerful enough that they could dominate the fight. I changed the properties of the pistol weapon to a desired damage output and coupled that with severely restricting ammunition. Balancing these two variables gave me a lot of flexibility to adjust combat according to my playtest data.
Gallery
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