LD3 Solo Project 1st Checkpoint

 As my last post stated, I was suppossed to have my LDD and all of my main Blue prints working by the first checkpoint. This is a link to my LDD: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/14I3cizQiclXG3LnNC_kbdLAz2oUSMSBSHQh5lZzDzwc/edit?usp=sharing


For this level, I wanted to follow the Core game-loop of the Catacomb levels; which is to have a locked boss door at the beginning, and to navigate through the rest of the level to find the lever to unlock it. With this framework in mind, I still wanted to make it unique, as all catacombs within Elden Ring have their own twist within each one. 

I did some research on reddit on opinions of the catacombs, to discover what was considered good, and what could be improved upon. The main complaint was that they felt repetitive with the same theme and look in every single one. The positives were the experiences people had trying to solve some of the puzzles within the levels. The more mind-screwy, the better.

So I tried listing out all the different mechanics/elements in each catacomb, to pull together and use/draw inspiration from:

-Traps that shoot darts (triggered by stone buttons on the floor)
-Trap floor that moves up towards a spiked ceiling (with hidden path underneath)
-A window that the player drops down out of right next to the boss door, back after navigating the level.
-Hidden Walls (activate upon hitting)
-Trap-Fire towers that move up & down when you hit them
-Enemy jump-scares
-Elevator next to Boss Door with hidden path underneath
-Enemies that are invincible, until they've entered a zone
*Special: Kill a specific enemy to open the boss door

I then made a list of ideas that I had, that could possibly help make the catacomb formula a little more fresh:

-Multiple levers
-Lever that moves platforms
-Theme Change
-Swinging Axes
-Falling Trap
-More traps activated by stone buttons
        -2 stone walls smash together

I ultimately ended up including all of these in my LDD, except for the Swinging Axes and the Lever that moves platforms idea (though I might return to this). And I got all of them working! They could stand to use a little polish, but I will be doing that as I blockout!

I knew I'd likely need to meticulously plan the top-down map to make the interconnectedness of the level feel natural. So I drew it out on paper first, and then traced over that for the top-down in Illustrator!

Top Floor:

Bottom Floor:


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