Echoes of the cut

Echoes of the cut is a short but impactful top down RPG game about a young boy named Adonis who sets out on a journey throughout the Ashen Woods to find his missing grandfather.

The game uses a blend of fog of war with the combat focus of hack and slash, this unique blend gives the game an original and satisfying gameplay while also focusing on the narrative.

My Role
Level Designer

Platform
Unity

Duration
Four weeks

Team
10 people

Conceptualization

Brainstorming: On the first day the whole team brainstormed concepts in Figjam and picked two mechanics we wanted to focus on.

Our reference game were Project Zomoid, Escape from Duckov and mainly The Swords of Ditto.
The mechanics we picked were hack and slash and fog of war.

Map ideation & Playertesting

Ideation: Together with another level designer we created a concept on how the map could look like. As the map was going to be played in the forest, a challenge we had was avoiding so it didn’t become to open for the player. We used trees and mountains for the barrier and rivers for some of the obstacles.

Feedback: Player were getting lost in the forest due to missing breadcrumbs. After testing I added paths helping player in the forest but with space for exploration.

Challenges

Github conflicts: In the early stage there were merge conflicts, but we solved it by changing our way of working around Unity.

Jira Management: When we startet there were no clear structure on how the team would work with Jira, so I took the initiative to be responsible for the structure, creating short sprints and having the overview of the backlog as I have prior experience in the program.

Abscence: There where unpredictable abscenes in the team that made us cut down in some items we needed to do. Either put them aside or create an easier version of the feature for the golden.

Contributions

Level Design: My main role in this project was level design. As the level where split in four parts, I implemented my parts in Unity and later on merge the other parts I got from the other level designer to ensure a cohesive map.

I also took the responsibility for importing sprites I got from our Game Artist, ensuring close collaboration with her.

Jira Management: As I took the role of keeping the structure in Jira, I also initiated sprint planning after alpha and beta testings. Making sure the feedbacks we got were put in Jira and we could plan them. I also created small sprints, making it more clear what to prioritize during the coming weeks.