Mote Valley

Mote Valley is an immersive first-person adventure game that embarks players on a compelling journey to combat the encroaching darkness that engulfs the world. In this captivating experience, players must strategically acquire creatures and nurture their evolution in order to mount a formidable defense. By gathering unique foods, players can level up their creatures and unlock a diverse array of enchanting and exotic beasts. Through careful nurturing and tactical decision-making, players may even reach the awe-inspiring pinnacle of encountering the legendary star god. Mote Valley offers a rich and immersive gameplay experience that blends exploration, creature management, and a captivating narrative, inviting players to unravel the mysteries of a world in peril.

Design document

Role(s) and Responsibilities:

Design + Project Lead

Level Design

Designed and built an open world level suitable for the game.
Greyboxed the level inside of 3DS max.
Designed level around gameplay mechanics with an increasing play radius.
Balance tested world size, number of resources, kill zone damage and kill zone speed.
Meshed level with assets provided by artists to make the world feel beautiful and alive

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General Game Design

Concepted general game idea with team using MIRO.
Sound design.
Developed Cel-shader for the world.
Developed water material.
Developed Cloud particle effects.
Animate UI
Developed global wind material and Wind Waker-like particle effects.

Team Management

Instructed designers on required assets, levels, sound, and particles.
Directed art team in a direction for art style and checked on progress.
Directed tech team on game mechanics and gameplay.
Issued tasks on Jira.

Planning

From the initial design concept, careful considerations were made to ensure a dynamic and engaging gameplay experience in Mote Valley. Recognizing the game's expandable playable area, a pivotal decision was made to design the world around a central point of interest, serving as a focal point for the expanding gameplay space.

To maintain a seamless progression, the scaling of each area was meticulously planned to ensure the player could reach them in a logical and balanced order. This deliberate correlation between area accessibility and creature balance added depth and strategic significance to the player's progression.

Furthermore, the decision to make the final area visible and tantalizing from the beginning aimed to evoke a sense of curiosity and intrigue, enticing players to uncover hidden secrets and drive their desire to explore further.

While the placement of items and assets initially served as temporary ideas during the planning phase, the significance of playtesting became evident, allowing for adjustments and refinements to optimize the player's experience.

Notably, the inclusion of multiple stars and creature pens in each area fostered exploration and offered players the opportunity to nurture a diverse range of creatures.

These thoughtful design choices collectively contribute to the immersive and captivating gameplay of Mote Valley.

Grey Boxing and Landscaping

During my first foray into 3DS Max, I embarked on the development of a meticulously scaled grey box representing the map I intended to construct. This invaluable reference served as a guide not only for my own endeavors in Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) but also provided essential insights for the artists, facilitating their understanding of scaling requirements for various assets such as trees, buildings, and more.

To expedite the world-building process in UE4, I seamlessly imported the grey box file, utilizing it as a foundation for accurately scaling the landscape. This enabled me to explore different ideas and resolutions for the terrain, ultimately leading to the creation of both a fully smoothed landscape and a more rugged counterpart. After thoughtful collaboration with the team, we collectively decided to incorporate both variations in the final design. The desert region, nestled within a canyon, naturally lent itself to the rougher terrain, while the forest and swamp areas harmoniously complemented the smoothed landscape.

By employing this professional approach to 3DS Max and UE4 integration, I effectively harnessed the power of visual reference and collaborative decision-making, resulting in a cohesive and immersive game world in Mote Valley.

Forest Development

Once the art asset development phase reached its completion, my focus shifted towards creating the captivating forest environment within the game engine. To achieve this, I initiated the process by amalgamating various assets, thereby forming larger and more intricate trees. Leveraging the foliage tool, I strategically placed these trees throughout the game world. A conscious decision was made to maintain a sense of openness in certain areas to enhance the overall user experience. By avoiding excessive density within the forest, I aimed to prevent repetition and potential confusion during navigation, while reserving the denser foliage for the outer regions.

Subsequently, utilizing the foliage tool, I meticulously positioned rocks, grass, and flowers within the forest. It was imperative to achieve an even distribution, but with a greater concentration of ground clutter in the denser areas of the forest. Moreover, I introduced prominent boulders strategically placed as landmarks to serve essential gameplay purposes and aid in distinguishing different regions.

Referring back to my initial plans, I adhered to the decision of incorporating three pens within this specific area. This deliberate choice was informed by the player's progression, with the final creature being unlocked in the ruins, leaving two pens available for the first creature, thereby ensuring a gradual unlocking progression.

By meticulously executing these professional design choices, I successfully crafted a visually captivating and well-balanced forest environment in Mote Valley, contributing to an immersive and engaging player experience.

Ruins Development

The development process for the ruins area differed from that of the forest, as it required a more intricate and meticulous approach. Unlike the forest, where the foliage tool was utilized, the placement of assets within the ruins was done manually. This deliberate choice was made to accommodate the intricacies and unique characteristics of the assets present in and around the ruins. Each pillar was crafted individually, with smaller assets at the base to create the illusion of the pillars erupting from the ground, anchoring themselves, or exhibiting signs of spreading. This attention to detail contributes to the mystical ambiance of the environment, offering a sense of awe and wonder.

To create the immersive cave experience within the ruins, I introduced a new landscape layer that seamlessly merged with the existing landscape, effectively blending the two together. Utilizing the large pillars as gateways, I crafted an entrance into the cave system. To enhance the atmosphere and further evoke a sense of mystique, I implemented a post-process volume specifically for the interior of the cave. This post-process effect darkened the area and reduced saturation, effectively setting a mood that aligns with the mystical nature of the ruins. Additionally, I incorporated a particle effect that simulated floating dust, contributing to the overall enchanting and immersive atmosphere within the cave.

By meticulously hand-placing assets, integrating unique visual elements, and employing carefully crafted post-process effects, I successfully brought the ruins area to life in Mote Valley. This level of attention to detail and artistic finesse ensures that players are immersed in a captivating and ethereal experience as they explore this mystical environment.

Desert Development

The desert area in the game stands out as a visually stunning environment, showcasing the successful implementation of world-aligned textures. This innovative technique played a significant role in bringing the desert to life, allowing for a seamless integration of textures that enhanced the overall aesthetic appeal. In order to capture the essence of a canyon-like atmosphere, careful attention was given to the placement of pillars in relation to the surrounding cliffs, ensuring a cohesive and harmonious visual composition. The deliberate intention was to create an immersive experience where players truly feel immersed within a vast and awe-inspiring desert landscape.

To further accentuate the canyon theme, meticulous detailing was applied to the ground, featuring an abundance of desert stones and rocks. This attention to detail contributes to a more authentic and immersive desert experience. Additionally, a prominent archway, thoughtfully provided by the talented artists, serves as a captivating entrance to the desert area, further enhancing the sense of exploration and discovery.

By leveraging world-aligned textures, incorporating cohesive visual elements such as pillars and cliffs, and enhancing the terrain with carefully placed desert stones, the desert area in Mote Valley delivers a visually stunning and engaging environment. The attention to detail and commitment to creating a realistic and immersive canyon-like setting result in a truly captivating experience for players as they traverse this remarkable desert landscape.

Swamp Development

The development of the swamp area presented unique challenges that required a meticulous approach. Creating a visually captivating swamp environment involved various tasks, such as developing a custom single-layer water material with instance editing capabilities. This allowed for flexibility and reusability of the water material beyond the swamp, particularly within the ruins. Additionally, the process involved individually adding "goop" elements to mushrooms and trees, enhancing the immersive quality of the swamp.

A crucial aspect of the swamp's visual design was the creation of the water material. Leveraging the features provided by Unreal Engine 4 (UE4), a single-layer water material node was employed, incorporating parameters for water absorption and water murkiness. These parameters played a crucial role in defining the behavior and appearance of the water. By skillfully manipulating the absorption coefficients through multiplication, the material determined which colors to absorb, resulting in the reflection of complementary colors. Through careful attention to detail and the utilization of advanced material techniques, the swamp area was brought to life, offering players a captivating and atmospheric experience.

Wind Development

In addition to the level design, I also implemented a dynamic global wind system to enhance the environmental immersion. This involved utilizing a combination of assets, including a wind blueprint integrated into materials and a particle effect. Through clever manipulation of world position offset in the material editor, I created a "jiggle" effect to induce asset shaking and utilized a sine wave to make trees and bushes sway in a specific direction. Furthermore, by utilizing built-in particle systems in Unreal Engine 4 (UE4), I developed a visually appealing particle effect with an invisible moving particle and an attached trail, resulting in a simple yet effective representation of wind in the game world.