Airlocked
Gameplay Breakdown
Demo Trailer
Systems Design
Movement systems: This was my first time building a new movement system within Unreal that works in a three-dimensional space. I wanted the movement to be based on the player camera, to give the illusion of floating around space rather than being ground locked. In addition, I wanted all momentum to be carried, which the default movement system in Unreal Engine 5 doesn't do.
My solutions for this was using the "Launch" node in UE5 on event tick, launching the player based on the keys pressed, with the force divided evenly among each direction.
In addition, I added a boost, which added momentum four times over the course of a single second, to give the player a sense of acceleration.
In order to make controlling the movement more skillful, I added a mechanic that damages the player if they hit a wall while moving too fast. At certain speeds, the player can die instantly.
Finally, after testing, new players found it very hard to stop and it frustrated them when they died due to not having some sort of breaks in place to stop movement. To combat this, I added a Counter Boost, which brings the players momentum close to neutral over two seconds.
Basic Movement
The movement keys will add momemtum depending on how many keys are added. Properly managing player direction and speed is a key skill.
Movement Abilities
The boost allows the player to charge a boost for up to 3 seconds while holding right click.
While charging a blue UI bar will fill up from the center.
The charge is then released and the player gains a quick boost in speed. The counter boost (Q key) will bring the player to a near stop, but has a long cooldown.
This is a get out of jail free card to slam the breaks if the player loses control of the situation.
Level Design
The core of AirLocked relies on level design in order to allow the player to get full use of the zero-gravity mechanics. This forced me to rethink how I built the level in multiple ways.
Theme: The level needs to draw from a specific theme regarding space. In order to make the concept of the game clear, I made the level take place outside the spaceship to give a clear idea of the game's identity and allow for the use of environmental hazards like asteroids.
Replayabllity: At it's core, AirLocked is a game focused on mastering movement. In these types of games, players like to test their efficacy, trying to set a faster time. Leaning into this, all levels are short bursts of gameplay with a different theme and challenge that are built to be optimized in one way or another by determined players.
Cover: When building a level that's so three dimensional, I needed to rethink how I built cover, as I couldn't just provide cover for the sides of the player. There needed to be cover that shielded the player from above and below. In addition, the cover also needed to be useful for stopping player movement or even becoming an obstacle if the player opted to move very fast.
Verticality: The key advantage of building a zero-gravity game is that the player is much less restricted on all planes of movement. Each area of the level had to account for the players range of movement. This also meant I could pack more gameplay into a smaller net area by placing objectives both high and low.
Tutorial Level
The goal of this first level is to introduce basic movement mechanics and test the player on them, before releasing them to the more advanced content. Each room has an express purpose of teaching the player one mechanic, be it using WASD to move, or using the boost to clear gaps quickly.
This first room is mostly empty save a few decorations.
The idea is to let the player get a handle on the zero gravity movement before they move onto rooms with active threats.
They can still crash into walls at high speed and take damage that way.
This room introduces players to lasers.
Fine movement is necessary to get through without dying.
At the back of the room is a repeating beam that turns off an on at regular intervals.
This forces the player to use the boost to get through in time.
Here is the players first combat encounter.
The lighting alerts the player to danger as they enter the room.
Each turret is placed as to allow the player to take them on one at a time, easing them into the combat.
Once every turret is down, the barrier will turn off.
This final room combines aspects of the second and third room, acting as a small test of the players skill.
There are lasers placed to act as a deterrent to the player, and turrets line the walls and ceilings.
There is a shortcut that allows the player to potentially skip all combat, but requires the player to move through moving lasers.
Exterior Level
Original Blockout
At this point, I hadn't thought of using barriers as a roadblock for players yet.
The level could be easily run through with all the mobility tools the player had.
I was still experimenting with ideas for the end of the level.
I wanted the focus to be on dodging meteors but I was unsure of what other challenges I wanted.
In addition the meteor section was shorter and easier at the time.
Final Version
First half the level, focused on testing the players ability to engage in a gunfight in zero gravity.
There are two objectives which force the player to fine tune their movement, along with a long straightaway to allow the player to utilize the boost.
This section of the level is almost entirely focused on movement, as the turrets can mostly be avoided since they have very limited angles.
The main threats are the asteroids, which are all on a random timer and will instantly kill the player.
Engine core level
Asset Credits
Space HDRI: https://cubebrush.co/era7
SciFi Assets: Walter Woods
Trailer music: https://audiojungle.net/item/epic-trailer/28677553?