


Camryn
Level Overview
Fallout 4
Engine: Creation Kit
Time: 4 Months
Quick Summary
"Camryn" is a horror single-player quest in Fallout 4 where the player learns about the disappearance of a family while being attacked by the horrors of a house. There is a demonic presence that is constantly tracking them down. The player must make their way through the house, using a camera at their arsenal, dodging demonic monsters, and solving puzzles to escape the house while learning about a little girl, Camryn, and her camera and drawings.
Base Parameters
-
1 Main Quest
-
Use Camera to uncover hidden symbols or materialize objects
-
Have certain puzzles based on perspective
-
Horror based environment



Map


Design Goals
1. New Mechanics through Scripting
2. Incorporate the Fundamentals of Level Design
3. Horror Theme with Interesting puzzles



1. New Mechanics Through Scripting
I try to push the boundaries of each engine I'm given by implementing new mechanics through scripting and seeing how much the engine can handle.
I wanted to implement a camera like mechanic within Fallout 4. I took inspiration from the game "Visage" and "Madison" and tried to have a similar mechanic where the player uses the camera to uncover secrets.

The Script






























Manifesting Scripted Mechanic
Players can take pictures of objects to cause it to reveal hidden secrets. This can be drawings on the walls or even destroying walls entirely.


































2. Incorporating the Fundamentals of Level Design
Sight Lines






























Conveyance






























Teaching the Player






























3. Designing a Horror Level in Fallout 4 with Interesting Puzzle Designs
Because the theme is "horror" the level can get away with some area of disbelief. So I incorporated that while using the main mechanics of enabling and disabling objects with the Camera
Parts of Objects to Make a Whole
Some puzzle designs I had was to place part of an object onto a drawing of the object and taking a photo to create the object.






























Shadows
Other puzzles I wanted to utilize shadows and creating objects that way.
































Perspective Puzzle Scripted Mechanic
If the player looks at certain objects a certain way they will be able to reveal the entire message or object.






























Camryn Full Gameplay



Postmortem
What Went Well?
-
Coming up with interesting and new mechanics and ideas.
-
I wanted to showcase scripting in Creation Kit and I was able to do so by having multiple scripts all interacting with each other.
-
Able to quickly action-block and get the mechanic working.
​
What Went Wrong?
-
I did not have a solid plan for puzzle design. As I am mostly a combat designer, coming up with multiple multi-step puzzles all interconnecting set me back significantly.
- I did not have a solid LDD at the beginning which push me back about a week or two in deliveries. I was basically coming up with a new layout on the fly while iterating on it.
What I learned
-
I learned that you don't need to do too much to make a puzzle memorable. The simplest puzzles can also be the best
-
Having the action-blocks and growing out from them helps significantly and allows me not to have to start from scratch when creating a level.
-
I learned more scripting techniques within Creation Kit.
