The Locked
Puzzle Dungeon
Level Designer/Scripter
ENGINE: Creation Kit
LANGUAGE: Papyrus
DEV TIME: 7 Weeks
GAME MODE: Single Player
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Level
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Level Design Doc
Level
Overview
Level Summary:
"The Locked" is a single-player, puzzle-focused level for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. In this Zelda-inspired level, the player must complete a series of puzzles and combat encounters based on a binary switch system in order to retrieve an ancient Nord amulet. Throughout the level, the player will encounter doors tinted blue or red. When the red doors are open, the blue doors are closed and vice versa. The player also encounters levers, which, when triggered, switch which color of door is open. Halfway through the dungeon, the player finds a staff which can activate levers from a distance, greatly increasing puzzle possibilities. Once the player has completed all of the level's puzzles, they face the ancient Draugr Halmstar and retrieve his amulet.
Screenshots:
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Development Timeline:
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Weeks 1 & 2: Designed and created map of level. Scripted binary switch system.
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Week 3: Completed level whitebox, with door placements.
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Week 4: Added traps and enemies, playtested.
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Week 5: Adjusted difficulty of enemies and traps based on feedback. Added additional conveyance to puzzles.
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Week 6 & 7: Decorated level, playtested, and fixed bugs.
Postmortem
What Went Well
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Almost all of the puzzles I planned when I started making the level worked well and engaged players.
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The level's puzzles are balanced and arranged so as to introduce players to new concepts slowly but steadily.
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The binary door scripting was clean, easy to maintain, relatively low in bugs.
What Went Wrong
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I wasn't able to add the optional puzzles into the level.
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I wasn't able to incorporate the puzzle mechanic into the final boss battle.
What I Learned
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Simple puzzle mechanics can make very interesting puzzles if you take the time to think through their consequences.
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Fixing bugs as soon as you see them makes it more likely that they will get fixed.
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If you build a puzzle mechanic through a level, you really need to incorporate it into the level's climax.