Nayad's Secret
Personal Project
Scenes Screenshots
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Role: Level Designer / Environment Artist
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Genre: Story Rich Puzzle Game
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Platform: PC
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Engine: Unity 2018
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Context : January 2019 to June 2019, team of 5. Being reworked since May 2020.
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Team : Done with Nel Milock.
GAME CONCEPT
The government found your ancestor's, the Captain Nemo, submarine. Curious, you go and explore it, trying to figure out what happened in there and why after only one journey the submarine vanished away.
Inspired by the book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne.
DESIGN INTENTIONS
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Mysterious and rusty ambiance in which will instigate curiosity in the player's mind
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Implementing complex puzzles and deep environmental storytelling
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Create a fun and fascinating levels based on the story line
WORK HIGHLIGHTS
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Rich sources of inspiration for level design and the submarine architecture
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Create interesting puzzles to solve throughout the levels while slowly introducing new solving mechanisms
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Strong environmental storytelling
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Deep backstory transmitted through Environment
Concept change from the machinery room to the lab for a better fit with the story.
Restructuration of the visuals.
Final visual
Concept change from the machinery room to the lab for a better fit with the story.
CREATIVE PROCESS
With the team, we created complex and intriguing puzzles and my job was to create levels around those. I articulated each level around the story line, the different mechanics we wanted the player to learn and specific emotions. Each room has its own atmosphere, puzzle and interactions possibility.
Taking inspiration from the steam age machines and Twenty thousands miles under the sea, I created a rusty submarine interior with nuts and bolts in the walls and old rusty, leaky pipes everywhere. I tried to replicate the interior of a civil submarine dating from the late 1800s.
Level Highlights
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COMMAND ROOM
Objective : Search the room for a way to unlock the door and find the Captain journal to try to understand what happened down here.
DESIGN GOALS
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Feeling of an ancient mystery discovery
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Introducing puzzle solving and hints research
First level in the submarine, it sets up the atmosphere and the overall architecture of the submarine. It offers the first "lines" of the narrative.
It is organized so the player have to search and push him to be thorough in their search.
Rough block out.
A more detailed version with the placement of lights to indicate to the player the points of interest in the room.
Rough block out.
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LAB
Objective : The door hinges are seized and you need to craft an unsealing liquid using the lab equipment.
DESIGN GOALS
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Complex puzzle using environmental hints
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Introduce the crafting mechanic
Mid-game level, we raised the puzzle difficulty a bit to keep the player involved in the story line and the overall objective. The player keep on learning a new way of solving puzzle and therefore a new mechanic : the craft.
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QUARTERS
Objective : Put the electricity back on in order to open the door.
DESIGN GOALS
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Push to be observant about décor items and to snoop around.
Second level in the submarine, we push the player to be observant and really searched every nook-and-cranny to find hidden objects. It offers a first glimpse on the crew life.
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SQUARE AND KITCHEN
Objective : Repair the automaton with all the gears you found in the other rooms to listen to the end of the crew story. Find the hidden door.
DESIGN GOALS
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Practice phase.
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Second-to-last level in the submarine, we push the player to be observant and really searched every nook-and-cranny to find hidden objects. It offers a first glimpse on the crew life.
