Haunted House
The Haunted House is a first-person exploration horror demo in which you play as an unknown character trapped in a house, following the clues to understand its curse and reach the bottom of the truth.
This student assignment was created over 1 month for the Level Design and Visual Scripting (blueprints) class in the Game Design Program at Vancouver Film School.
Platform: Windows PC
Engine: Unreal Engine 5.3.2
Software: Adobe Photoshop
Duration: 1 month
Start Date: January 25th, 2024
Finish Date: February 23rd, 2024
Team Size: 1
Role: Level Designer | Narrative Designer
Accomplishments
-
The Narrative is told through environmental storytelling and key moments.
-
Complete set dressing of the environment to craft the moment-to-moment and storytelling.
-
Visual scripting with Unreal blueprints to create chain events, UI information, and progression.
-
Complete experience with no player aid.
Level Design
My main goal for this project was to put in practice and hone my skills as a level designer by crafting an entire experience where there would be no aid to the player and the progression would be locked, requiring the proper interaction with the game and following the trails left in the level to reach the end.
Key moments:
-
Discovering the dark secrets and events that happened in the house.
-
Finding and interacting with the painting of the mother and interacting with it triggers a new set of hints in the form of subtle breadcrumbing.
-
Learn the depth of the inhuman events that happened in the house through nothing but environmental storytelling.
-
Trigger the collective's side task after unveiling the father's fate.
-
Reach the basement and find the dead body and the children.
Environment & Set Dressing
Environmental storytelling: two plates and two pillows in a single bed.
Set dressing example: 2nd floor hall. Something is blocking the way.
Laundry Room: everything is oddly pristine.
A mysterious painting resting on the bed. The pristine face is only on the outside.
The paintings appear throughout the house
The paintings guide you somewhere
A darker secret is revealed and shown through the set dressing.
The Office. More details can be picked if you pay attention.
Ghost sequence: kid running and disappearing.
Grandparent's bathroom. Precarious conditions and hints of something more.
The Dining Room
The Kitchen
The Livingroom
The Basement