Twisty Little Passages – Design Walkthrough 1
Posted on Friday, March 20th, 2009 at 1:25 am under: KnyttWhen I first talked about the Knytt Stories level I’ve been working on — Twisty Little Passages — I mentioned that I wanted to eventually go through it and discuss some of the ideas behind the design and layout of various screens. Initially, I was expecting to leave this discussion on the back burner, but as I thought more about it I realized it might be useful to start it earlier than I planned so that if I received feedback on the level and made changes to it I would have some existing design discussions that I could then compare and contrast with.
I should disclaim that I do not intend to suggest that this Knytt Stories level is profound in any sense, but instead I hope that sharing the thought process behind the level will encourage others to do the same and perhaps provide useful insights about what may (or may not) be useful to others building levels in a similar format. Also, reading these discussions will clearly expose you to spoilers about the level progression — though at the beginning the level is largely linear, so not very much will be a surprise anyway — if you are interested in playing through the level when it is complete, however, you might want to avoid later discussions (I will try to indicate any discussions that include what I would consider major game-play or puzzle spoilers).
So, without further introduction, here is a design walkthrough of the first 7 screens of Twisty Little Passages:
Screen 1
This is the opening screen. It is intentionally gloomy, dark, and bleak. In the final version of the level, this screen will appear immediately after the introductory “cut scene”, which describes a story of betrayal and abandonment, so this screen is designed to evoke a mood of relative hopelessness in order to re-enforce the feeling of being unexpectedly alone, and, indeed, being left for dead.
There are some areas of the level where I have not yet add the level of detail and decoration I would like, but this screen is not one of those cases. It is dark and featureless on purpose. In fact, I have some concerns that the gray tufts of grass may be too bright for the mood of this screen, so they may ultimately be removed and replaced by darker, jagged features.
To compound it’s darkness a bit, this screen does offer the option of leaping off the overhang, which causes the player to plummet to their death in the icy black water below. It would certainly be possible to prevent the player from being able to do this, but since the cost is very low (the player has made no progress, so there’s nothing to loose by dying at the moment) I think leaving the option available is the more desirable choice.
There is also no music here (and for the next several screens); instead I depend entirely on the sound of wind and rain to create ambiance here.
On a game-mechanical note, the player begins this level with none of the Knytt Stories power-ups, so they are unable even to run at this point. This too is not accidental (nor is it just intended to be a nuisance to the player) — the goal is to make the player connect with the sense of gloom and to make them feel dis-empowered.
Screen 2
When the player heads left from the opening screen, they arrive here (I have annotated this screen in order to point out a few features, which we’ll get to in a moment). The theme of darkness continues, but I’ve added small firefly-like creatures, partly for visual interest, but also to give the impression that there is some sort of life (and therefor hopfulness) ahead.
There is also a waterfall here (near point B), which is a continuation of a water feature that begins several screens above this one; the player can’t see this yet, but later when they revisit this screen and the screens around it the waterfall will hopefully provide a thread of continuity and recognition (and perhaps also a sense of the player’s progress at that point).
The gap indicated by the circle “A” cannot be crossed by the player at this time: it minimally requires the ability to run to make this leap. For players who are used to Knytt Stories, the inability to make this jump will hopefully continue to emphasize the hopeless feeling the first screen attempted to build. This also establishes 2 design mechanics that recur throughout the level:
First there is a linear-path mechanic. This is particularly evident at the beginning of the level, where the player has few choices about how to proceed. This is a somewhat difficult choice for a Knytt Stories level, since the game often focuses on broad exploration, but early on I felt it was important to guide the player down a specific path and to establish certain expectations in a controlled way. Later, once the player has acquired the first four power-ups (run, long jump, wall-climb, and double-jump) there are far fewer restrictions on their movements, and, in fact, the level encourages a return to earlier areas which will now offer richer opportunities for exploration.
Second is the “not quite / just barely” mechanic. The “A” gap cannot be crossed without the run power-up, but at first it feels like you can almost make it. This is intentional. The gap is not vastly too wide, it is only wide enough to prevent you from crossing it. This is a mechanic I use at several points, along with it’s converse, the “just barely” mechanic, in which an obstacle can be traversed but only by a very small margin. The purpose of both of these mechanics is to create tension: it is my intention to generate an instant where the player holds their breath at the end of several of these kinds of obstacles, doubting for an instant what the outcome will be.
The cliff at “B” is a somewhat redundant stop-gap — it cannot be overcome without the long jump. There isn’t any sanctioned path that leads back to this screen prior to the player getting the long jump, but if that changes (or if a player is unexpectedly inventive) this cliff servers as a gate.
The ledge at “C” is an intentional not-quite style jump. It isn’t generally possible to reach the ledge without the double-jump, even with the run, long jump, and wall climb power-ups. The ledge is just out of reach (I said “generally” a moment ago because the jump is close enough that I cannot rule out a profoundly skilled and lucky player managing it — but that would be an entirely reasonable sequence-break at that point), creating another moment of tension if the player explores this area again without the double jump.
Screen 3
When the player leaves screen 2 by falling down the gap they land on this screen. This screen remains dark and devoid of music, still using only distant wind sounds to create ambiance.
This screen introduces water, though it is entirely inaccessible to the player except for a very small pool under the “A” circle. Note that even if the player hugs either side of the pit as they fall, they are protected from falling in the water directly (it might possible to “hook-shot” into the water by falling along the left wall of the pit, then hugging the right edge of the block, but it would take considerable intention and skill, I think, and might well be impossible because of the short distance between the bottom of the block and the edge of the platform below it).
The steps near the “A” circle had to be devised carefully to ensure the player could escape if they fell to right of the block for any reason. The original design of this screen did not include these steps, and winding up on the right side of the block under the pit required the player to leap into the water and restart the level, which felt clunky and unfair.
The waterfall from the previous screen continues here, and when it meets the water it completes the continuous flow from a much high screen the player will encounter later.
In the absence of the wall climb, the only exit from this screen is to the left.
Screen 4
This screen presents the player with the run power-up. It also establishes one of the themes for the presentation of power-ups, which is the appearance of the blue statue; in this case, however, the statue is broken to make it’s relationship to the power-up unclear and mysterious. The other element of this theme is the plaque which appears near the power-up — these plaques are always related either directly to the power-up or the situation in which the power-up is obtained. The one in this room reads “Run coward!” — as you might have guessed the plaques are also often tongue-in-check.
This is the quietest room so far, with no music and with only the trickle of the water as ambient sound; the hope is to emphasize the mystery of the power-up and to increase the impact of the next screen, which is the first to include background music.
Screen 5
As mentioned, this screen includes some background music, and ambient effects for the waterfalls. It also includes the level’s first save point, the first monster, and the first jumps that directly threaten the player (that is, missing the jumps here, even though they are straightforward, results in death).
The background style has also changed at this point, reflecting the fact that the player is no longer in an arbitrary cave, but in a place with structure and meaning. The next several screens are designed to build the idea that instead of hopelessness the player faces a challenge — and in particular a challenge which will provide rewards (in the vein of the run power-up).
The creatures circled near “A” here also mark the first appearance of any life other than the fireflies. They serve to forshadow the monster which is initially hidden under the water, and to provide a connection with the creature located on the ledge in area “B” — hopefully this sequence of creatures will help indicate that, once possible, the area above these waterfalls is worth exploring.
Along those lines, the “B” cliff requires the wall-climb ability, but it is also designed in a conspicuous way, jutting out from the wall and ceiling, to help indicate to the player that it is important to explore here later.
The water monster fires two shots each time it appears, and these shots arc towards the player. The structure of the landscape helps mitigate their threat here, but the monster also provides an indication that the hostile creatures here will not be trivial.
Screen 6
This screen represents the beginning of an increase in the complexity of the level, and a reduction (in a similar vein to the first “dangerous” pits on screen 5) in the level’s willingness to hand-hold the player.
This screen also deals a reversal in the form of the gap marked “A” — in spite of just having received a power-up, the player cannot clear this jump without the long-jump. This mirrors the jump on screen 2, and indicates to the player the need to proceed methodically and to overcome the challenges in this part of the level from a one-down sort of position (that is, the player is too weak at the moment to “outsmart” the level — an ability they will gain by the time they have the wall climb and double jump power-ups).
The platform at point “C” is not necessary in order to make the jump onto the ledge here, but it does help indicate that this is a valid route for exploration and it introduces the metalic platform motif that will be prevalent in the next several screens.
The two monsters on this screen serve specific purposes: monster “B” prevents the player from jumping down from the screen above and clinging to the wall in order to bypass the “A” gap without the long jump. This is particularly important because the next screen (located above this one) is a platforming challenge, so the odds of the player falling and discovering this sequence break by accident are higher than average. Monster “D”, in a related way, ensures that falling from the platforms above is fatal, and cannot be exploited to skip sections of the next couple of screens.
Screen 7
The last screen discussed in this article includes the second save point of the level, and presents the player with the beginning of the first platforming puzzle. It’s also relevant that the platforming puzzle includes an enemy spitting fireballs at the player — the platforming must be accomplished under duress — this will be a theme which increases as the level continues, with the intention of building tension and forcing the player to think on their feet.
The arrangement of the platforms here is somewhat convoluded becuase the player has not yet gained the long jump, so they have a fairly short jump distance.
Note monster “A”, which has been positioned primarily to prevent the player from jumping onto the ledge at the edge of the screen and attempting to circumvent the platforming section (this would be ineffective because of the structure of the next screen, so this monster is not a “punishment”, but rather a warning along the lines of: “don’t bother, this wouldn’t help”).
This screen also emphasizes that paying attention to the continuity between screens is important — if the player falls they wind up encountering monsters “B” and “D” on screen 6. If they did not notice (or do not recall) these monsters they may be tricked into thinking that falling off the platforms is a viable way to proceed. This call for attentiveness is not a major theme of the level, but in the cases where it does occur it has a similar structure and importance as it does here.
The ledge at “B” serves two purposes: it is required to provide a boundary for the wall-crawling creature, and it ensures that the ledge cannot be reached without the wall climb (and / or double jump) power-up. This happens to be another “not-quite” type of jump; after the player has the long jump they will miss this jump by only a tiny amount, once again reminding them that they are not yet able to perform many of the more complex actions that are possible in Knytt Stories once all the power-ups have been acquired.
Conclusion
This concludes the detailed discussion of the design decisions of the first seven screens of Twisty Little Passages. At the moment I would estimate the level is between 40% and 60% complete, and it contains just over 100 screens (not counting special screens used to reflect changes to the world in various circumstances); some of these screens amount to filler, and though I try to make them attractive they do not have the same detailed thought process behind them as the screens I’ve discussed in this article, others, however, are susbtantially more complex than what I’ve reviewed here, so there is plenty more to talk about.
Please feel free to leave any thoughts or questions in the comments here — particularly if you would like to see more articles with these kinds of details in them.
This looks incredible, and I can’t wait to play it. I went looking for the file to download before I was halfway through reading, and only when I couldn’t find it in the archive did I come back here, notice that you’d said it hadn’t been released yet, and howl ‘Nooooooo!’
I’d meant to stop before I ’spoiled’ myself, but I went ahead and finished reading, since it seemed the best way to assuage my need for more in the absence of the level itself. I was very relieved to read you’ve already made over 100 screens(!) and consider it about halfway done.
Thanks for that peek inside the designer’s process.
How much progress have you made since last year?