A THIEF'S TALE
LEVEL DESIGN
A Thief’s Tale is a stealth-adventure game where you take on the journey of a young boy named Crow. With the passing of Crow’s parents, he and his sister continue to struggle in order to maintain themselves financially. Though with a unique ability, given to him by his Fairy Godfather, Crow is able to keep him and his sister financially afloat. Crow is able to travel in and out of fairy tale books and bring the treasures within them to the real world. Join Crow on his adventure through numerous tales and worlds as he meets a whimsical and exciting cast of characters throughout his adventure!
This level of the game takes place during Crow’s first adventure in the books. This is the second part of our “Emporer’s New Clothes” world. This world generally teaches the player about the controls and the gameplay, while still giving the player somewhat of a challenge. The Courtyard area of the level gives the player some room for exploration so that, while going towards their objective, they don’t feel too constrained doing so.
The objective of this area is to get Crow inside the King’s Castle, though it isn’t as easy as he may have thought it was. Crow encounters a suspicious looking Fisherman that claims he can help Crow get into the Castle if he helps him retrieve his tackle-box. Though going through this part is completely optional, this gives the player a moment to explore the area while being rewarded for it.
The next part is retrieving the tackle-box. This section introduces our stealth mechanics within the game. Once the player walks into the King’s Maze they quickly learn that they must stay out of the guard’s vision, along with being able to sneak into bushes to avoid being seen by guards. When the player is hidden there is a shadow overlay that happens on the screen to give feedback on when you’re visible or not. This area risk in terms of failure is low as we’re still teaching the player new mechanics and want to encourage them, rather than frustrate them.
The final part of the level is puzzle focused. Along with the rest of the objectives in the game, we didn’t want to make things too complex that frustrated the player, but not too simple to make it feel like we’re holding their hand. From the start of the level, you’re able to see the key components to complete it, but it’s never directly told to you. Only once when the player helps the Fisherman out he hints to you that they’re the key to get into the castle. As stated before, the puzzle isn’t too complex, but feel as though it’s satisfying enough for the player as a closer to the level.
Under construction. More to come soon!
Under construction. More to come soon!
Under construction. More to come soon!
