Hunt or Be Hunted

“Hunt or be Hunted” is a single-player level made in the Hammer editor, expanding on themes and elements from Half-Life 2. The player navigates a Combine research facility in an effort to take out the threat of them unleashing Hunters on a nearby town and flee the area. While navigating towards the chopper on the rooftop, the player uses their Gravity Gun and SMG1 to take out the Combine soldiers and Hunters throughout this dark, atmospheric environment.

Design Overview

Details

Team Size: 1 Developer

Software: Hammer

Platform: PC

Responsibilities

Combat Design
Level Design
Puzzle Design

Design
Goals

Tension Through
Foreshadowing & Set Design

Form tension through scripted NPC sequences and behavior, and supporting set design, to deliver the intended tone and mood of the level.

Clear Affordances for Mechanics

Convey breakable objects to the player through consistent, distinct visuals.

Interesting, Progressive Encounters

Have enemy and skill encounters build on what was established previously, so combat will be engaging and achieve the desired difficulty curve.

Design & Implementation

Tension-Building

For this level, I wanted to create a high-intensity level, not only with combat encounters but with the atmosphere and enemy behavior.

To form tension from the very beginning, I had the hunter set to be stalking the player at the beginning of the level
I set up combine soldiers with precisely-timed patrol routes that pointed to future encounters
I used framing, lighting and contrast, as well as height and angles to make the player feel more threatened and inferior

Consistent Affordances

A large portion of my level tied to the mechanics of manipulating objects, as well as breakable materials that made up cover and architectural elements, so player understanding needed to be accounted for.

I iterated on the visuals for the breakable components with bright colors and decals indicating damage to create distinction
I also used patterns to relay where objects may be placed that had stark contrast to the environment

Encounters & Building Skills

To achieve my desired difficulty curve while maintaining a sense of reward for skill mastery, I wanted the enemy encounters to build on one another, as well as the puzzle mechanics found.

I created teaching moments at the beginning of the level and enforced behavior that naturally made players learn
I shifted these mechanics from navigational purposes to also benefit the player in combat
Presence of hunters helped encourage the use of barrels to catch explosives and in turn, use them

Postmortem

What Went Well

Quick application of feedback allowed for a good foundation for my project and the ability to do more in the given time frame
Applying learnings from previous projects to have more efficient planning and development strategy
Strong cover implementation that supported the style and height variety of the different combat encounters

Aesthetic and structure of the midground could be improved to provide more immersion and realism
More set dressing is needed in several areas where the space may feel slightly bland or unfinished
Logic for snapping placed pieces could benefit from more polish to add to the level quality

What Needs Improvement

What I Learned

The importance of doing a first-pass for all featured mechanics and level elements
The importance of a strong initial setup and attention to detail when using BSP, to save time down the line
The benefit of fixing bugs and polishing a mechanic before implementing this mechanic across the level

PEYTON WALKER

Narrative & Level Designer

Hunt or Be Hunted

Design Overview

Details

Responsibilities

Design
Goals

Tension Through
Foreshadowing & Set Design

Form tension through scripted NPC sequences and behavior, and supporting set design, to deliver the intended tone and mood of the level.

Clear Affordances for Mechanics

Convey breakable objects to the player through consistent, distinct visuals.

Interesting, Progressive Encounters

Have enemy and skill encounters build on what was established previously, so combat will be engaging and achieve the desired difficulty curve.

Design & Implementation

Tension-Building

For this level, I wanted to create a high-intensity level, not only with combat encounters but with the atmosphere and enemy behavior.

To form tension from the very beginning, I had the hunter set to be stalking the player at the beginning of the level

I set up combine soldiers with precisely-timed patrol routes that pointed to future encounters

I used framing, lighting and contrast, as well as height and angles to make the player feel more threatened and inferior

Consistent Affordances

A large portion of my level tied to the mechanics of manipulating objects, as well as breakable materials that made up cover and architectural elements, so player understanding needed to be accounted for.

I iterated on the visuals for the breakable components with bright colors and decals indicating damage to create distinction

I also used patterns to relay where objects may be placed that had stark contrast to the environment

Encounters & Building Skills

To achieve my desired difficulty curve while maintaining a sense of reward for skill mastery, I wanted the enemy encounters to build on one another, as well as the puzzle mechanics found.

I created teaching moments at the beginning of the level and enforced behavior that naturally made players learn

I shifted these mechanics from navigational purposes to also benefit the player in combat

Presence of hunters helped encourage the use of barrels to catch explosives and in turn, use them

Postmortem

What Went Well

What Needs Improvement

What I Learned

Gameplay

PEYTON WALKER

Narrative & Level Designer

Hunt or Be Hunted

Design Overview

Details

Responsibilities

Design Goals

Tension Through Foreshadowing & Set Design

Form tension through scripted NPC sequences and behavior, and supporting set design, to deliver the intended tone and mood of the level.

Clear Affordances for Mechanics

Convey breakable objects to the player through consistent, distinct visuals.

Interesting, Progressive Encounters

Have enemy and skill encounters build on what was established previously, so combat will be engaging and achieve the desired difficulty curve.

Design & Implementation

Tension-Building

For this level, I wanted to create a high-intensity level, not only with combat encounters but with the atmosphere and enemy behavior.

To form tension from the very beginning, I had the hunter set to be stalking the player at the beginning of the level

I set up combine soldiers with precisely-timed patrol routes that pointed to future encounters

I used framing, lighting and contrast, as well as height and angles to make the player feel more threatened and inferior

Consistent Affordances

A large portion of my level tied to the mechanics of manipulating objects, as well as breakable materials that made up cover and architectural elements, so player understanding needed to be accounted for.

I iterated on the visuals for the breakable components with bright colors and decals indicating damage to create distinction

I also used patterns to relay where objects may be placed that had stark contrast to the environment

Encounters & Building Skills

To achieve my desired difficulty curve while maintaining a sense of reward for skill mastery, I wanted the enemy encounters to build on one another, as well as the puzzle mechanics found.

I created teaching moments at the beginning of the level and enforced behavior that naturally made players learn

I shifted these mechanics from navigational purposes to also benefit the player in combat

Presence of hunters helped encourage the use of barrels to catch explosives and in turn, use them​

​

Postmortem

What Went Well

What Needs Improvement

What I Learned

Gameplay

Design
Goals

Tension Through
Foreshadowing & Set Design

Presence of hunters helped encourage the use of barrels to catch explosives and in turn, use them