Marc Doctor Pedrosa

I finally got a mic, where are the 20+ levels I was promised?

Project overview

Hi there, wanderer! I'm Marc, a worldbuilder

Since the beginning, my goal was to make the game feel like a The Witcher game.
To do that, I studied lore and I planned the locations, narrative, enemies and some events throughout the game.

Main Tasks

Main tasks

As a worldbuilder, I designed the whole narrative and I have been involved in the totality of the game's levels.

My main tasks can be summarized in:

  • Define locations, enemies, narrative
  • Design level 1, 2, minecarts, boss
  • Blockout 1, 2
  • Define all dialogues
  • Implement dialogue system
  • Place dialogues & ciri auras
  • Design Ciri boss
  • Levels audio design
  • Yennefer animations and player particles

Sample narrative workflow

Setting

Setting

At the beginning of this journey, I defined up to 5 plausible, adventurous & contrasting levels, following a narrative line:

  • Kaer Morhen
  • Mahakam
  • Aretuza
  • Boat trip level
  • Cintra

Two of them whre brought to the game:

  • Kaer Morhen
  • Mahakam

Image

In relation to the enemies, the studied ones were:

  • Leschen as a boss
  • Ciri doppler as a boss
  • Fringilla as a boss
  • Ghouls, drowners, nekkers, soldiers... as common
  • Shaelmaars, ice elementals... as minibosses

Out of those, this ones made the cut:

  • Leschen
  • Ciri
  • Ghouls, drowners, soldiers as common

Narrative

Narrative & Dialogues

I was responsible for defining the narrative and all the dailogues of the levels, as well as the narrative images in the beginning, middle and end. Wwise was used to host those dialogues

Furthermore, I programmed the dialogue system (w/ Jorge Gemas) with customizable dialogue triggers, which I set up in the maps

Levels

Level 1

My contribution can be sum up in:

  • Design areas: The Witcher feel
  • Blockout
  • Iterations: player guidance, enemy placings...
  • In-engine: colliders, cameras...

The fortress would later on be used as the tutorial area:

In the picture, one of many iterations the level had:

Final result thanks to the design and art team:

Level 2

Image

Entry Zone

The level was split in 3 zones but it was originally a whole. It was a vertical descend located in a dwarven open mine in snowy moutains

Image

Minecarts

The second part wasn't originally planned, but I researched de minecart concept and came up with the mechanics and the map. The proposal was received with much enthusiasm

Image

Ciri Area

The last part is the boss area. I helped designing the area along with the boss

Level 2 First Part: Entry

My contribution was:

  • Design areas: inhospit region, verticality
  • Blockout
  • Iterations: player guidance, enemy placings...
  • In-engine: colliders, cameras...

In the picture, one of many iterations the level had:

Because of time constraints, I redesigned the whole first part and was in charge of the blockout and all the in-engine stuff: cameras, colliders, particles, lights, enemies... With the help of Guillem Sanchez for terrains and some props

Level 2 Second Part: Minecarts

I researched how to include a characteristic element in a mine in the game: minecarts. References ranged from Crash Bandicoot to Red Dead Redemption 2.

  • Design the map mechanics
  • Design and place the first obstacles in-engine

Level 2 Last Part: Boss

The boss area is organic and has elements that bind it to Ciri: the destruction with rocks falling and the platform rising symbolizes her mental climax as she is corrupted and about to colapse.

Emerald butterflies emerge after the fight as she is saved. The tornado is a reference to the series and to her power...

Level Audio Design

Level 1

The levels' audio was lacking and confusing. Thus, I decided to make a full zone-by-zone design:

  • Each area's music: fixed, random, interactive...
  • Define multiple environment layer sounds
  • Define footsteps, RTPCs and extra effects (reverb etc)
  • Place triggers in-engine

I did so with all levels, here is a sample:

Another one from the second level:

Thanks to Iván Ropero for translating the audio to the game

Ciri Boss Design

Level 1

Ciri (w/ Alejandro París) was designed to represent her mental climax and she causes environment destruction.

We were inspired by the series and I thought hitting a child you want to save would be weird, so the players fight against her "impurities", the clones, while she is inside the tornado

Thanks to the team and specially Marc Guillén for translating the design to the game via code

Beyond that

Other tasks

I also worked on other areas:

  • Yennefer's animations and character particles (footsteps depending on surface...)
  • Ememy follow curve, patrol, group tactics (discared, time constraints)
  • 3rd level blockout :( It was a Nilfgaardian where they had Ciri captured