Shots in the Dark
Overview
I worked as the level designer for Shots in the Dark, a top down local PVP shooter where gunfire is your primary light source as you fight through warehouses, factories, and research laboratories.
Light
As the name suggests Shots in the Dark has players fight in the dark this makes light extremely important when designing levels. The primary light source is player gunfire. While shooting rewards the shooter with eliminations it carries the cost of revealing the shooters position to all players. This allows for varied strategies such as the guns blazing approach that keeps the map constantly lit with gunfire or a slower cat and mouse approach where players navigate the darkness in an attempt to get the jump on their opponents.
Map Native Lights
I used slowly pulsating lights to help with pathfinding and as a means to keep players moving. In particular native map lighting helps encourage strategies where players lurk in the dark into a proactive rotation heavy playstyle rather than a stationary ambushing playstyle.
Rotations
As previously discussed light helps with player pathfinding but some maps also feature mechanics that help players rotate safely. In particular there are some structures that players can pass through. In order to keep players from losing track of their player character the structures shift from opaque to translucent when players are inside them.
Character Abilities
Each character has a signature ability that allow for unique strategies.
