Vampire-Hunters: Rooms
Q4 2020
University Year 2 - Games Design
VH:R is a spinoff of my already existing Roblox-based series Vampire Hunters, except this time from an entirely new perspective. VH:R is a top-down shooter that involves YOU being a detective trying to determine which resident in this manor is the vampire killing people one-by-one.
VH:R Trailer
Walkthrough video to wrap up the devlog
For this project we were given a framework to work from, in this case being a top-down shooter called 'teef'. Anyway, our brief was to design and balance a game using this framework and we were allowed to be as creative as possible. So, to stand out I decided to make something entirely unique!
The concept builds off of my previously-established game series on Roblox named Vampire Hunters, a multiplayer deception PvP game where one vampire hides amongst humans, trying to kill everyone else before time runs out or the designated detective (with a gun) shoots them.
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The design challenge I had ahead of me was, firstly, a technical challenge trying to design and implement an entire lobby of NPC behaviour. Secondly, re-designing the game idea from an entirely new visual perspective (top-down rather than 3rd/1st person).
The core challenge I wanted to provide to the player, who would presume the role of a detective, was trying to figure out who the vampire hidden amongst the humans. This meant that I had to design enemy behaviour that would attack opportunistically outside of the player's vision.
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I had to consciously design the vampire's attacking behaviour in accordance to the top-down perspective, only allowing them to attack if they were off screen in another room, and tune elements such as the sound attenuation so that players could not hear someone being attacked in a room far away and easily pinpoint a quick interception.
Simple diagram showing off my design reasoning for picking shorter sound attenuation for improved challenge.
A flowchart delegating the flow of behaviour checks & actions for the enemy vampire.
Simple diagram showing off my design reasoning for picking shorter sound attenuation for improved challenge.
The vampire is capable of using a special ability to mix in a little chaos, where they can cause a power outage to the whole building, plunging it into darkness. In order to amend this, the player must find the fuse box in the centre of the map to restore power. In the mean time, they can deploy a flare to provide temporary light.
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Other strategies include placing garlic in choke points to see if a suspicious person begins to burn up when they walk over it. Try not to run carelessly though, vampires can place bear traps to take you by surprise!
The story is quite simple. Distress at a manor party leads to you being summoned to do some detective work. There is a killer lurking amongst you, none may enter and none may leave. Can you determine which of the housegoers is the disguised vampire before it's too late?
The storyboard plan for the introductory cutscene.
Top-down design plan of the Manor, including critical path and story notes.
Anticipated beats & pacing of the map. The areas highlighted in darker red indicate areas where I believed more action would take place, typically tighter spaces or areas of high energy (hallways).
The storyboard plan for the introductory cutscene.
Storyboard & Level design