Human: Fall Flat

Game Link

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/477160/Human_Fall_Flat/ 

Level Link

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3175158959 

Project Context

Amuzo was tasked with creating three levels as part of a developer partner pitch: one short level playable via Steam Workshop and two more detailed designs.

I was the sole creator of the playable level, with additional support on the written elements from two other designers.

Although the pitch was ultimately unsuccessful, the lessons learned from undertaking the above were incredibly valuable.

Brief Criteria

The playable level had specific requirements provided by the publisher:

• A single puzzle with as many incremental solutions as needed
  
  

• A single room with minimal additional islands and spaces
  
  

• Designed for players who have competed the core game
  
  

• Up to 10 minutes of playtime
  
  

• Use of community assets only, with light modifications allowed
  
  

• Solvable both alone or in co-op
  
  

• Must adhere to real-world physics for objects
  
  

• Aesthetic evaluation was not a priority, nor was ‘filling’ out backdrops and distance environments

Level Design Philosophy

The publisher made it clear that all levels must embed the existing design philosophies of Human: Fall Flat, without explicitly stating what those were. As an avid Human: Fall Flat player, I knew what some of these were and designed my level with these in mind. For a truncated level, this included: 

• Clear visibility on where the player needs to go to progress a level from the outset (or in this case given the truncated nature of the level, the end of the level)

• Micro-moments of fun interactivity, such as the destruction of an object. This is both a break from the lateral thinking required to complete puzzles, but also a means of triggering Achievements/Trophies in the core game

• No red herrings!

• Tease, or offer alternative ways, to bypass entire puzzles altogether. Given the truncated nature of the level and the brief requirements, only the former could be implemented

• End the level with a drop, signalled by the familiar use of the exit sign

Level Design Breakdown

First 10 Seconds

Design goal: Clearly communicate what the user needs to complete the level (place eggs in egg baskets).

I defined the user's spawn position to be directly in front of the egg baskets. Of the four baskets, two are complete, showing a large egg in the large basket, and a small egg in the small basket.

By placing the small egg in view of the completed examples, the user can replicate the solution to complete the first mini-puzzle (drop the cage to free its content) with ease.

The variance in size suggests that the bigger eggs and baskets opened a door, with the smaller egg basket's line suggesting something more minor is triggered with the cage when the smaller egg is placed. Upon reflection, there was little to no value in varying egg and basket sizes. For a simple level with a desired completion time of only 5 minutes max, a single rule should have been applied to streamline the experience: Golden eggs fit in golden baskets.

Minute 0-1

Design goal: Trigger a visually intriguing moment for a thrilling start to the level: a cage dropping, rocks scattering, and the appearance of the flamed axe.

The user places the small golden egg in the small golden basket and watches the cage with rocks and a flaming axe fall, prompting the question: What can rocks and a flaming axe be used for?

Given the brief allowed for light manipulation of assets, I added visual flair to the axe by adding flame-like particles, relating to its real-world functionality: fire melts ice, with an appearance consistent with fire in the Human: Fall Flat main game — squares of various sizes.

Minutes 1-3

Design goal: The user collects an item facing a blank wall. Turning around reveals two uses of the item in direct sight, prompting lateral thinking on which puzzle to pursue first, given the tool (axe) can solve both puzzle solutions (melt ice blocks to free objects). With enough rationalisation, an obvious order becomes clear (catapult first, egg second).

The user is required to 'melt' the ice block surrounding the catapult. Due to physics issues related to having the catapult encapsulated within a hollow cube formed of four individual panels, I had to adjust the Rigidbody settings on the panels, which forced the removal of the 'melting' effect when the axe collided with the panel, communicating what was happening (fire axe melting ice) a little more intuitively.

I took it upon myself to modify the properties of the catapult. In the core game, the user can launch themselves from the catapult by pulling the lever whilst in the basket of the catapult. To overcome this, I extended the rod that sits within the catapult by a small amount. This ensures that the user cannot bypass the puzzle by launching themselves in the basket whilst holding the axe, missing out on the fun of attempting to launch the axe to the second island.

The user, understanding another ice block containing an egg is on an unreachable mountainside, must use the catapult to launch the fire axe to the other side. The position of the catapult is deliberate: it's directly in front of the second island, and coupled with its inability to rotate, suggests to the user something must be launched to this second island. The fun part for the user is experimenting with the catapult’s position so as not to overshoot the throw!

Minutes 3-5

Design goal: Communicate the relationship between the second tool (rocks), the fallen pillar and the scale.

The user must traverse the mountainside by using the fallen pillar for elevation onto the scale nearest to the cliffside.

To do this, the user must use the rocks that fell to weigh down the other side and rotate the scale as needed to line up one side with the fallen pillar.

Each rock has a mass equal to its mass in the core game. By including a variety of rock sizes, users can select which rocks they wish to use to weigh down the scale side: heavier rocks take longer to place, but fewer are needed; lighter rocks are quicker to place, but more are needed.

I'm playing with the user's expectation of scales: having completed the core game, they understand scales elevate, but have never used it as a platform. The user has also never manipulated its rotation in a way that allows them access to its elevated side.

In my original design, a traditional mountain asset was used as the separate island. Whilst a clearer indicator of this being a second island compared to the final simplified cube-like surface, the project uses a pre-set collider underneath the world that cannot be moved without affecting other areas of gameplay (for reasons I've completely forgotten). If the user failed the jump or attempted to bypass the catapult puzzle completely by attempting the jump with the axe in hand, the user would get stuck at the mountain base without hitting the collider. This is because the mountain asset was cone-shaped, with its sharp base trapping the user between its narrowing mid-area and the bottom of the cube-shaped starting island. Despite using Blender to narrow the base, there was still a small probability the user would be trapped and not trigger the respawn collider.

In hindsight, this decision had a level design benefit: The simple shape of the island pieces compared to the mountainside asset meant the gap between the two spaces looks deceptively smaller, giving users the feeling of being able to 'cheat the system' by 'just about making the jump without the need for the catapult'. I wanted to encourage this same teasing found in the core Human: Fall Flat offering. Encouraging it also meant the respawn would be triggered 100% of the time if the user failed the jump!

Minutes 5-7

Design goal: Reward the user's lateral thinking with an ease into the game's traditional closing sequence (drop into an area, signalled by an exit sign)

Upon making it to the other island, the user must use the axe to melt the ice block surrounding the egg to free it, bringing it back to the primary island by using the bridge as a makeshift plank.

The snowman? Human: Fall Flat levels all contain destructible elements as a means of breaking up the lateral thinking and dexterity required to solve puzzles with these micro-moments of fun. It's also a means of achievement, with these little moments unlocking Trophies/Achievements in the core offering. I wanted to demonstrate as part of the pitch I understood these micro-moments to be a core offering of any Human: Fall Flat level, even if Achievements were not included in the level.

This puzzle is easy and requires the placement of a familiar makeshift bridge the user would have done in a similar way in core game.

Successfully placing the final egg in its basket and travelling through the now-opened door reveals a second micro-moment of fun interactivity (a present!) and the identifiable exit sign, signalling to the user that the drop — a staple in every Human: Fall Flat level — triggers the level win