University Project, Part of Bachelor Thesis, Game & Level Design, Development;
Become a special-agent in the VR co-op game “Perspektiva”, while investigating a mysterious incident in a Soviet research facility and defying the laws of physics.
“Perspektiva” is a VR co-op game set in a fictional version of the Soviet Union. After a devastating incident in the research facility of one of the nation’s most prestigious universities, two special-agents are sent to the area to investigate. On their mission to search for possible survivors and valuable research data, the agents soon discover that a number of experiments have altered the laws of physics in the building. Among the missing people is also the renowned professor Volkov, who might be the key to uncovering the truth about the mysterious incident…
General Information
Fellow Team Members: Marius Kröger, Christin Gan, Niklas Rüffler, Daniel Garelik, Laura Hantschel, Leon Regula
My Role: Game Design, Level Design, Programming, Vision Keeper
Trailer
Mechanics
Change Gravity
Gravity of objects and players can be inverted at one central location: The gravity inverter. This machine was already used by the scientist, therefore the whole building and level is designed for both directions.
Super Position
Superposition is a puzzle mechanic. The movement of one obejct is also applied to a connected object. The scale of the movement applied can vary. For example in the second puzzle the players find a small glass box with some blocks in it. If these blocks are moved in the small scale, their big counterparts in the big hall are moved aswell.
In the second puzzle (see image) each player is in a separate, mirrored room and they have to move platforms with superposition to build a floating bridge.
Aging
Due to the explosion of the gravity reactor a time anomaly was created, causing everyhing (player and envrionment) to age faster. The players have 3 different age steps represented by skins. It orignally was the plan to let this affect the gameplay, however this was cut due to the limited time available. However the aging does affect the environment and level design. The further the players go into the building, the more it ages.
Interactive Environment
While this is not a mechanic, making the game world feel responsive and realistic is a big part in the design of a VR game. All small objects have physics and can be picked up, the office chairs have simulated wheel and the chalkboard can be drawn on.
Level Design
The whole game takes place in a research facility. This is the order in which mechanics and puzzles occur:
1. Introduction to basic movement mechanics and inventory items: Radio & Flashlight. Everything looks brand new
2. more world building and time to get used to the game. Many physical obejcts and chalkboard to play with. Envrionment slightly aged
3. First major signs of aging: Floor collapsed and blocks the path
4. Introduction to hub world and first mechanic: Gravity inversion
5. First Superposition puzzle. Build a path by manipulating the small blocks that affec the big blocks in the hall.
6. Second superposition puzzle. Each player is in a separate room and they have to build a bridge together with platforms that are connected through superposition.
7. Players return to now aged version of the big hall and the aging has opened up a new path
8. Final part of the game. Players see a prerecorded presentation about the gravity reactor and see its remains after the canvas lifts up. They can then decide if they want to delete or take the data that lead to this accident
The level design process for a VR game offers different challenges compared to traditional games. Especially the scale and feel of a level are hard to get right using a traditional design tool on a 2D screen. Therefore I created a custom level design tool that is fully usable and designed for VR as part of my Bachelor’s Thesis. You can learn more about that tool here!
Full Playthrough
playthtrough of the entire game. Played by a friend and me that know the game very well. From experience the actual playtime for new players is about 40 minutes to 1 hour. And normally the ingame voice chat would be used for communication.
Development
I programmed this game on my own in C#. To create a game of this scope in the small timespan of one semester I utilized different assets for the Unity Engine. These include: Steam/Open VR, PUN2, PUN Voice, Final IK.