Flicker of Hope
Studio Whip | December 2019 - August 2020 | Level Design & Lighting
Flicker of Hope is a stealth-horror game about Jean Wick, a small candle navigating a dark, plagued world. The player must restore light to candelabras while using douter and wax mechanics to avoid the entity Mara and her bug legiones lurking in the ruins of the cathedral. The game was developed by Studio Whip, an 18-person interdisciplinary team, over a nine-month period on Unreal Engine 4. I was responsible for designing, prototyping, lighting and set-dressing the first half of the game. Download and learn more about the game on Steam.
Screenshots
Pre-Production
Prototyping
After we conceptualized the story and gameplay for Flicker of Hope, prototyping was an important step to understanding how the player will move in and interact with the world, especially when playing as a tiny candle in a massive cathedral.
To experiment with 3D character movement and 2D camera movement, I started with a custom third-person character and attached a fixed-angle camera on a spring arm. I made a small library tower using asset packs to test scale and verticality and noted the following: placing points of interest too high would be difficult to see, the player would be too small, and the spring arm kept bouncing back and forth when the player moved behind obstacles.
In my second prototype, I set up a camera blueprint that moved along a spline according to the player's proximity, so I could modify the spline to get the positioning I wanted when the player was at certain locations. Although it was finicky when the spline wasn't parallel to player movement, we found that a spline-camera system offered a lot of flexibility, so my design lead later reworked it to be smoother and have more customizable features.
Research & Planning
Because the game was set in a cathedral, our team made visits to different cathedrals and chapels nearby to study their structure and spaces. I also had to look up photography from European cathedrals to better grasp the medieval style we couldn't find in our city. Since I was responsible for the early game moments, I wanted to construct smaller rooms outside the cathedral area to give players a smoother transition into the gameplay and more environments to explore.
As I was brainstorming ideas for rooms based on abbeys and cathedral complexes, I made a PureRef board to gather photography, floor plans and art as inspiration for the mood and the living quarters that the player would traverse. I also drafted a design document that listed out goals I wanted the player to achieve as well as some of the beats and details that would appear in each room. These helped me share my ideas with the team and provided them with a better understanding of what we would need tested, modeled and implemented.
Concept art by Niara Clay.
Layout & Blockout
After some prototyping and planning, I started sketching out the rooms and went into engine to block them out. Each different iteration revealed what worked and didn't work, and the layouts and blockouts changed to accommodate revisions and additions to the mechanics. For example, the library was larger in earlier versions but was scaled down after scope changes for better player and camera traversal.
When beginning the lighting to create the visual target of the game, I wanted to highlight the contrast between a candle's small light and the cathedral's overwhelming darkness. In my first pass at lighting, I placed a heavy fog to emphasize and add depth to the darkness and positioned dynamic spot lights through windows and openings for god rays. Cool tones were used to make the environment seem austere and desolate compared to the warmth of Jean's glow.
Final layout
Production
Mechanics
- Health is based on Jean's height
- Absorbing wax from wax pools recover health
- Jean is always melting, losing wax and leaving a wax trail
- Jean respawns at candelabras upon death
- Mara follows light and trails to put out Jean's light
- Mara's legiones are attracted to light sources
- Sneaking with the douter reduces light, speed and wax drain
- Growing Jean's flame increases light, speed and wax drain
- Jean uses wax to create a decoy buddy that emits light
Design Considerations
Pacing was an important consideration in my design of the introductory levels to help establish the gameplay and game world while also encapsulating the horror experience. As the player journeys through the rooms, they gradually pick up new mechanics and are tested before advancing in the game. Checkpoints and wax pools also needed to be placed throughout the levels so they could progress and complete goals. Due to the nature of the mechanics, I used various gameplay beats and cinematics events, such as close calls with the main antagonist, to introduce or emphasize mechanics and keep players on their toes. To create a level of interest and immersion, each room would look and feel different, and certain areas would give the player the unique perspective of a tiny candle.
The first library iteration with AI and a new mechanic: I noticed lack of interaction and knew rework was needed to improve AI and player pathing and accommodate changes in the mechanics.
After rework: Mara chases Jean to a fallen bookcase where the player learns to create a decoy buddy.
Technical
Technical work done included level scripting and sound design, camera and AI pathing as well as cinematic creation. For the tutorials and gameplay moments, I scripted and sequenced gameplay and cinematic events that triggered upon entering different zones. After communicating my needs to my design lead, the spline-camera system was reworked to be smoother by using an averaging double-spline function: the camera would move to a point on one spline closest to a point on the other spline that was closest to the player. The addition of customizable points allowed me to adjust camera angles at certain parts of the level. Using multiple camera systems, I shaped each spline to the desired paths, set angles for each point and configured the cameras to switch on triggers for specific camera work throughout the areas.
Jean climbs objects that lead up to a collapsed wall.
Conveyance
I wanted to capture the experience of a small candle traversing a large environment by incorporating scale and verticality, creating different spaces where the player would crawl under, hide behind or climb on top of various objects. Since Jean Wick was a melting candle, wax pools and checkpoints were placed to encourage the player to progress while vertical drops discouraged the player from going back. Additionally, I utilized leading lines, negative space, dynamic spotlights, camera shifts and motion to draw the player's eye and guide them.
The player drops down into a new room where a new enemy is introduced.
Mara is seen when leaving the safe area, warning the player of danger.
Set-Dressing
I was responsible for dressing the level by kitbashing and using set pieces and props modeled by our artists. Modular pieces were combined with trim, column and arch meshes to form the architecture while adding detail for an ornate, gothic look. Assets were manually placed with the goal of breaking uniformity and making each playable area visually and functionally different. Rubble and room-specific props are scattered about to capture the dilapidated condition and tell the story of each of the rooms. I also added objects to the foreground to add some dimension to the environment.
In addition to the intro sequences, banners hang in the beginning rooms that tell the story of a plagued monk and warn of a nun that fell into despair. During times of plague, religious places would sometimes become temporary hospitals, which was the inspiration for a sick room filled with beds and medicine.
The books in the library are strewn about by crumbling construction and likely someone desperately searching for answers.
The legiones are not only attracted to light sources, but also decay. They can be seen around the rotting food in the dining room.
Playtesting
During development, our team conducted multiple rounds of online playtests to collect feedback and bug reports from players about the game. Participants answered survey questions and submitted playback files of their playthroughs for us to review. Seeing how they interacted with the level helped me identify areas that needed better conveyance or fixes to improve the player experience.
Released August 3, 2020 on Steam, Flicker of Hope saw players and viewers from around the world.