The Hidden Temple
Level Summary
A story-driven exploration level with stealth and traversal, set across a decaying city, dense jungle, and ancient temple. Designed to guide players through emotional beats using flow control, environmental storytelling, and spatial contrast.
Responsibilities
Fully designed level layout
Whiteboxed the level
Lit the level for several different lighting situations
Created Character Controller, NPC Systems
Details
Team Size: 1 (Solo Project)
Genre: Third-Person-Adventure
Setting: Deep in the Jungle
Level Duration: 8-10 minutes
Role: Lead Level Designer, Programmer
Development Time: 2 Days
Engine: Unity Engine
Walkthrough
City
Start in the Slums, introducing the player character and setting the main goal.
Absorb environmental storytelling through NPC interactions and city surroundings.
Race through the bustling marketplace in a chase sequence, dodging crowds.
Jungle
Beatboard
Transition from the dark brown cityscape into the vibrant, lush green jungle.
Navigate a platforming sequence through natural obstacles.
Sneak through the guarded Guild Camp without being detected.
Climb up the waterfall path leading to the dramatic temple in a vista.
Temple
Climb down to discover the Guild checkpoint blocking the way forward.
Stealth through the checkpoint while keeping the looming Temple in sight.
Enter the Temple, concluding the journey with a sense of awe and danger.
Parti Concepts
City Flow
(0) Player Wakes Up
(1) Slum Area with City Hall Landmark
(3) Marketplace Guards Obstacle
(4) Marketplace Crowds
Jungle Flow
(5) City-Jungle Transition
(6) Platforming Sequence
(7) Stealth Sequence
(8) Waterfall Reveal
(9) Path to Temple
Temple Flow
(10) Temple Vista
(11) Guild Checkpoint Reveal
(12) Inside Guild Checkpoint
Design Focus
Push-Pull Dynamics: Alternating tension/release between stealth, traversal, and discovery
Player Guidance: Framed sightlines, landmarking, and narrative props (e.g., overheard dialogue, NPCs)
Flow Mapping: Emotional pacing visualized through flow graphs and S-curve layout
Environmental Themes: From urban decay to natural beauty to moral ambiguity at the temple’s heart
Slums Introduction
Goal: Establish setting, tone, and character motivation while anchoring the treasure quest in a grounded social context
Design: Narrow streets and cluttered geometry convey poverty and oppression; ambient NPC chatter and visual storytelling via posters guide player focus
Highlights:
Ambient NPC placement for organic quest hook
Visual noise and tight pathways to evoke hardship
Posters and props seed the treasure’s legend
Narrative Beat: The call to adventure amidst hardship
Beat Descriptions
Wealthy District Bypass
Goal: Introduce stealth mechanics and environmental navigation under pressure
Design: Guarded gates force patrol evasion and vertical flanking; marketplace density increases tension with overheard rumors of the Guild
Highlights:
Patrol evasion teaches stealth fundamentals
Vertical navigation for alternative routes
NPC dialogue as dynamic worldbuilding under time pressure
Narrative Beat: Shadows among the wealthy
Escape to the Jungle
Goal: Shift tone from urban tension to wilderness exploration while maintaining urgency
Design: Choreographed guard chase transitions into wilderness; wagon blockade diverts path to encourage detour exploration
Highlights:
City-to-jungle tonal transition
Cinematic chase pacing
Player agency in escape routes
Narrative Beat: Into the wild to escape the chains
Jungle Stealth & Guild Camp
Goal: Blend vertical traversal, light puzzles, and stealth encounters to deepen engagement
Design: Climbing routes lead to an overlook of the Guild camp; stealth objectives paired with map-based narrative clues
Highlights:
Environmental puzzle elements to vary pacing
Overlook for tactical planning and environmental foreshadowing
Dialogue to heighten tension and reinforce quest stakes
Narrative Beat: In the Guild’s shadow
River Crossing & Waterfall Vista
Goal: Provide a traversal set piece and visual reward to renew player motivation
Design: Stepping stones and log bridges require rhythm and spatial awareness; cinematic temple reveal framed by waterfall vista
Highlights:
Traversal challenge with environmental hazard risk
Dramatic vista reveal as pacing reset
Contrast of dense jungle to sacred architecture
Narrative Beat: The temple revealed
Final Camp & Temple Entry
Goal: Deliver the narrative and mechanical climax before the temple interior
Design: Last stealth gauntlet through Guild basecamp; narrative choice at the end ties back to established moral themes
Highlights:
Stealth challenge escalation
Environmental storytelling through props and overheard conversation
Moral choice with thematic payoff (greed vs. purity)
Narrative Beat: The choice before the treasure