Design of War Ender - Level 4-3
One last hurrah?
Infinite Level game discussed: War Ender
Continuing on from what we talked about in the last dev blog, let's take a nice long look at the War Ender's “final” level, 4-3. To recap, the player would have completed levels 4-1 and 4-2, which would have taken everything so far and presented it in fresh new ways. At this stage of the game, there's very little in the way of new mechanics to arrive, whether that be in the form of enemies of obstacles. The remainder of the game will now be devoted to remixing all these elements and squeezing as much gameplay out of them as possible. This next level acts as a massive, final test before being confronted with the Outsider leader and completing Red's quest for revenge.
Notice I used the word “massive”. I don't have any exact calculations, but if memory serves this level is about three times the size of your average War Ender level. There's still three checkpoints, so this also means that the distance between two checkpoints is a lot larger than most levels. In other words, players are going to have to play smart and carefully in order to make it through the whole level. This reminds me of a funny story during the testing days of War Ender. My lovely wife was kind enough to play through the game for me. In fact, she's playtested all the games I've worked on, including The Future Project. She doesn't usually play platforming games, which ended up making her perfect for balancing the game. Through watching her I could see what all was too easy and too difficult and make the appropriate changes from there. Another fun fact: she had an uncanny way of constantly breaking War Ender. Which is good, because then I can fix those bugs she would find. I just wonder how she kept finding them. But anyway, back to the level design discussion. Usually, she could get through any level after a few attempts. 4-3, however, broke her a bit. Not only did it take a lot longer to get through, but she straight up raged at the game after hitting her umpteenth death. I've never seen her rage at anything before or after this. Needless to say, this told me that the level needed a slight adjustment in difficulty. So, send your thanks to my wife, because without her this level would have been much harder.
I do enjoy making the player feel like an action hero, so the first thing I've done here is have the player jump off a high cliff and into the middle of battle. After that, the player goes through the usual gauntlet of enemies and platforming to make their way to the next checkpoint. In the first section, there's an emphasis on dodging past torches placed along the ground, as well as the flame walls coming from pyros and homing rockets. It wasn't a conscious decision, but this first section has a strong emphasis on dodging past danger to make it through. But, I suppose this shouldn't be too surprising. This was the natural evolution of the game's design. From the beginning I tried teaching the player to use the dodge ability. So it makes sense that the beginning of the game's ultimate level would require this to safely get through. I've also tried remixing earlier level designs into level 4-3, as evidenced by the rocket turrets placed on platforms above the player in the middle part of the first section. Remind you of anything? Level 2-2 did a very similar setup. The biggest differences are the additional enemies and a slight change of layout. Players may notice the destructible platforms bridging the various rocket turrets. What are those for? After getting through this middle section, you'll have the option to go back using those platforms to gain a hidden health pack.
Like many levels before it, this one contains about one health pack per section. What's different about these is that I'm telling the player to go out of their way a bit to collect them. It's rarely a hard challenge. Generally it just requires you take a brief look around the area. But it adds, in my opinion, a much more interesting dynamic to healing yourself. It's a bit like how metroidvanias work, where going off the beaten path can net you additional health upgrades. Replaying this level, I actually really liked what I had done here, and now wish I had incorporated tiny bits of exploration more into the game. Oh well, there's always next time. Similarly, with this level I wanted to have an enemy comment on the situation as the player progresses. The idea is to always make the player feel powerful at the end of the day, and having a few enemies voice their fear is a great way to give the player that feeling. My personal favorite is when a character says “we're dead, we're so dead.” Even though I made this game, that still gives me a great feeling of power.
The second section is when I started asking the player to watch where they step. Well, more than usual that is. From this point, I'm not sure that there was a moving platform that didn't have a mine placed on it. I also started incorporating more elements where the player must somehow jump above a mine that's above them and blow it up before landing safely on the platform. Mines have been one of the more static elements of the game, not changing much from when they were introduced in level 2-1. Here is where they start to change things up a bit, being placed in more awkward areas. The solution for dealing them remains the same, you just have to be more careful about doing it. As the level progresses, there's a lot more emphasis on placing moving platforms and forcing the player to use them as the main way to progress. This was most easily done by placing large walls that can only be overcome by climbing up platforms, then riding them across to the next part of the level.
Players may start to notice a pattern...the level has a very “zig-zag” structure. Right from the start, you move right, climb up a bit, then move left, climb up a little more, then move right into the next checkpoint. Overall, the level is still going from left to right like many others have, but this is extended to accommodate more leftward movement. Obviously, this was done in service to making this level a longer level than anything else in the game. What can be surprising is how little you notice. There are walls, floors, and ceilings placed throughout the level in such a way that moving through 4-3 feels a bit like moving from one room to the next. Indoor levels definitely have this advantage over outdoor levels, which feel much more open and straightforward. Now that I think about it, a lot of the base levels have this feel to them. Level 3-2, inside the Detractors of War base, is perhaps the most obvious about it. After all, the idea is you're escaping the Detractor base. The same could be said about Level 2-3, but that level is laid out more like a large facility with giant garages and not individual rooms. 4-3 is a bit different when it comes to context though. The other base levels usually involve escaping or otherwise needing to leave the area. Here, the Outsider base is actually the destination.
The remainder of the level doesn't evolve much beyond what's already been shown. One thing I noticed while replaying is that there's only one section where you can easily skip over a ton of enemies. It's in the final section of the level. To make use of it, you destroy some rocket turrets hanging out on some platforms above enemies. Destroy them, then traverse across the enemies without even needing to harm any of them. See? Even Red can spare lives now and then. But indeed, this is the only moment. Otherwise, the level will have you defeat enemies whenever it can, usually done through narrowing the hallways or not allowing you to increase your elevation beyond your jump. A simple trick, one that's been used throughout the entire game, but certainly an effective one. And it makes sense in the context of the story too. Red's entire journey has been about avenging his fallen friends, so he's probably not feeling particularly merciful when he gets to the supposed perpetrator's base of operations. If anything, the fact he can skip some enemies is almost out of character. Then again, maybe he just really wants to reach their leader and finish the job. This is one of those things where it's up to the player to decide.
I also want to talk about the music for this level. It's rare for a War Ender level to have its own dedicated them outside of boss music. Appropriately titled “Sweet Revenge”, I personally enjoy it for the way it incorporates other parts of the War Ender soundtrack into its music. You hear bits of Urban Destruction, Red Storm, and more. Thinking about it now, I guess the overall theme of this level is reminding you of what you've accomplished so far, while filling you with the feeling of being able to accomplish one more challenge. The song should hopefully remind you of where you've been, recalling those feelings of triumph as you conquer the game's most difficult challenge yet. At the very least, I want it to be a good song to listen to as you blast your way through a final round of enemies.
Upon finishing this large level, there's only one thing left to do in War Ender. The Outsider Leader awaits in his flying fortress (yes, he has one). I'm sure he'll be no slouch. In fact, his arsenal may make it hard to reach him. And now that I think about it, perhaps there might be just a bit more to this urban war than meets the eye. Remember those Detractors of War fellows? What was that all about anyway? It does seem rather odd that his occurred seemingly overnight, isn't it? I guess Red just has that much influence. He is kinda famous after all. Maybe the Outsider Leader has an interesting perspective on all this? I suppose we'll get there when we get there. In the meantime, I'll also still need to look at the unlockable bonus levels at some point, as well as the extra levels that were added to War Ender after its release. Despite coming close to the end, we still have a lot of ground to cover. Should be fun to explore and revisit some old memories.
Until next time!
-Lance T.