Hello Neighbor: Shack Trailer
Design Process
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I drew out a basic paper map of the total area with landmarks and "wow" moments visualized
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Conferred with my lead to discuss pain points on the design, which was gameplay flow in relationship to the antagonist, The Neighbor
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The Neighbor would prove to be a challenge to design around because he is ever present and cannot be defeated in a conventional sense
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I blocked out the spaces in the Hello Neighbor Mod Editor using BSP and used the blockout to gauged the gameplay potential
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Iterating off the blockout, I scaled down the total area to make encounters with The Neighbor more memorable and tense
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I then white boxed the gameplay moments and puzzles to ensure they had the appropriate amount of conveyance to them
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After playtesting the level, I discovered an issue with players not realizing the importance of the magnet mill
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I built a safe starting area that allowed the player to experience the magnet mill and build a mental vocabulary that they could use to solve the puzzles based on the playtest data
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Initial gameplay was next
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Gameplay complete
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Aesthetics and lighting pass
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Release to Market
Production Screenshots
Post Mortem
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I learned that lighting worked differently in this mod kit, as certain meshes where not shadowed in the global lighting
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I learned how to communicate effectively with a lead by keeping them informed on all issues that I faced during the process
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I learned to make smart pivots with my design, such as reducing scope by cutting overall area which slowed down the gameplay
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I learned how to make effective use of playtesting notes and make smart decisions based on the feedback in the iterative process
Process Screenshots
Game Engine
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Unreal Engine 4.20 Hello Neighbor Dev Kit
Development Time
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243 hours
Genre
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Stealth/Puzzle
Design Goals
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Direct players using leading lines, landmarks, and well-placed conveyance items
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A multistep puzzle that rewards the player that is observant
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Convincing forest environment for the player to be immersed in
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Natural lived in buildings and landscape
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Gameplay enhancing flow options that make the player feel clever
This was a project to build a level for Hello Neighbor with the goal of providing the player with adequate amounts of conveyance that they would complete the level. Visually my goal was to create an interesting outdoor area that the player can use to evade the Neighbor and to allow for interesting exploration choices with optional flow opportunities. The main crux of the map is the large electromagnets that occupy the center of the map and require the player to think carefully about their route.
Maps
