A Tense Situation – Matt Surdej

The starting position in A Tense Situation

A Tense Situation is a mod I created in the Hammer Engine for Half Life 2 in the fall of 2013. My goal in making this was to create a tense environment and a challenge for the player to overcome.

LEVEL DESIGN:

Part of my inspiration for the creation of this level was the trash compactor scene in Star Wars IV: A New Hope. I wanted to find a way of recreating this tense scene, where the characters are desperately struggling to stay alive and find a way out of their predicament. In designing this level, I wanted to give the player a challenge that would be simple to do, but under the pressure of time, could cause them trouble. To this end, I made a stacking puzzle, where players use the Gravity Gun provided to them in order to stack crates, and make their way out of the area. However, as soon as they move forward, the walls begin to close in, and the player must move fast, lest the spike walls crush the player, forcing them to retry the puzzle.

Tense situation — Several views of the map in the Hammer Editor

One of the biggest challenges was creating the crushing walls. Since Hammer had no express way of moving walls, I used two doors that would “open” towards the center of the room, crushing the player once the two met. By slowing the rate at which the “doors” closed, I was able to create a sensation of the walls closing in on the player. In order to make it harmful to the player, I use inputs and triggers to damage the player if they touch the wall, but only if the walls are moving. I put in more crates than were needed to complete the puzzle, both as a way to give multiple ways to solve the puzzle, and as a way to complicate the player’s path. I also added in spikes to the walls and some blood spatters around the room, to better make the player aware of the dangers in the room.

Upon moving into the room, the walls begin to close in.

The player must stack boxes in order to make a stairway out of the room.

Successful players reach the end of the level.

Moments before the player is crushed by the walls.

FEEDBACK AND IMPROVEMENTS:

From the first round of testing I did on this, I saw the sense of tension and panic I wanted to be induced. However, I learned that there were still ways of improving the map. One tester mentioned that it wasn’t obvious at first that the walls were closing in. In order to rectify this, I put sparks on the sides of each wall, to show the walls scraping up against each other. One player didn’t know where the exit was, so I changed the colors of the lights in the level to red(a color that symbolizes danger) in the main area, and a green(a color generally used for safe areas) in the place where the player must go. I also got a comment that the place seemed under populated, so I added in a few more objects of trash, but not enough to trip the player up much.

POSTMORTEM:

Overall, I had a lot of fun creating this map, and achieved my goal that I had set at the start. I was really happy when I created the closing walls, which were the hardest part of creating the encounter. I enjoyed that I was able to find a way to create an idea in an editor that didn’t automatically support it. I also used the feedback I got from the people who tested my game to further improve the level. Honestly, I’d like to put this space into a full level, and am in the process of thinking of a good environment where it would work.