This week we created the monster introduction/tutorial section. Our level designer worked with the project lead on how to introduce the monster, using inspiration from other monster introductions; Mr X in Resident Evil 2 Remake and the Xenomorph in Alien Isolation. 

From these game inspirations, we learnt that we needed to build tension before revealing the monster and its strength to the player. To do this, we created three rooms. The first two built tension through scripted events, and the third introduced the monster by bursting and breaking through a door and rushing towards the player.

The feedback we received from playtesting the monster intro revealed that some players assumed they could move and run away when the monster attacked, and became frustrated when they couldn’t. Some players also missed the “Press Space to Time travel to escape” which was positioned on the top of the screen, and were killed. To solve this second issue, we positioned the text in the middle of the screen. We are brainstorming ways to fix the first issue.

The team looked at improving sound effects like the time travel sound effect, using inspiration from the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (train dementor scene) and the time travel missions in the games Titanfall 2 and Dishonored 2. We experimented and found that reversing the sound of a glass breaking worked well for when the player time travels.

Our project lead looked at improving the perception of the monster AI by adding hearing and prediction of where the player would move. This made the monster more threatening, allowing for more frequent encounters with the monster.