N.O.V.A - Honours Project
Skills -
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Unreal Development Kit & Kismet
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Directing & Project Management
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Puzzle Creation
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Level Design
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Narrative Design
N.O.V.A is a Puzzle horror game. Players wake up in an underground facility and must explore to find an escape. Players will use a physical copy of a book the called the 'Orientation Manual' which holds all the clues to their escape. Meaning they will be physically reading in the real world, while completing tasks in game.
Inspired by the wonder I felt as a kid when using an old Pokemon book, how it could possibly lead me to a secret island within the GameBoy games, I aimed to recreate that sense of mystery and outside immersion.
Similar to how Metal Gear Solid used the game box to hide an important code for the player to progress, the physical book gives the player Maps, deciphers & hints. The result is an interesting, unique and engaging game-loop. Explore > Read > Progress
The First page of the Book.
Map of the 'Housing' area of the facility.
Full layout of the level design
Narrative insight + Clues
Additionally, this helped come up with a unique way to drive the narrative. A lot of the story is told through physical medium. As well as scribbles & writing in a different language, as well as notes left for the player to find throughout. Symbols were also used in-game as reference points, to aid navigation, letting the player know what 'Test' they were at.
The 'HUB' page with a brief explanation of the players main objective.
Third tests orientation pages, showing hints/Clues
Alphabet page with scribbles of the unknown language
A page needed for some tests - Showing Morse code and Chemical symbols
The Facilities Main Logo
Logo depicting that you are in 'The HIVE'
Logo Depicting that you are in the 'BAT' test room
I used this opportunity to work other students. Helped to create live action footage of characters, with dialogue and scripts written by myself. This was then put in game as a 'Reward' for puzzle completion, helping drive the narrative forward.
I also worked to get in game audio/music to help sell the atmosphere. I wanted to the tracks to give a sense of tension, as if something was watching you. I also wanted each section of the facility to have a different track to make each area more unique. N.O.V.A, is a Virtual Intelligence that helped keep the facility alive. This allowed for voice lines to trigger at random points during gameplay to help build atmosphere further. Even though the game is all block out, I felt that the combination of the Book, Films and audio, still helped give the immersion I wanted.
Block out of the first room the player needs to reach to begin the testing process.
See 'The HIVE' Page to see the clue given for this area.
Block out area of The HIVE - Elevator in the middle, the players main objective.
Block out of Cave system linking the facility to each test room