Team Size: Up to 33
Role: Game & Level Design
Dev. Time: 32 weeks
Kari
Engine: UE4
Releases: Steam
What is Kari:
Kari is an adventure game where you explore mysterious lands after a magical storm strands you on the shore of Vanaheim. Seek out help from the gods inspired by Norse Mythology in a Singleplayer Combat-Free Adventure-Puzzle Game. A game about helping each other.
- The Kari Steam page
Resources System
A huge portion of the game is spend looking for resources and remembering where to find them. The system I made was aimed to make it clear to the player where they can find certain resources. Need pinecones? Go to the forest, need flint? The mountain is where you want to be. I always kept logic in mind while desiging the system and placing the various items in the areas. I started the design by looking at the real world and what I could grab from there. Since the game is set in a fantasy world I added fantasy elements after the foundation of the system was made.
The system was made to feel logical and precise in where to find things. This should help the player while standing in front of a gate wondering where in the world they can find pinecones.
Crafting system
The crafting system is a system where the player needs to go back to a crafter in order to progress further in the game. This was made so that the player has reasons to return to a certain village. The items crafted are needed for certain gates and therefore a vital part of our game. Remembering recipies while walking through the wild is one of the core puzzle elements. Together with the resource system this creates an interesting dynamic where the player is constantly thinking about what they need, where to find it and making sure that it will fit within their inventory.
Rune System
The Rune system is a different story, this was implemented later in the development process. We found out that our game can be devistating when the player isn't paying attention so we implemented this supporting system for the casual player. Now you can take your time and craft runes that will give you minor boons while traversing the wilds. We accomplished this by making sure our game is playable without the runes but also difficult to complete. You could see the runes as your own difficulty setting, if you want a more casual experience you can spend some time and craft runes to make Kari's life just a little bit easier.
Mountain level design
The mountain level is the second level in the game. After I playtested the forest level a lot we found out that it is quite easy to pass through so we had to make the second level a bit harder. Artists came with a suggestion that we added kill boxes instead of bound boxes around the ledges. At first, this was a big change and I was worried that the game thought the player that they don't have to fall off and all of a sudden we are changing a big parameter. But after testing with the help of a prototype I found out that the spike in difficulty made the player more alert. They were more conscious of what they were doing and generally engaged more with the game. The mountain level was also set-up as more of a puzzle level, there were 2 types of resources (Planks and Freya's hair) spread around the level that was needed for a quest. So I together with a set dresser made them a bit hidden in the game. This rewarded the players for exploring. They also need to collect all the planks and plants (Freya's hair) in one go, if they died in between they had to search for them again. The mountain is meant to feel harsh and cold, and once the player finally scales the mountain and finishes the level they should feel triumphant.
Trailer Creation
The Kari trailer is a trailer that shows the selling parts of our game. It teases the narrative and shows an amazing environment with some gameplay snippets. It was made in Vegas pro 14 and edited by me. I've timed most shots on the music and made sure the trailer plants a fantasy in the person's head. It doesn't show enough to know what is going on but it shows enough to get the viewer excited to play the game. This is exactly why I made the decisions I did working on this trailer.
