Watch Dogs: Upstaged
Project
- Mission Design
- World Building
- Level Design
- Watch Dogs
Constraints
- 6-7 Weeks
- Unreal
- SketchUp
- Needs to fit in the Watch Dog Universe
- Needs to be in Los Angeles
- Blackbox
Gameplay
- Infiltrate & Hack
- Multiple Methods of Play
- Combat & Stealth
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Intentions of Gameplay
Infiltrate the Dolby Theatre secured by Robotic security and hack the showcase.
Context
As the Blume Corporation have expanded their reach across the globe, the time for the advancement in their ctOS is as prominent as ever. With the newly acquired tech company Glass Eyes, Blume are looking to showcase their plans for their new ctOS at the Dolby Theatre presented by GlassEyes CEO Ken Armada. Featuring a development in true augmented reality the showcase is the focal point for their new cTOS4.0. With the date set, the Los Angeles based DedSec collective have plans themselves to tinker with the showcase.
Mission
« Marcus makes his way to the Dolby Theatre, where he is briefed over the phone about Ken Armada, GlassEyes and the showcase that he needs to hack. Realising the front door is locked, he looks towards an alley that he can access a side entrance. »
Once in the space Marcus needs to bypass the robot security to hack and destroy the files of Ken Armada in his dressing room. After the destruction of the files the player finds an access card that gives them access to the stage where they are then tasked to hack and relay their video into the projection booth from a distance.
« With the hack being successful, there is a glitch with the projection and results in a digitized figure of a Dedsec member being projected in the theatre. With the sound coming from the projection, the robotic security makes their entrance into the theatre as the avatar hides. »
The player then needs to make their way out of the theatre and distance themselves from the theatre to complete the mission.
Design Process
This project was built over the course of 3-4 weeks, in SketchUp.
This project was made with the intentions of it fitting in the universe of Watch Dogs, if there was to be a new game in Los Angeles in the year 2028. This project had elements of mission building as well as world design nested inside of it.
Interior
When first building the layout of the Dolby Theatre, there were not many references to go by for the backstage. So as I pieced together the project. I experimented with different layouts until I found one that I felt had a strong sense of gameplay and one that would allow for the player to also choose their own method of play once in the space. I wanted to create a change in atmosphere between the backstage and the eliteness of the main dressing rooms in the front.
The problems of this first design were for one the problems with space as well lines of sight. The long stretched corridors would make it that the player would be able to see from one end of the mission to the other. As well as there didn’t seem to be any choice on the players part on what path they would take to get to the main dressing room. I liked the layout, where the space is thought out in parts, so I wanted to keep this approach in the future designs.
In the second design there was a greater sense of choice for the player, by giving them more routes and rooms they could go into in order to get to the end of dressing rooms and back, as well having a mixture in the sizes of space so that each section felt different from the last. I kept the way the layout was built in three parts, but I really rethought how I wanted the player to move through the space. Being fairly satisfied with this layout in general, I tweaked and adjusted elements to the space until I felt that it was right.
Exterior
Once the layout of the interior was built, it was time to find the relation of the outside world on how to enter the space. In my first iteration building the world, I imagined that the mission would have started at the front door, but the entry to the mission would have only been at the back of the building.
This was clearly problematic due to the reason that the player might not have made the relation between needing to find the back door in order to enter the gamespace. With this problem it required a little world design by needing to add an alley next to the theatre in order for the player to be able to make their way to the backdoor.
