Foxes from the shrine inform you about the goddess disappearance. Help them find her before it’s too late!
“Reikon: Beyond the mask” is an atmospheric Metroidvania taking inspiration from Japanese folklore, culture and art. The gameplay is set in two parallel worlds, one belonging to the humans and one to the spirits. Switch between them to progress, discover fascinating stories and become stronger. Go on an incredible journey, overcome many difficulties and be charmed by the two unique worlds functioning side-by-side.
Play the game:
Engine: Unity
Team size: 4
Duration: January 2021 - May 2021
Team:
Natasza Szulc - Lead Game Designer, Level Designer, Narrative Designer, UI/UX, 2D Artist
Alicja Zachwieja- Lead 2D Artist, Animator, Logo and Banner Design
Bartosz Nowogrodzki- Lead Programmer
Edmund Ashmore- Music and Sound Effects
Role(s) and responsibilities
Lead Game Designer
Because the game is based on the game proposal document written by me, I was the Lead Game Designer of the team.
- Making sure everything is true to the game essential experience and following the documentation, making changes if it's necessary or better for the game.
- Coordinating the rest of the team, holding meetings, creating and following the schedule.
Level Designer
- Prototyping game level architecture on paper and putting it in the game.
Narrative Designer
- Writing game narrative and planning missions.
2D Art
- Created game UI.
- Created part of assets and the boy character.
Links:
Level Design
Tutorial
The level is put together in a precise and thoughtful way. First, it lets the player know to look for the unpredictable and explore by placing a secret spot at the left. Then he learns how to run, jump and fight. After that, the player receives the mask, letting him use the core game mechanics. With the mask on, the player must incorporate all the things he learned before in order to finish the tutorial area.
I put together the level prototype in Unity using the open sprite shapes.
The tutorial section after iteration process.
Village
The village is the first part of the game that the player explored after the tutorial section. The village region is divided into two sections. It also is the first area where the player gets a quest to complete.
Quest
The quest for this section is the “find quest” type with the character inspired by Nekomata and Bakeneko yokai.
1. Player meets a boy who is looking for his cat. He tells the player that they got separated and that he can’t find the cat anywhere. He asks the player to help him look for the animal. – Human
2. Player finds the cat and notices that it turned into an evil spirit (inspired by Bakeneko/Nekomata). The creature tells the player to leave because he hates all humans claiming all they can do is hurt each other, forget and abandon. – Spirit
3. Player has to look for the boy’s home. When he finds it, he discovers that the building has burned down in a fire. The player finds out what happened to the family (environmental storytelling). In this place, the player needs to find something that belonged to the cat (collar/bowl/favourite toy). – Human
4. Player needs to bring this item to the spirit. After triggering a conversation, the creature turns back into the cat form. – Spirit
Player needs to bring the cat back to the boy. That will end the quest and grant the player a new ability as a reward. – Human
Quest reward: Fireball
The fireball will let the player progress to the next village section. The path is pitch black as it is underground, the player needs fire to light up his way and proceed further.
The fireball will let the player progress to the next village section. The path is pitch black as it is underground, the player needs fire to light up his way and proceed further.
Rooms
I decided to list all of the essential rooms for this area. Each of them contains something interactive within. It might be an object or an NPC. Between each of those rooms, there will be spaces with just enemies and corridors. One room can lead to more than one other room.
- Start - The room where the player starts his journey through the actual game after exiting the tutorial.
- Merchant - The player can find the merchant in the spirit world version of this room. Players can exchange the spirit world currency (pearls) for the items from his store.
- Cartographer - The player can find the cartographer in the human world version of this room. There is one cartographer for each game area. The cartographer sells a map of the region he is located in for the human world currency (gold).
- Boy - The Boy character is the NPC that gives the player the quest for this area.
- Cat - The room where the player can find the cat spirit.
- Mechanism - This is the room containing a key or other kind of switch that opens the door for the „boy’s home” room.
- Boy’s home - The room with an item the player has to collect to complete the quest.
- Fast travel - Room with a monument that, upon interaction, lets the player immediately transport to other fast travel points.
I put the rooms in order in which the player should encounter them to complete the quest and score the upgrade.
After I have already created part of the concepts, I made another scheme. This one shows in which part of the region should certain rooms be in.
Putting the level together
The first stage of my creative process for designing maps is creating simple line diagrams. Because those are the least complicated to make, I decided to draw every idea I had. After that, I discussed with my team which design ideas are the best ones.
Example rooms layouts:
Then, I created boxed versions of those best designs.
UI mockups
Concept artworks:
