Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
by miles of snow, ice, glaciers, and high-peaked mountains) and that the base
consists of a small building on the surface, which is sketched out in this design.
It was up to the designer's imagination to decide what any underground features
might look like. No information was unearthed about whether a physical study of
the subterranean lake is being, has been, or might be conducted.
t
h e
s
t o r y
B e h I n d
V
ostok
Vostok, Antarctica, holds the record for having the coldest temperatures
on earth. Lake Vostok, which is 160
×
30 miles in length and width, was
discovered by the British in the early 1970s during airborne ice-penetrating
radar surveys; it's located two miles under the ice. Scientists would like to
drill into the lake to study its prehistoric contents. This true story provided
an exciting inspiration for the game.
The designer studied maps of mines along with geographic features that could
be underground near volcanoes. Notice the twisty tunnel leading from the guest
quarters to the lab and meeting rooms—those are based on what a lava tube
looks like.
The drilling area at the lake is the site of some of the most intense action for
the game. For that reason, this area was provided with more physical space.
Another important area is a large, naturally formed cavern just below the sur-
face. The long, dagger-like ice stalactites hint at some of the visuals to be built for
this area. After the player descends in the elevator from the main Vostok build-
ings, this will be an enormous, beautiful, terrifying maw of ice, along with dark,
spooky depths that provide a tone for the game—awe-inspiring beauty married
with the deadly terrain of Antarctica.
adding Gameplay
An important thing to keep in mind about level design is that if you allow a
player to move from point A to point B, they're usually able to get back to point
A unless the designer prevents them from doing so.
In
Vostok
, although the main elevator shaft is damaged when the volcano
blows, the player needs to find a way back to the surface. At first, the emergency
ladder seems like the way out, when in reality it's blocked with collapsed ice and
twisted metal (that is the dead loop). The player puzzles their way out using sal-
vaged equipment from the underground facility to climb up what remains of the
damaged elevator shaft.
not being able to
re-traverse a level is
a design technique
known as a
dead
loop
.
