Ayathara
Overview:
Setting: Ancient Thailand
Objectives:
Collect three ancient orbs
Story Behind The Level:
Ayathara is a busy port city in Thailand. After the solar eclipse， the king was informed that three ancient orbs disappeared from the worship tower which was heavily guarded. The palace sends royal guards to find these orbs before they fall into the wrong hands. As a villager who knows where the thieves are heading, you decide to follow them and make sure you get the orbs before the thieves do.
Map
Level 1 Area: Player learn how enemies works and the game fighting mechanics
Level 2 Area: Enemies will approach from both sides.
Level 3 Area: Enemies will keep coming until you find the orb in one of the houses.
Problems & Solution:
First Draft Top Down Map
Problem:
Players cannot find the forest pathway, so they walk straight into the forest and either get lost or end up at the Abandoned Temple.
Solution:
I rotated the spawn house to face the forest and ensured the forest pathway was the first thing the player saw upon leaving the house.
Problem:
During the playtest, my friend, who is not a gamer, walked straight to the "Abandoned Temple" through the forest because they thought it looked mysterious and believed that was where the first orb was located.
Solution:
I decided to add another NPC so that when a player interacts with it, the NPC will ask the player to help find the orb in the forest behind the player.