Crimson Keep:
The Doomed Hero
The Doomed Hero, is a prologue campaign, where the player controls a character on a quest to rescue someone immediately after the events that lead to the creation of the titular dungeon. This campaign is different from the main game in the fact that it isn't randomized, providing a more curated experience.
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In The Doomed Hero, you play as a guardsman that narrowly escapes the disastrous invasion of Larkstead, but must return to try and find his nephew, yet unaccounted for. The first completed area is "The Quarry", which leads into the mines.
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This first level of the campaign, "The Quarry", eases the player into the game. Allowing them to get comfortable with the controls, giving them space between encounters, and an opportunity to see and plan for combat scenarios before they are thrust into them.
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Starting at the top level of the quarry and working down provides the player the opportunity to look over points of interest below, paths they could take, and hidden caches they may want to plunder. Near a small graveyard at the very beginning there is a lookout point especially designed for this purpose.
There are two main paths through the level, with several optional areas and little nooks where items are waiting to reward the players who are observant or like to explore. One path is longer and has more encounters than the other, in the map diagram this is the blue path. The blue path may have more monsters, but the encounters are generally easier and there is no major hazards.
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The red path offers a technically shorter path to the mines, but is filled with more dangerous encounters, more traps, and higher value loot. The final stretch of the red path leading down to the bottom of the quarry also has a difficult "platforming" area where the player must carefully descend less they fall to their death.
Let's take a closer look at the easy path. After descending the initial valley/ramp that features a few very easy enemies, then a stronger "pigman" type enemy, the player has their first encounter with one of the more threatening enemies, the bone mage (1). The bone mage has a ranged and point blank aoe attack. The player has a chance to look at the bone mage and plan their next move before fighting it, and has plenty of space to maneuver around it.
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(2) Here another small squad of weaker enemies, this time including a skeletal swordsman, which is remarkably more challenging then the simple zombies the player's been fighting so far.
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(3) Multiple skeletal swordsman, this time close to the edge of the cliff, the player has to decide where exactly they should fight them.
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(4) An optional path leading up to some nice loot, but protected by narrow catwalks, a group of small demons, and a bone mage.
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(5) A more open area encounter with trees and foilage around that can be used as cover from nearby bone mages, but near the trees are animated shrub enemies that may surprise the player, and have attacks that decrease movement speed, which makes them a nasty combo with bone mages.
(6) The player faces another bone mage and friend, this time in a tight corridor where maneuvering is much more difficult.
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(7) Small ambush by shrub creatures, before an empty area that descends into the lowest part of the quarry.
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(8) The final major encounter of the map, several bone mages, pigmen, and shrub creatures in a pit. After this encounter the player navigates a valley.
In level design, the ability to telegraph an idea to the player simply through the layout of a level, or sometimes using lighting or perspective can be extremely important. In this early part of the level I use a felled tree, an extra light, and my expectation of the player's sight-line as they go down the first trail, to aggressively hint at a loot chest. This is to encourage the player to explore each area for goodies that might aid in the coming battles and challenges. Ideally the player goes back up the hill and looks for the semi-hidden path to this reward.
A decent amount of the level is just white boxed as I keep testing and iterating on the level, but I did make a few assets since this is the first outdoor area for the game. A couple trees and a street lamp.
