DHANUSH KRISHNA
GAME DESIGNER
LOST IN THE DARK
The rooms with a fireplace are considered safe. This is where the player starts out in the game.
There are journals available across the level. These contain critical plot points that unravel the story.
This is Caroline's bed and this is where the game ends.
The rooms with a fireplace are considered safe. This is where the player starts out in the game.
ENGINE: Unreal Engine 4.16
GENRE: Horror
TEAM: Sleepless Dreamer Studios
DEV TIME: 6 Months
TEAM SIZE: 17 Developers
(1 of 6 designers)
PLAYTIME: 20-30 Minutes
OVERVIEW
Lost In The Dark is a single-player third-person horror game set in an orphanage in the 18th Century. Playing as a 10-year-old Caroline, the player must travel through the nightmare with only a lantern and protect their light source against the enemy who seeks to extinguish Caroline's light. The primary objective of this game is to escape the nightmare.
The player can phase or "ghost" through doors by hiding their lantern. Throughout the game, the players must find objects highlighted on the special paintings. These objects are hidden throughout the mansion. Players must bring these objects back to special "paintings" to progress.
TRAILER
MY RESPONSIBILITIES
LEVEL DESIGN
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Collaborated and worked with the Game Designer, Lead Designer, and fellow Level Designers to create and craft the entire horror experience.
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Constructed rooms, hallways and the Final set piece room using the modular kit.
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Closely worked with the Game Designer and the Lead to decide on the enemy encounters for a memorable gameplay experience.
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Crafted and designed gameplay and experiences using systems created by the Programmers.
SCRIPTING
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The puzzles, scripted events and dynamic environments that I designed at the early stages helped us determine the core gameplay and experience of our game.
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The scripted events in combination with the atmosphere created by our artists laid a strong foundation for a game to adopt the horror genre.
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A simple node-based AI that I prototyped in the early stages was the foundation for our Enemy AI.
ENEMY ENCOUNTERS
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Collaborated with the Game Designer and programmers to craft the enemy encounters.
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During developments, we found the "fun" in gameplay centered around scripted events and enemy encounters.
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I was responsible for setting up six of the seven enemy encounters and testing all of them.
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I was also responsible for setting up a natural behavior of the Enemy AI in the environment. I was responsible for setting up the "Final Encounter" and finale.
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Scripted the Finale of the game and designed the final cinematic sequence in the game which is a set piece.
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Collaborated with the Programmers to improve the cinematics and the end credits.​
CINEMATICS
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QUALITY ASSURANCE AND BUG FIXING
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Actively participated and followed the QA pipeline formed by the team.
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Was responsible for reporting bugs and fixing them or informing the concerned person.
DESIGN COMMENTARY
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I started creating various scenarios with the enemy AI and systems provided.
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While creating, my focus was on integrating the game mechanics in these scenarios.
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The encounter labeled E4 was the first scenario I created. This encounter resonated well with the playtesters.
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This scenario was our first proof that an amalgamation of our mechanics with these encounters was "FUN."
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Eventually, with all the sounds and lighting integrated, these encounters provided a fun horror experience for the players.
LEVEL 2: THE MANSION (Ground Floor)
LEVEL 3: THE MANSION (First Floor)
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To ramp up the challenge and the scare factor I had to set up jump scares that extended into chase sequences with the player using the mechanic to save Caroline from the enemy.
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For the finale, Jeremy Arata had this crazy idea of making the enemy an objective. We split up into strike teams, and I had to design the scenarios to make this possible.
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Using the different systems provided by the programmers, I set up the scenarios for luring the enemy into the ring of candles.
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The entire finale was paced appropriately using doors and side paths as we found that the players were very scared during the testing.
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I was assigned the task of planning and pacing the encounters in the tutorial.
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Since this is the very beginning of the game, I designed encounters that last for a small duration
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The primary challenge was the conveyance and integration of the other mechanics in the game.
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Thus, I had to layer the encounters with the other mechanics.
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I had to design the second encounter such that players are forced to use the phasing mechanics.
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This design helped the players to learn the mechanic pretty quickly and also taught the player that the other entity is an adversary.
LEVEL 1: THE TUTORIAL
DESIGN COMMENTARY: THE ENCOUNTERS
FORESHADOWING
FIRST ENCOUNTER
UNPREDICTABLE ENCOUNTERS
CALUSTROPHOBIA - THE DINING ROOM & BEDROOM SEQUENCE
CHASE SEQUENCE
The first encounter was designed to teach the player that the entity is an adversary trying to consume Caroline's light. I had to create the encounter such that there is an escape route for the players.
Set up of this escape route is such that the player learns and uses the phasing mechanic.
I had to layer the encounter with other mechanics which helped me teach the player how to escape the enemy.
Unpredictability is one of our game pillars and banking on this aspect of the game; I had to set up encounters to convey that the entity still exists and is watching Caroline. The behavior of this entity is unpredictable as such events happen only once and do not feel scripted. The playtesters liked this unpredictability.
This encounter (E4) made us realize that it is "fun" to have the gameplay centered around the enemy encounters. The core loop and game mechanics fell into place and providing a fun horror experience.
The claustrophobic feeling of being shut in a room with bagman and escaping the room enhanced the gameplay.
In the second act of the game, I designed the encounters such that they are long spanned chases as I intended the players to feel more vulnerable. Thus I set up a chase sequence within an open area for the player to move.
This encounter turned out to be a jump scare that continues as a chase sequence.
THE FINALE
The final act of this game involves luring Bagman into the Ring of Candles. A strike team of three was formed to create this experience, and I was responsible for setting up the entire layout, NPC spawn points, trigger, cinematics and the overall experience of the finale. The final act involves the player to lure the enemy into the ring of candles. Since this is the last set piece, I wanted to make it cinematic, so the player gets a sense of accomplishment.
Enemy encounters are the foundation for the gameplay. As a designer, I was responsible for setting up and pacing the enemy encounters. I set up this encounter as a quick introduction to the game without revealing too much of the enemy via foreshadowing. I set up the scenario with the audio and, screen shake to capture the moment of horror.