Starfield
"Insomatic"
In "Insomatic", the player ventures through an underground research lab to investigate a containment breach causing hallucinations.
Design Goal
My main design goal was to make a compelling narrative that motivated every interaction the player has throughout the level.
Environmental Storytelling
To sell the player on the belief that they are hallucinating their surroundings, I scripted the player's surroundings to change and disappear while taking advantage of the player's line of sight.
Post-Mortem Analysis
What Went Well
Approaching a level with a narrative-first mindset lent itself extremely well to the tools that Creation Kit provides. The branching dialogue, collectable journals, and evolving environments all being crafted with the narrative in mind created a very immersive level.
What Went Poorly
Having the player-character hallucinate returning to the same room they just exited was exciting narratively, but put me in a tough situation in regard to gameplay. Making the rooms too similar ran the risk of the level's flow being monotonous, but making the rooms too different ran the risk of the player not feeling as though they were indeed the same room.
Even Better If...
My initial plan involving a recursive staircase could not be utilized since the necessary "MoveTo()" command in Creation Kit triggers a loading screen which broke the seamless experience necessary for hallucination story element. With more time and research, I'd be able to keep parts of the level perpetually loaded and build a staircase that seamlessly teleports the player.