Level Design Document
Game Name : Kryfto
Genre : Battle Royale
Cam View : Third Person
Platform : PC & Consoles
Style : Maze + Race + Loot
Player Segment : Ninja + Architect (Strategy and Competition)
KRYFTO
Overview
Introducing Kryfto, a scalable 20+ player battle royale game that puts a fresh spin on Hide & Seek by setting it in a circular maze (dungeon). Kryfto's procedurally generated maze levels adjust to the number of players and time, keeping the game challenging and exciting. At the start of each game, players spawn on the maze's boundary and must loot weapons and items tailored to their playstyle before venturing toward the maze's center. Kryfto's gameplay is strategic, with the synergy between the items players acquire dramatically affecting their playstyle. Players must adapt their approach to the game as they hide and seek while navigating the maze. Relics are also available as powerful items that can be used differently in various situations, but they have a time limit and add an element of risk and reward to the game.
Kryfto boasts a dark dungeon art style and offers a balance of hiding spots and interactive areas, where players can decide to confront or avoid each other. The weapons players loot are also relics, which can be used for a limited time. They can only carry 6-10 items, and the number of the same item that can be carried is limited, for example, only one knife can be in their inventory. As the game progresses, the remaining players must locate a key to gain access to the center of the maze. Once all players reach the center, Kryfto's final showdown ensues, with only one player emerging victorious.
Overall, Kryfto is an exciting and complex addition to the battle royale genre, incorporating unique gameplay mechanics and an immersive aesthetic that will captivate players of all skill levels
Level Design
Map of Kryfto
Map design is crucial to ensure players have enough space and interaction points to plan and strategize. The map needs to be carefully balanced to provide a systematic distribution of gameplay over different regions, allowing players the freedom to explore and make choices.
Unlike traditional shooting games, Kryfto requires a more measured approach to map design. While an open-world scenario may work well for a shooting game, it may not be suitable for Kryfto's stealth-based gameplay. Instead, the map needs to be well-connected with multiple entries for each player or team, and be modified for each session. Additionally, the map should not allow players to establish dominance over a particular area.
To achieve this, we suggest a circular maze with strict rules for procedural generation of walls, traps, junction points, and central combat area. The maze should be designed in a way that forces each player to reach the center while allowing interaction with other players every few turns. For example, the walls could collapse as the dungeon is collapsing with time, and the center is the only escape. This will ensure that players are constantly strategizing and not simply roaming around carelessly for extra loot.
By carefully designing the map in this way, Kryfto can provide a unique and engaging experience that challenges players to think tactically and adapt to changing conditions. With its emphasis on stealth and strategy, Kryfto promises to be a game that rewards skill and ingenuity, making it a standout addition to the battle royale genre.
A Circular maze with multiple entries as per the number of players/teams
Why a Circular Maze ?
Since the randomness in a games can help bring out the most challenging scenarios, and the procedural map generation fulfills the randomness very calculatedly with rules and constraints by the generative designing process/algorithm. Using the generative design with the help of machine learning algorithms a maze with multiple entries and a common goal of center can be produced where the constraints can be:
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Equi-Spawn distance
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Minimum number of turns (center & another player)
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Time of end circle
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Walls and Blocks
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Number of gates
While these are some of the rules and constraints which can be defined as the iterations are done . With the same algorithm the rules for hiding items, traps, Key spawns and Gates for the final showdown.
With the help of tools available on the internet (open-source) were used to generate the maps in the document. A circular map with a outer-
diameter of x cells and a inner-diameter of y cells or layers from the center to the outer most wall.
Map of Kryfto
With the help of tools available on the internet (open-source) were used to generate the maps in the document.A circular map with a outer-diameter of x cells and a inner-diameter of y cells or layers from the center to the outer most wall.
Some generated maps with their own constrains and generation algorithms -->
By these generated mazes a rather clear picture can be created about how the players movement should not be very dispersed since the interaction between players is important but also the strategizing time. So the player should be able to choose whether they want to explore/engage in early game but does not require engaging into action early.
The simplified Prims algorithm for generating maze would be ideal but with all the constraints and rules applied, where the player has the freedom but also not creating obvious junctions where one reaches too quick, or covering the whole maze just to reach the center.
Note: The solution of the maze is traced with blue color and the the colored patches represent the distance distribution regionally accordingto the starting point
Prims Mazes
Prims Maze 1
Consider the maze for player X where the blue line defines the shortest route to reach the center and the green region which can be covered without too much effort or time.
Prims Maze 2
Similarly consider this maze where the player y can do the same just has started from the west entry m there is a possibility player X and Y can engage during the session
Prims Maze 3
Here player Z enters from the north entry point and the chances of engaging with player X (south entry) are very minute but may be player Y and Z can have engagement
Gameplay
A game begins with players joining the session which was generated with the use of algorithms. Players start empty handed just one light orb. There is limited inventory on player where particular items can be picked up in certain number. These items are found according to the phase of the game. There are three phases of the game :
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Loot Phase
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Engage Phase (sub phase)
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Key and Gate Phase
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End of Maze Phase (sub phase)
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Last Combat Phase
The objective of each player/team is to loot and strategize their plan of action in the early game, then locate the key for the gates which are located near the center of the maze. These Keys are required to pass through any gate and have the respawn-abilty if not being picked up by the player. Players can buy the keys at junctions (intersection of players path w.r.t time) with the help of currency (3 Tychi coins). The players can hide & seek with the help of relics found on the traversal of the maze. Finally when the players enter into the End of the maze i.e. a smaller maze with only one solution instead of earlier method (multiple entries). A lot of engagement and combat will take place while racing to the center.The 1st player to submit two keys at the center altar wins Kryfto, but the game goes on till other two players submit the keys at the altar.
Player Actions list
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Left Joystick/W : Movement
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Right Joystick : Camera view
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B Button/ E : Use selected item/ Action
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R3/ Right MB : Aim
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X / Space Bar : Jump
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A / Ctrl Button : Crouch/slide
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Y / Q Button : Secondary item use
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RT / Shift Button : Torch
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RB / F Button : Hide/cover
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LB/ C Button : Stay still
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R2 /Wheel Button : Items in inventory
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Start /Escape Button : View menu
Map Interactions:
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A Minimap on HUD tracking past traced path
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Any indication for steps, item use etc.
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Key marks a path towards the designated gate is marked
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An indicator for the collapsing wall from where the players started.
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Currency can also can be used for interacting with traps
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Using an item will produce indications for others.
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Number of Keys are fixed hence the Keys re-spawn
Derived Maze
Few of the generated mazes with possible enteries and movement maps of the 20 marked players, and a central maze with unique solution with final combat area.
Type 1 - Random Generation
Gates to Center
Entry Points
Interaction Points
Experiment summary :
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A maze generated with an outer-diameter of 40cells and inner-diameter of 4cells
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With one entry point, then modified to 20 random entry points
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The next few turns of 20 players if they take every turn
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The width reduced as the movement is towards the center
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The interaction junctions can be decides based on the maximum interaction points marked as
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The items are placed randomly but phase wise distributed (ex. no two same items are close enough)
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Keys are hidden in the second phase region where the player need to find a certain mural where the key is embedded, may be lying near other players
Experiment summary :
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A maze generated with Simplified Prim’s algorithm ,with 20 layer grid
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The maze can be referred in the Prim’s maze section, with patterns in distance map
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Here the maze is made ready to play for 24 players manually, might not work very accurately
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But the maze would help in understanding dynamics and parameters of the game-play
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Here the Legends can be referred for the colored dots and rectangles
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The loots can be arranged only in phases of game, initial, mid, and final
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Keys are randomly spawned in the blue region the Second phase of game, may be in loot boxes
Type 2 - Prim’s Algorithm generated
This is a mock up movement scenario made using the above maze, The players have no directional help just a mini-map of traced path. So the turns are instinctively taken.
Experiment
A mock up with the help of few play test of the same maze, with the same spawn and reaching the center and submitting two keys -as the objective.
Game Items
These are some of the items from the game, like a utility , weapon or key. The items and their possession by each player brings out the game play style the player likes, as a stealth, aggressive or cunning play styles. A player can only have any item limited to the threshold number (like 5 coins max). The items below are available with their description: