Nicholas Garcia
Game/Level Developer
Personalized design exercise
With the success of God of War 3, I took it upon myself to construct a challenge that would push my abilities as a means of mastering my skills as a designer. I wanted to go all out and build an entire world full of enemies, bosses, puzzles and mechanics. This exercise took me about 4 weeks in total. You are welcome to download the entire exercise below or read through the documents on this page! Please enjoy!
Maya Block out with Walkthrough
Full Exercise saved in ZIP format
Mythos
(click the link below to read the entire document)
With the death of Zeus and the Titans, the realm of earth sits vacant of a deity, awaiting who will take control. Ouranos, the Primordial God who was banished in ancient times, has decided to come out of exile to reclaim the earth and reek havok as vengeance for the suffering he endured from the Gods. Kratos isn’t going to have any part of this, and decides to embark on a journey to destroy Ouranos along with any other Gods who get in his way.
On his journey, he meets Selene, the Goddess of the moon. She speaks of the atrocities that Ouranos brought upon Ancient earth, and why he was banished in the first place. When asked about why she resides on earth, she explains when Ouranos returned to power she was exiled to live a mortal life and was replaced by the Wyrm that pulled her chariot. She then speaks of an ancient weapon that has the power to send Ouranos back to the banished realm. However, the only way to gain the mystical weapon is to travel through a portal created when the sun and moon fuse, which then can only be entered if carrying the flames of the Sun Dragon and Moon Dragon. Selene offers her chariot to Kratos as a way to travel to the sky realm so that he may save earth from the wrath of this Primordial god....
Selene - Goddess of the moon
God of War
Video shows Gravity crystals enabled and disable while the player is equipped with and without Orions Belt. Please note stats on the side to see which objects are effected.
Mechanics
(click the link below to read the entire document)
Inversion Crystals
These rocks are dynamic objects that can alter the world and the way Kratos moves through it. There are two states to the crystal; Active and Inactive. To toggle the crystals states, the crystal must be stricken with fire damage. This damage can come from any source including Apollo's charged arrow, a cerberus fireball or a puzzle mechanic involving fire. When a Crystal is activated, the crystal will glow red. All enemies, dynamic objects [Crates], and Kratos will use the Firmaments gravitational pull and stick the the floor. Kratos will only be effected by the crystal if he is wearing Orion's belt. If the Crystal is Inactive, then all said components will fall to earth's gravitational pull...
INVERSION CRYSTALS
INVERTED DOOR
ORIONS BELT
Orion (Mini Boss)
(click the link below to read the entire document)
Kratos will enter the arena. An in game cinematic will trigger introducing Orion. Once cinematic is over, regular gameplay will commence.
Orion
There are three stages when combating Orion.
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Two armor pieces remaining
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One armor piece remaining
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Zero armor pieces remaining
For every stage, there are two substages categorized as “Ceiling” and “Floor”. While referring to these terms, it is in reference to the Kratos, not the architectural structure. IE: If I state that Kratos is standing on the ceiling, I am stating he is actually standing on the ceiling of the room.
Final Boss - The Wyrms of Helios and Selene
(click the link below to read the entire document)
Kratos will enter the arena. As the violent shaking continues, an in-game cinematic will trigger showcasing the city beginning to crumble.The debris can be seen falling to earth, catching fire as it plummets towards the ground resembling meteors falling through the atmosphere. In the distance, the player can see the large gears in the dome beginning to turn, slowly bringing the moon and the sun towards the center of the dome as represented in the ring puzzle. As Kratos looks upon his fine work, 2 enormous Wyrms appear before the warrior. The first Wyrm is black with a spiked tail and shoots blue flames [representing the moon]; while the other Wyrm is red and spits orange fire [representing the sun].
Once the cinematic is over, regular gameplay will commence. Within the stage is a large “Inversion Crystal”. If Kratos shoots the Inversion Crystal with an Apollo Arrow while the dragons are idle, then both dragons will adjust easily to the gravity change because of their wings and not sustain any damage or become stunned. Kratos must shoot the arrow while the dragons are engaged in an attack. The use for the Inversion Crystal is detailed below. During the fight, the player will see the the city continue to crumble, and the moon and sun slowly edging towards the middle of the dome....
