Research

Before I started jumping into drafting and prototyping for any levels I needed to fully understand the look and feel of a mission or section of Far Cry 5, explore the level editor's limitations, and see what other creators were making on the "arcade" section.

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Levels or sections lasted between 5-15 minutes and supported the three main play styles that Far Cry 5 built around, sniper, assault, and stealth. Levels where often designed to allow each one a different entrance and a few disconnected pathways and spaces to flow between one and the other. However, since sniper and stealth often relied on the player having minimal contact with the enemy, the levels would offer small sections that allowed players to change to assault game play rather quickly.

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Far Cry 5 itself had a unique feeling of open wilderness with outposts of civilization which was expressed through both the environment and the characters. The rule of law was taken more as a suggestion the further out you went. While everyone generally fell within stereotypes of rural Montana, people lived mostly by their own values until crises hits. The amount of land available allowed people to expand their way of life to their exterior.

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To make my own level stand out, I quickly explored the user made content to see what was popular and where I felt it could improve. The two most popular game modes were elimination, killing all the enemies on the map, and bounty hunt, killing specific enemies while the others are optional. The two largest issues I found within the levels were flat game play and linear level progression which led to limited player agency and less interesting fire fights. I decided to go with the bounty hunt map type. Elimination focused favorable on the assault play style and put sniper and stealth as an after thought. 

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Jumping into the level editor, I found that nothing could be imported. Rivers and waterfalls couldn't be done without looking very out of place. Encounters were a bit limited since I could spawn enemies in waves through multiple triggers, but the enemies would always know where the player was and be fully alert when spawning. I also couldn't construct any buildings out of separate pieces, only fully constructed exteriors with either pre-placed or empty interiors. However, there were plenty of assets to work with, good tools to direct large sections of enemies, areas to set animations for the AI, and a good terrain sculptor.

First Major Draft

As my first draft, I knew that many ideas I had would likely be thrown out or changed, which is expected from any creative project. Therefore, I dove in and made rough patches quick to get the most glaring issues out of the way.

My original concept was a household who traded access to their lake front property for moving supplies to the cultists in return for the destruction of their neighbor's garden, who they had a fierce competition with. There were four main areas to this initial plan: frontal destroyed home, second home with very impressive and expansive garden, forest side path, and lake front supply dock. Players were expected to eliminate three targets, one at each house and one at the supply chain.

The forest would provide an area for the player to weave in and out of but housed wild animals that could give away the players location. Having both homes right next to each other allowed me to create interesting ways for the player to sneak into the second home through the debris of the first. Additionally, the contrast of the lovely garden next to the carnage really let players feel the difference between the two areas.

The Lake was a well fortified area with explosives, ammunition, and mounted guns laying around for the player to take advantage, as well as the enemy. Set up to be the final act, I focused on theatrics and chaos.

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Major Problems:

• Forcing the neighbors to be right next to each other in an otherwise isolated setting felt very strange, as though I plopped a piece of suburbia into the middle of nowhere Montana.

• While the editor did have a number of gardening assets, I didn't feel they were diverse enough to center the story of a map around.

• The wilderness ended up being either completely ignored or the player's first and only method through the level depending on their play style.

• Lake section proved to be too much for players. Stealthy players were overwhelmed by the number of enemies and newer players had difficulty getting through without multiple deaths.