Project Info - Sector Control

Sector Control is a puzzle game about flying through an abandoned spacecraft and avoiding its still active security. Players clear obstacles by using "Security Switch Buttons" to change the color of obstacles and traps that are active. The level is designed to slowly teach the player the game's mechanics without requiring much of a tutorial. The level design and scripting are all done by me. The art is starter assets.

Level Design

Main Takeaways

• It's fun to figure out even simple problems or mechanics in a game on one's own. It may be worth a bit of trial and error to teach the player certain mechanics without explicitly spelling anything out to them.
• Free form verticality is an underused mechanic in video games and may be a source of novel gameplay if looked into.
• A "leveled up" version of a previous encounter can be helpful for hammering home gameplay concepts to players. The Double Turret room is solved in basically the same way the hallway beforehand is!

Paper Design

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Starting Room

The very first room, though small, gives the player a chance to get used to moving and aiming. There is also an activated checkpoint in the room, so that a player can recognize it when it appears later. The player can float up and down in 3D space. To emphasize this somewhat, the player must lower themselves into a vent shaft to reach the next room.

Mined Hallway

As a simple test of the player's 3D navigation, players must cross a hallway filled with floating mines. The player dies instantly to hazards, so there is always a checkpoint close by, such as the one in the starting room. On the way to the mines, the player is shown their goal: a hallway blocked by a set of impassable orange bars.

The mines are set to encourage the player to weave over and under them as well as side to side. Past the mines is an orange button: Interacting with the button turns it purple and lets the player out of the room. While the player is unlikely to realize exactly what the button does, the next room will quickly teach the player its true significance...

First Drone

This room serves as the player's introduction to the Security Switching mechanic as well as their first encounter with camera drones. The first room is meant to throw the player for a loop: pressing the room's button turns off the purple barrier down the hall, but also activates an orange barrier that blocks the player further in! The player should quickly realize that they cannot exit the room with this button, and will have to enter a different area for now. I like situations like this because it builds a bit of excitement toward finding new abilities or figuring out new mechanics, similar to how one might feel running into a strange and impassable obstacle in a Metroidvania game. Though the button is ultimately a fake-out, it also clearly displays the game's security switching mechanic where the Mine Hallway may not have.

In the next accessible room, the player is introduced to the camera drone. Because the drone is placed below the player, they get a chance to observe its behavior before being put in danger. The drone has the same mesh of lines surrounding it as the mines do to show that they are similarly deadly to get close to. The cover directly in front of the drone is at once the way past it while also suggesting that the bright orange light it casts may not be safe. Finally, across from the room is a doorway with a soft-blue translucent barrier. While it does not block player movement, it does block the camera drone's vision, giving players a safe area between rooms.

The next room gives the player the Remote Security Switch (RSS) ability. The player instantly gets a use for it; While the player can get past the turret entering into the room, they cannot get back out without using the RSS. Using it here switches the turret from orange to purple, while also reversing its direction and letting the player escape with the powerup.

The player gets another example of the ability's use on their way back with the ability. With the color swapped from orange to purple, the first turret from before has been disabled entirely. Its harsh orange light has been replaced with a soft gray light, signaling its inactivity. Once the player is past the turret, they finally get to use their new ability to get past the two barriers.

Double Drone Room

A somewhat more advanced use of the RSS before the finale room. The solution is simple once the player spots it, but requires the player to put themselves in the middle of danger instead of hiding and moving at the right time, which changes up the pace while potentially making the player feel more powerful. It also sets the tone somewhat for the finale room's lack of cover.

Finale Room

I like to end my levels with something big. This large room is filled with many drones, with the objective being to press three red buttons scattered throughout it. Since the red buttons will be an unfamiliar element to the player, one of them is shown to the player before they enter the area. Also coming before the room is a winding vent, acting as both a brief resting period and a way of building tension for the next room.

By using the RSS, the player can control which drones are active at once. While this can let you access a button more quickly, I took for granted that this was also a risky strategy in addition to requiring you to pay careful attention to all of the cameras. It is far easier to keep a single color of drones on, though it is still fun to try and weave through the turret's vision. What may have been more appropriate is a room with a more complex layout, with areas that can only be entered with a certain security color, but simpler turret positions in exchange.