Project Overview

Game Genre: Third-Person miniscape ARPG white box

● Level Poiting: Early-Game Maps: Gradually Transitioning into
"miniscape" Exploration

● Level Scale: 3 stage

Players take on the role of a researcher navigating a monster-infested harbor, utilizing combat and puzzle-solving to locate lost sample materials.

How I Identified the Problem

I identified this problem through playtesting and self-review of the level flow. During testing, I found that players were repeatedly moving through similar combat and exploration patterns, which made the overall experience feel too repetitive and one-dimensional. This showed that the level needed stronger variation in pacing, route structure, and moment-to-moment gameplay.

Steps Taken to Find the Cause

Playtest feedback
I collected player feedback and found that several parts of the level felt too similar, which made the experience feel repetitive.
Tracking time spent in each section
I compared how long players spent in each part of the level and found that some sections took a similar amount of time while offering similar gameplay, which weakened the pacing.
Breaking down the level flow
I divided the level into exploration, combat, movement, and transition sections to check where the gameplay was repeating too often.
Comparing design goal with actual experience
I wanted the level to feel varied and engaging, but testing showed that players experienced too many similar combat and exploration loops. This confirmed that the problem came from the level structure and pacing.

Options Considered

Add new combat encounters
I considered adding new enemy setups or combat situations to create more variation in the player path.
Add new exploration mechanics
I also considered introducing new exploration interactions, so players would not only repeat the same movement and combat loop.
Rebuild the level flow
I chose to first rebuild the level flow, because it helped me clearly see where the experience became repetitive. This made it easier to decide whether a section needed a new combat setup or a new exploration mechanic, instead of adding content without solving the pacing problem.

Chosen Solution and Reason

I chose to add a new combined puzzle system where players use mechanisms to melt ice and open new areas. At the same time, I layered combat encounters into the puzzle process to make the gameplay more complex and engaging.

I chose this solution because it added both exploration variety and gameplay pressure. Instead of only repeating combat or movement, players now had to think about environmental interaction while dealing with enemy threats.

Result

After this change, players felt that the level had a stronger sense of exploration and a more tense gameplay flow. Compared to the earlier version, the experience had clearer ups and downs and felt more varied overall.

Meltable Mechanism

Pickable Items