WINTER OPS
Mission
- MOUNTAIN PASS -

NARRATIVE CONCEPT

The visual thematic that inspired the project was snowy and cold landscapes, and harsh environments.
To respect this inspiration and artistic scope, the environment had to be a remote and untouched wilderness with a turbulent weather, a landscape where people do not belong and that is largely inhospitable.
To celebrate the game themes and inspiration, the mission will take place in the midst of a snowstorm.

LEVEL MISSION

The employer has hired you to participate and lead a strike operation against the enemy.
For months the employer’s communications have been suffering disruptions and fragmentations, granting great advantage to the enemy.
Only recently the employer managed to gather intelligence that revealed that the enemy has built a powerful frequency jamming tower, hidden within the mountains and that it has established an outpost to supervise operations on site.
The enemy has also acquired specialistic support from a private mercenary agency to aid operations so, caution is advised.
The coordinates are approximate and locate the enemy within a largely unexplored map.

The employer is incapable of locating and charting the area by satellite due to the perpetual cover of weather and to the jamming of communication systems so, you will be sent in to take care of the problem.
You will be dropped on the face of the mountain to avoid detection and find your way to reach a supposed hidden valley, laying concealed amongst a set of peaks. Once you have located the area, your task is to eliminate all enemy presence within the site and sabotage the jamming facility.
The operation has to be thorough and complete, leaving nothing behind that could be used to re-instate the enemy operation.

The employer has a powerful weaponized satellite aligned with your last coordinates.
To destroy the facility, you will have to approach each module that supports the system and signal the coordinate for its location.
Once the coordinates are sent, the employer will re-align the satellite and blast the module with a powerful ion ray.

DESIGN CONCEPT

The design of the level was drawn within a specific scope of parameters and feature needs :

NARRATIVE :
- The level has to deliver in full the narrative themes, both of the environment, mission and of the game concept as a whole
- The environment takes place within an inhospitable landscape, untouched by humans, harsh and turbulent

GAMEPLAY :
- The environment has to offer a set of experiences that support, represent and deliver the mission themes and narrative
- The environment has to offer a layout and structuring that allows the player to experience, explore and pratice the full extent of the game features and gameplay possibilities

IN GAME LOOK
- AREA 1 -
Secret Path

NARRATIVE CONCEPT
After having climbed the face of the mountain, at the mercy of a bitter snowstorm, you have eventually located the supposed hidden valley. You have now descended into a narrow patch of vegetation, undetected and with the cover necessary to have the advantage and take the enemy by suprise.

IN GAME LOOK
- AREA 2 -
Hidden Valley

NARRATIVE CONCEPT
This hidden valley has been carved within the mountain through millenia of glaciers, now long gone, and that have left behind a secluded and isolated cloyster where nature has prospered untouched and undisturbed, until now.
The valley is also the entrance to an ancient cave, now guarded by soldiers and a mercenary band.
Thanks to this cave, the enemy has been able to established a hidden outpost to supervise the operations of the jamming tower.
The outpost is only recent and the cave is still used only as a shelter and storage environment for supplies but, given enough time and thanks to the complete concealment of the region, it could easily be developed into an actual site of operations.
This fact has to be prevented.

DESIGN & ENCOUNTER CONCEPT
This environment has been structured as an arena in which to engage with the enemy and take it by surprise.
The valley has several units scouting the area and guarding key navigation locations.
There is ample space for navigation, movement and running. There are multiple obstacles where to take cover and to use against the enemy. The possibility to take cover and re-organize oneself against frontline units is balanced by the positioning of stealth commandos on elevated positions which, thanks to their great sight and weapon range, will actively snipe the player while also being harder to spot and engage with thanks to their cloaking system.

The cave, gameplay wise, is set up to offer replenishments for the player and to prepare the player for the incoming challenges.

This section of the level is meant overall to present the game systems, mechanics and gameplay and gives the player the chance to familiarize and practice.

IN GAME LOOK
- AREA 3 -
The Gorge

NARRATIVE CONCEPT
This gorge is the linking path that connects the valley with the elevated clearing that offered even ground for the costruction of the jamming tower.
It is narrow and traps the turbulent weather within, that keeps on flooding the area.

DESIGN & ENCOUNTER CONCEPT
This section of the level is meant to first and foremost reinforce the game narrative themes. It is harder to see and the weather is denser.
This section is also meant to put pressure on the player and prepare it for the final encounter.
The whole area has several stealth commandos both on ground and on elevated positions, alongside small groups of assault infantry walking the path.
Thanks to their engagement tactics and their cloaking systems, they are evasive enemies and, with the cover of the weather, they indeed pose a challenge for the player. The player will be sniped and hunted down within the snowstorm.

IN GAME LOOK
- AREA 4 -
Hilltop

NARRATIVE CONCEPT
The discovery by the enemy of this concealed and secluded flat ground made the whole operation possible.
The enemy readily moved in and planted the jamming facility, the cause of all your employer’s problems and your primary target.

DESIGN & ENCOUNTER CONCEPT
This location hosts the final encounter of the mission.
The tower is guarded by a troop of assault infantry, supervised by an alpha ghost, a high-end special operative hired by the enemy.
The alpha ghost is a challenging and deadly enemy that can overpower the player better and more easily than any other enemy, and requires effort and attention to be defeated.
This encounter is meant to summarize the game concept and narrative and present a comprehensive challenge for the player.
Furthermore, once the enemy is defeated, the player will have the satisfaction to sabotage the jamming facility, have it blasted from orbit by powerful ion ray and effectively accomplish and conclude the mission.

All 3D assets have been purchased as assets packages from the Unreal Marketplace, alongside several textures, particle effects, sound effects and soundtrack
Several sound effects have been borrowed from Freesound.org