As we continue our march to launch, we’re going to take a look at the Biomes and how we went about level design in the dungeoneering aspects of Sanctuary Saga. Since I’m not a level designer and Sanctuary Saga was my first crack at a JRPG, I brought in the legendary Deckiller to really bring the maps to life. Deckiller’s credits speak for themselves: a contest-winning indie dev specializing in detailed speed mapping, his projects include Omori, Kingdoms of the Dump, Quartet, official RPG Maker content, and a variety of other commercial and freeware projects. Needless to say, his input has been invaluable! Let’s take a closer look into the approach we took and aspects of the Biomes themselves.
Each set of maps started with a concept I had either written out or attempted to map on my own. Deckiller would take this input, generally ask some clarifying questions on the tone and use for the map, and then we would agree on the visual assets to be used. These assets always started as tile sets created by FinalBossBlues but would usually include edits from either Deckiller or I along the way. Once Deckiller had my input, he would create “sketches” of his designs and mark them up. These would generally include the Mechanics of the map, to ensure he had included all of the practical aspects I would need (mob choke points, boss arenas, quest/loot locations, etc) in this phase before adding in the detailed work. Once he had my approval, I was hands off until he was done. Once completed, I would import the maps and finish the production side of the work. All in all this process felt pretty seamless from our end!
My initial design
Deckiller's final work
Deckiller worked hard to ensure each of the biomes were not only visually distinct from each other but they would also feel different during exploration. The Forest has many winding paths and danger springs out around any given corner or undergrowth, while the Caverns seem downright claustrophobic at times. The Deadlands lack vitality with a haunting feel with the Scrublands bringing a sense of adventure and life unique from the others. Each of these areas within the Untamed Wilds also sport their own set of Enemies, Bosses, NPCs, and Quests! There’s so much to discover and experience it would be easy to miss something in one’s first playthrough.
One thing that was important when creating the biomes was to ensure there was map diversity within each of the biomes. So we created sub-biomes: sets of maps that were created using the same tile sets to provide a cohesive look within the biome itself. You won’t always find these sub-biome maps one right after the other (expedition layouts are semi-randomized within each biome), but you’ll certainly be able to tell which maps share sub-biome traits with each other. An example of this would be the Highlands maps within the Scrublands: these maps will take you along winding mountainside trails with a view over the surrounding countryside as you fight for survival. Some sub-biomes will even call back to more dungeon-like experiences, including puzzle rooms that have to be solved in order to advance. We couldn't completely get away from our JRPG tropes!
I hope you enjoyed this little peek behind the curtain of our level design process. The dev team and I can’t tell you how excited we are to see you explore these areas for yourself! That’s all for now and we’ll see you soon with another dev blog.