Night of Fear | Gears of War | Unreal 3
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Level Overview
"Night of Fear" is a single-player Gears of War level, set in the city of Jannermont after the conclusion of the Lightmass Offensive. Marcus Fenix is on a recon mission when the Locust shoot down his helicopter. After prying himself from the wreckage, Marcus spots his objective: a facility on the far side of the crash wreckage. Marcus decides to continue with his mission, heading around the block since the crash has blocked direct access to the entrance.
Armed only with a Snub Pistol and makeshift Molotov cocktails, Marcus fights his way past three groups of Locust by manipulating light sources, setting the Kryll on the Locust while lighting a path through them for himself.
Armed only with a Snub Pistol and makeshift Molotov cocktails, Marcus fights his way past three groups of Locust by manipulating light sources, setting the Kryll on the Locust while lighting a path through them for himself.
Design Goals
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Level Metrics
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Level Maps
Area Map (1st Street)
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Area Map (2nd Street)
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Area Map (3rd Street)
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Level Details
The crash site
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Crash SiteNight of Fear opens with Marcus gathering his bearings after a crash landing in an industrial area of Jannermont. He has lost most of his equipment in the crash. However, he spots his objective on the far side of the crash - the entrance to the facility that he is next to, illuminated by orange lights. After discussing the situation with Anya, Marcus decides to head for the entrance. He doesn't want to try climbing the dangerous rubble in the dark, so he must go around the block. This view of the facility entrance right at the start of the level provides the player with a clear focus and objective, and contributes to a satisfying conclusion when the player finally reaches his goal.
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Paper and bottles glow intermittently
Setting a fire
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The primary new gameplay mechanic is the manipulation of light to control the Kryll. Lacking standard frag grenades, which Marcus lost in the crash, the player finds beer and wine bottles, which he turns into Molotov cocktails. Although these do no damage to Locusts, they can set fire to paper, providing a way of creating a lit path through areas that are not lit by streetlights. Both the bottles and the paper have a modified material that glows periodically to ensure they are clearly visible to the player. The paper does not burn indefinitely; this benefits the player in ensuring that the Locust can never take up a position safe from the Kryll, but also forces the player to move quickly, since there is no such position for him, either.
More details on custom grenade and burnable paper implementation are available on my Kismet scripting page. |
First Street
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The Kryll descend
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In addition to creating light with the Molotovs, the player can shoot the streetlights to remove light sources. Although the player does have the option of taking the drones head on with just the pistol, destroying lights to set the Kryll on the drones is a far more effective method of dispatching them.
Having knocked out the right streetlight, the player can sit back and let the Kryll tear up a drone who would otherwise have been safe behind cover. |
Safe room entrance
Inside a safe room
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Between each street encounter, the player reaches a small "safe room", located at the corners of the facility. These rooms provide the player with a cool down period, as the player does not need to worry about the Kryll while inside. The rooms also contain bottles and pistol ammo. Additionally, the emergence holes provide an indication that the Locust found on the street may have come from inside the facility.
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Second street
Forced to advance
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The second street is significantly more dangerous than the first. There are many more drones, some of whom, like the one in the lower image, are much more difficult to root out.
Due to the high accuracy and zoom function of the pistol, the player has the option on the first street of simply shooting out every streetlight from the far end. This allows the player to avoid the need to advance through or into dark areas while under fire. The second and third streets do not afford the player this luxury, however. Several drones have taken up positions covered by streetlights that are obscured from a distance, forcing the player to get much closer in order to take them out. The lower image provides an example of this: the building blocks line of sight to the streetlight covering the drone until the player advances to this position. |
Third street
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Approaching the Troika
A drone bursts out of a nearby building
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Once the player moves up toward the car that provides a clear shot on both of the Troika's covering lights, a Locust drone bursts out of a nearby building and flanks the player. The single drone is not a huge threat, but the surprise and the need to dispatch him directly with the pistol (since he quickly moves to within cover of the same light that the player is using) provides an exciting change of pace from the indirect combat of the rest of the level.
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Ready to take out the Troika
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Having dealt with the charging drone, the player is left with a clear shot at the lights covering the Troika nest. Once the gunner (and any other Locust) are dead, Marcus informs Anya that he's secured the area, and she promises to send a team in to help him investigate the facility.
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The facility entrance
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"Night of Fear" (Single) - The Move - 1966
