Welcome to Aperture
Project Details
| Game: | Half Life 2: Ep. 2 |
| Engine: | Hammer Editor |
| Development: | 16 weeks |
| Position: | Sole designer |
Welcome to Aperture is a Half-Life 2: Ep. 2 mod I made in Hammer Editor in 16 weeks. In it, the player must makes his way through an abandoned Aperture Labs (from the Portal series) overrun by Zombies. The mod features diegetic tutorial sequences, combat encounters, and environmental puzzle-solving.
As the sole designer, I designed the layout, built the game world, added aesthetics, implemented combat encounters, scripted multiple gameplay sequences. My main focuses for this mod were creating a horror-esque atmosphere, implementing mechanics-driven level design, and faithfully recreating the aesthetic of Aperture Labs.
Postmortem
What went well...
- Centering layout and level designs around specific gameplay moments allowed for much easier construction and iteration
- Using verticality to create points of no returned allowed for natural gameplay transitions
- Establishing overall scale and spacing of level early in development made development far easier down the road
What went wrong...
- Using only melee enemies prevented me from utilizing Half Life 2‘s fun shooting mechanics
- No real sense of why the player is there or why he has to progress through the level
- Lack of interior props in engine made set dressing far more strenuous
- Spent too much time trying to perfect the feel of the combat encounters, leeching dev time away from Aesthetics and bug fixing
Even better if...
- Utilized more dynamic level elements (VRX, scripted enemy sequences) to engage player
- Added in a custom NPC to give the player direction and add more story to the level
- Researched all available art assets before deciding on aesthetic them
- Utilized ranged enemies to make combat encounters more dynamic and engaging