DEVELOPER: KeokeN Interactive
PUBLISHER: Wired Productions
ROLE: Level Designer / Level Artist
ENGINE: Unreal Engine 4
RELEASE DATE: September 28 2018
GENRE: Sci-Fi, Action-Adventure, Puzzle
PLATFORMS: PC, Xbox One (X), Xbox Series S/X, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Nintendo Switch
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Set in an apocalyptic near future where Earth's natural resources are depleted, a lone astronaut is sent to the moon on a critical mission to save humanity from extinction. Deliver Us the Moon is an adventure-puzzle Sci-Fi thriller with an emphasis on narrative developed by Dutch game development studio KeokeN Interactive.
I started at KeokeN Interactive in 2016, doing two back-to-back internships for a year, working on Deliver Us The Moon. In 2017 I was hired as a Level Designer, and continued to work on DUTM until the initial 'Fortuna' release on Steam in 2018, and the following re-release on PC and consoles in October 2018 which included the final 'Tombaugh' chapter and other additional updates.
RESPONSIBILITIES
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Creating layouts and blockouts for about half the content in the game, maintaining and iterating on levels throughout the entire production pipeline.
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Full art pass for different levels and environments in the game. Replacing greybox meshes with final geometry and collaborating on final art pass and polish, as well as additional lighting and setdressing.
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Close collaboration with other departments such as Art, Narrative and Game Design to account for implementation of narrative beats, mood and atmosphere of areas, as well as pacing and tension.
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Visual scripting to set up gameplay encounters, scipted moments, puzzles, and other level logic using Unreal Blueprints.
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Conception and prototyping ideas for new gameplay systems and mechanics.
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QA, bugfixing, and polish to ensure a smooth player experience.
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Recording and editing trailers, and creating assets for key art, store pages and other promotional material.
EXAMPLES OF MY WORK
Launch Site
Set in an old WSA launch facility in Kazachstan, the rogue crew of the Fortuna 1 mission has made this base their home for many months, working around the clock to restore a rocket and send a lone astronaut to the Moon.
When I started at KeokeN Launch Site was one of the first levels I worked on. It's built upon the foundation set by the original design of Koen Deetman (CEO). Although receiving a heavy makeover, it is the only level in the game that wasn't completely scrapped and remade from the ground up.
In the original level you would walk through a mostly empty base and enter the rocket. Together with concept artist Gerben Pasjes and narrative designer Niels Leenders we did heavy redesigns, expanding on a lot of areas and fleshing out the level to feature a larger focus on conveying the story and setting.
There were moments I wanted to put a larger emphasis on, such as seeing the rocket for the first time.To make this moment have more weight I added large vertical windows to the control room, with shutters that slowly roll up to reveal your final objective.
A small puzzle was added to do final preperations for launch. When the puzzle is complete, a dust storm adds tension and forces the player to rush to the rocket to launch before it destroys the facility. Besides redesigns I also worked on getting level art up the new quality bar that matched the rest of the game.
Final Level
'Pearson' Space Station
Pearson space station is the second level in the game and takes place entirely in zero gravity. It starts with players docking their capsule and entering the station at the top, where they have to restore backup power and life support systems. The level features several puzzles, the introduction to the plasma cutter, and a series of audiologs and environmental storytelling for the player to explore. The chapter ends in a climactic event where players are sucked into space because of a breach in the station, and have to make their way back to the elevator in the middle before they run out of oxygen.
Earlier versions of a space station level existed before I joined KeokeN, but with a fresh publishing deal we had the chance to adjust the scope of the game with a renewed focus on quality and density rather than quantity. The original space station level had a quite confusing layout, and took place on foot instead of zero-g. It was scrapped and reworked from scratch.
Together with narrative and art we helped to create a new layout for the station, focusing on gameplay needs as well as maintaining a believable and functional space. Besides some general layout work my focus lay mainly within the central areas of the station as well as some rooms and areas along the outer ring.
Space Station - Blockout and work in progress shots:
Space Station - Final Level
Besides some small adjustments, the overall layout remained largely the same compared to the blockout version.
Final geometry by Bas Dekkers and Daniel Randeraad.
'Copernicus' Moonhub
Connected by a massive space elevator to the Pearson space station above, the 'Copernicus' Moonhub is the arrival station for cargo and personnel coming in from orbit. It is the center of operations for the Lunar colony, and connected by two monorail tracks to the other outposts and major facilities.
For this level I also started from scratch with a complete redesign of the facility, keeping only some key moments that were present in the original early version of the base. Narrative expressed a desire for a cathedral-like design for the layout, which also worked well with the hub and spoke like approach to the level. Each wing has it's own distinct access point around the center. The Lunar council members reside on the upper floor, standing both literally and figuratively above everyone else, looking down through slanted windows in the workers below. From the start, I wanted the central arrival and mess hall to feature a large glass roof down the middle, which always gives players a view of the space elevator towering over their heads.
Moonhub Whitebox & Greybox
Moonhub - Final Level
This level has undergone many changes, mainly in the order in which players visit certain areas and unlock parts of the base. After several iterations and playtest sessions, it really started to come together when backtracking was minimized, and some confusion was eliminated by simplifying gameplay objectives to lean more on the hub and spoke layout of the base.
The center of the ground floor became a true hub where other parts of the base could be unlocked. Players start at the top, where their options are more limited and they are guided along a more linear loop until they meet their robot companion 'ASE' for the first time. After performing a repair puzzle in the maintenance bay to restore the ASE, the rest of the base slowly opens up.
Eventually players have enough energy to unlock the Vehicle bay, where they can take a rover and enter the Lunar surface for the first time.
Reinhold Crater Station
Reinhold is a smaller outpost players reach before their final destination. The level was started early in development, and was originally made as a playable demo for the PAX showfloor, which is why the level is smaller and more self-contained.
Reinhold - Work in progress:
Reinhold - Final Level
The level was later picked back up and polished. It received narrative and gameplay additions, and the ending was tweaked to fit within the final game.
For this level I worked on the layout, blockout, puzzle implementation, and full art pass of the interior spaces.
TOMBAUGH
Tombaugh is the final chapter of Deliver Us The Moon. It was added as a free expansion when Deliver Us The Moon was re-released under the new publisher Wired Productions, along with console releases and other updates.
Tombaugh layout
Overview of the playable areas the player goes through in Tombaugh:
Tombaugh is the largest of the Lunar bases, and the heart of the WSA operations. The Lunar surface is mined in a quarry directly outside of the base for the valuable Helium-3 isotope. The remaining resources are used for building materials for all the outposts on the Moon.
The facility features a large octagonal design, with an outer ring that revolves around the inner most critical parts of the base. Nested in the middle sits the fusion reactor that converts the Helium-3 to energy, which is used to power the entirety of the Lunar colony. A central tower takes the converted energy and wirelessly transmits it to rest of the Lunar colony using an array of MPT (Microwave Power Transmission) dishes, eventually making it way to the Moonhub and Pearsson space station, which in turn provides the Earth with energy.
Tombaugh - Work In Progress shots
Development for Tombaugh was done with a small skeleton crew. Despite this, it became the largest level and longest in the game, ending Deliver Us The Moon in a satisfying matter.
Final Level
Credits
Deliver Us The Moon is a team effort. The following people have contributed to the work shown above:
Level Design: Kevin van Schaijk
3D Art: Bas Dekkers, Daniel randeraad
3D Art / Setdressing: Anna Udding
Concept Art: Gerben Pasjes, Leon Tukker
Technical Artist: Daniel Torkar
Narrative Designer: Niels Leenders