Alpha Protocol Blog Update by Senior Designer J.R. Vosovic

After suffering through a long period of silence during which Alpha Protocol’s release date was in limbo, we’re finally treated to a new blog entry (archive link) penned by designer J.R. Vosovic. The Moscow train yard level is the topic of conversation:

Alpha Protocol – The Moscow Train Yard

If you came by the Sega/AP booth at E3 this year, you no doubt got to see the Moscow train yard demoed by our illustrious Production crew.

The train was one of the first missions I designed for Alpha Protocol around Feb. 2007. Having just come off Tomb Raider: Legend in March 2006, I was still very much in a puzzle-y state of mind and my instructions were simple:

“Mike and SIE are chasing after an informant pivotal to the story and the climax to Moscow.”

In my first sketch the player had to perform a series of hacks to change tracks, move loading cranes and other props to gate SIE from getting to the informant who she is trying to kill. The player would essentially be leap-frogging through the different sections getting ahead of SIE with a successful hack, then be gated by enemies allowing SIE to catch up or get ahead. This heavily-scripted series of events puts the player under pressure, forces some tough decisions and adds to the drama. The level was heavily influenced by the physics puzzles of Tomb Raider, and to a lesser degree, being a huge FPS fan, de_train from Counter-Strike.

Back in 2007, the train yard came later in the Moscow hub than in the final 2010 version. Back then it was called MP16, for Moscow Hub, Primary Mission, 16. After story revisions, it was decided that we move the level further up in the hub and nix the informant chase. This was re-implemented to some degree to another level in the Moscow Hub, the American Embassy.

The Level Macro

The core design for the level let the player choose either the high-road or the low road. The high road was loosely intended to support the assault player, giving them high ground, good line of sight on enemies, and some cover to duck into for tac-reloads and reassessment. The low road was for the stealth player, allowing them to creep through the shadows, observe and strike where needed. The stealth path required more wrapping, hacking and exploration whereas the high road was a series of long pushes, with enemies in deep and fortified positions. One early design problem I had was how to get the players eyes on SIE so they could see her progress, and most importantly, see the fruits of their labor once the different hacks and gates had been performed.

After story revisions, it was decided that the player could potentially fight alongside SIE and the VCI. This way you had more options, more choice. In the long run this gave us many more options on the story and design side, as well as opening more choices for the player. Everyone wins.

The Level Micro

During the first proposed direction for the level, SIE ‘wings’ the informant, forcing them to run off leaving behind a trail of blood. The player could then follow the informant’s blood trail through the snow by following bloody handprints on rail cars, footprints on the ground and even keypad presses on the bypass pads. With the informant chase cut, the blood trail was no longer needed, and although it was very cool and visceral, it too was cut. The intro is still mostly intact, with SIE salting her steaks instead of missing. This serves two purposes: 1. it immediately establishes SIE as a badass, and 2. nicely cleans up any issues with survivors during the intro scene.

Designers work closely with Art and Animation to get the story across. Once the cinematics guys got their hands on the establishing shot of SIE and her introduction, they really made it shine. There is even a shot where SIE looks identical to her concept art, a subtle but inspiring image for sure.

Another section that had several gameplay revisions was the water tower. As part of the old design the tower could be brought down to both open your path through the now destroyed fence, and be used to gate SIE as she would now have to find a way around, off camera. Originally the reddish explosive tank at the base of the water tower was several small, scuba-sized tanks. They were placed behind a fence, with a small break in the links. A keen-eyed player could spot these across the level and pick a shot through two rail cars and bring the house down. While cool, and rewarding for players, this proved to be too subtle, and most players just missed them, even though they were set in harsh contrast to the blue-grey-white of the level art. It was decided that the tank should be scaled up, and any impediments removed as to increase the chances of the big payoff. Big payoffs are always good; It’s a win for the player – but not for the mafia atop the water tower.”

The SIE boss fight was the last major iteration on the original level design and ensuing redesign. The last room of the level with the roll-doors was where Mike would find the informant, begin a short dialogue sequence and escape with the intel he needed. At this point in development (ca. 2007) our Dialogue Stance System was still in its infancy, as well as some of the branching story options the player would have if they let SIE kill the informant, killed them themselves, or just left him to bleed out in the snow. It was from these early level iterations that much of our current story was shaped. Upon returning to the train yard later in the year, we decided that it would be coolest if the player could either fight SIE, just piss her off, or ally with her.

Every designer is different, but when I am designing levels on paper and beginning to lay them out in 3D, I sort of store these different ideas, mechanics and sounds in my head for later. Some concepts germinate over time and evolve, but the one constant is always sound. Everyone knows what a train sounds like, and when our audio director Scott Lawlor took his pass on the train yard, the last big piece of the puzzle was set into place. The train yard now really felt alive and dangerous. You get the feeling that you are running across the tracks in front of these gigantic metal monsters ripping through the station at sixty mph, adding a secondary threat beyond just mobsters trying to kill you, you have to worry about getting run over by a train as well!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this snippet from Moscow, and an insight into the level design process.

-J.R. Vosovic, Senior Designer, Obsidian Entertainment.

Any comments or questions? Please email me at Jvosovic@obsidianent.com