level designer
Starfield:
“frozen in tyme”
creation kit | 280hr dev. time | singleplayer
high-level design goal:
Robust gameplay with a branching narrative
OVERVIEW
“Frozen in Tyme” is a mod for Starfield that includes new POIs, NPCs, and a standalone quest with multiple endings. It supports any character, regardless of level, skills, or loadout.
The level is set in a mining settlement that is experiencing both widespread radiation poisoning and frantic attacks from mining robots gone haywire.
The player’s goal is to discover and eliminate the cause of these two issues.
2d map
Design Techniques
branching narrative
Eventually, the player discovers that the lockdown was caused by “Tymelium”, a recently discovered compound. Tymelium is poisonous to humans and plant life while also causing mining robots to act violently.
Branch: Near the end of the quest, the player must choose to either…
Choice A: Stop the violet attacks from the robots but sacrifice the natural environment surrounding the lab and town.
Choice B: Save the environment by resuming the mining operation but allow the robot attacks on the townspeople to continue.
visible impact on world
Neither choice is “correct” - both have consequences the player must consider and weigh against another.
Both choices have unique, significant impacts on the world:
Choice A results in many townspeople leaving, as the surrounding environment will soon become uninhabitable.
Choice B leads to the death of multiple NPCs due to the robot attacks.
Landmarks & sightlines
The exterior portion of the level is set in a sprawling town that surrounds a research lab. The critical path takes the player around the town first and then leads them to their first major objective - the lab entrance.
From the moment the player lands in the town, multiple forms of conveyance are used to inform the player of where the entrance is:
Weenie: The crane pops up right behind the lab entrance.
Color: The red shipping crate contrasts heavily against the environment’s white and blue tones.
Sightline: The landing pad has a clear, unobstructed sightline to the lab.
Leading lines: The crane and the array both point left, insinuating the direction the player should go.
cOMBAT DESIGN: Leveraging robots
The level features three enemy types across four major encounters:
Mobile, short-range robots that fire lasers,
Mobile, melee robots that leap at the player,
Stationary, high-ranged turrets that fire lasers with high accuracy
Robot enemies allow for unique combat scenarios:
Staggered spawns: They can emerge from Statis Pods mid-fight, creating waves
Hacking: Can be hacked/controlled by players who have invested in the appropriate skills, empowering the player further
Use of cover: Long-range turrets can be devasting, encouraging the player to use cover to close the distance
loot pacing & distribUTION
Loot acts both as a form of conveyance and as a balancing measure:
Useful loot, like ammo and health, is placed along the critical path to guide the player through spaces.
I curated loot type, rarity, and spawn rate to support the difficulty curve (e.g., providing more ammo later in the level, before longer fights).
To accommodate for players who invested in lockpicking skills, some higher end loot is locked inside crates and safes. These were placed in key areas so players would surely find them.
gallery
postmortem
What Went Well
Implementation of choice impact: My scripting architecture that controls how the world changes after the narrative branch was built modularly such that it was easy to add/remove gameplay based on the player’s choice. This resulted in a higher quality of visible impact.
Narrative design: NPC dialogue felt organic and engaging, which created digestible narrative beats.
Exterior decoration: The outside portion of the level took advantage of the snowy environment to create a strong visual identity for the town.
What needs improvEMENT
Conveyance for mechanics: The turret-hacking mechanic lacks conveyance to decern which turrets are actually being hacked by the player. Props, colored lights, and reinforcing SFX are an ideal solution.
Interior decoration: The interior section of the quest (the lab) could benefit from a few more aesthetic passes. More props, texture variation, and VFX would make a significant difference.
Even Better If…
Accommodate for more playstyles: A few player archetypes lack opportunities to use their skills in the quest; Social and Science perk builds especially.