Systems Design Project:
Trail to the Sun (Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim)
Goals:
1. Create a new System for Crafting + Wife's cooking System
2. Change current gameplay completely (no leveling up based on stats, rather on gear)
3. Make it funny (funny caveman references and puns)
Overview
Trail to the Sun is a single-player map for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in which the player becomes a Caveman. The game focuses on a progression system as a caveman, and building up a tribe of other cavemen and women.
The objective of the level (taken from the PS1 Classic, Tail of the Sun): Kill the Mammoths and create a shrine to the Sun using their bones.
New Mechanic: Chopping down trees (the player uses the wood for crafting various items and constructing camp buildings)
Animal Hierarchy (Food Chain):
Chicken < Rabbit < Fox < Goat < Giant Rat < Fish < Deer < Giant Crab < Spider < Cow < Elk < Wolf < Bear < Sabretooth Tiger < Mammoth
1. Create a new System for Crafting + Wife's cooking System
2. Change current gameplay completely (no leveling up based on stats, rather on gear)
3. Make it funny (funny caveman references and puns)
Overview
Trail to the Sun is a single-player map for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in which the player becomes a Caveman. The game focuses on a progression system as a caveman, and building up a tribe of other cavemen and women.
The objective of the level (taken from the PS1 Classic, Tail of the Sun): Kill the Mammoths and create a shrine to the Sun using their bones.
New Mechanic: Chopping down trees (the player uses the wood for crafting various items and constructing camp buildings)
Animal Hierarchy (Food Chain):
Chicken < Rabbit < Fox < Goat < Giant Rat < Fish < Deer < Giant Crab < Spider < Cow < Elk < Wolf < Bear < Sabretooth Tiger < Mammoth
Design Notes
The Original Concept Map
New Mechanic: Cutting down trees
To pull this off, I used the Mining scripts in Skyrim with trees instead. When the player hits a tree with a hatchet a set number of times, the game knows to swap the tree mesh with a "cut" version of the tree.
The hatchet is part of a "tool set" in the game that is specified in the script. Hitting the tree with anything else has no effect.
The hatchet is part of a "tool set" in the game that is specified in the script. Hitting the tree with anything else has no effect.
New Crafting System: The Building Block
Caveman Crafting from Morgan Davis on Vimeo.
I added a handful of new recipes for crafting items. But I didn't want the player creating these items on an Anvil. Thus, I made the Building Block (see video above).
With the Building block, players use the wood from trees, and hides/drops from animals to make weapons, housing (for more villagers), and other aesthetics around the camp.
The Tanning Rack I used in the game as well to provide clothing (armor made from Wolf's hide)
With the Building block, players use the wood from trees, and hides/drops from animals to make weapons, housing (for more villagers), and other aesthetics around the camp.
The Tanning Rack I used in the game as well to provide clothing (armor made from Wolf's hide)
Mammoth Shrine
Mammoth Shrine from Morgan Davis on Vimeo.
The objective of the level is to build a tower to the Sun using Mammoth bones. After the player has obtained one of the powerful weapons (Tiger's Teeth, or the Club Club), they can kill the mammoths.
The way the script works is I used a trigger volume that the player activates with the "E" button. If the player has Mammoth bones in their inventory, it knows to take that item from the player, and make a particular mesh appear in the shrine area.
I have 2 meshes set up - A Mammoth Rib cage for the tower, and a Mammoth Skull. The script knows that if it's the 2nd time that the player activates the trigger, then a 2nd "series" of skull/ribs appears. This occurs 9 times in the script before the tower is complete.
The way the script works is I used a trigger volume that the player activates with the "E" button. If the player has Mammoth bones in their inventory, it knows to take that item from the player, and make a particular mesh appear in the shrine area.
I have 2 meshes set up - A Mammoth Rib cage for the tower, and a Mammoth Skull. The script knows that if it's the 2nd time that the player activates the trigger, then a 2nd "series" of skull/ribs appears. This occurs 9 times in the script before the tower is complete.
Wife's Food System
Wife System from Morgan Davis on Vimeo.
Part of survival is returning food or prey back home. When the player does this in my level, they can have their wife cook the food for them.
Since the cavemen/women are primal, they don't speak (plus it's weird to have built-in voice acting that says things like "By the gods! Have you been to Riverwood, my friend?")
When the player interacts with his wife, the script knows to check the player's inventory for food items, and then replaces them with cooked items.
If the player does this enough times, he impresses his cave wife and the player's health increases (1st upgrade) and later she gives him the Club Club (2nd upgrade, and the ultimate weapon).
Since the cavemen/women are primal, they don't speak (plus it's weird to have built-in voice acting that says things like "By the gods! Have you been to Riverwood, my friend?")
When the player interacts with his wife, the script knows to check the player's inventory for food items, and then replaces them with cooked items.
If the player does this enough times, he impresses his cave wife and the player's health increases (1st upgrade) and later she gives him the Club Club (2nd upgrade, and the ultimate weapon).
Animal Trophy System
Trophies on the Wall from Morgan Davis on Vimeo.
Anytime the player kills an animal, a mantle piece appears on the wall back at camp. (See the video above for a visual of this)
Villagers
Adding Villagers from Morgan Davis on Vimeo.
In order to give the players a true "village" I implemented villagers.
To get a caveman friend to show up at camp, the player has to make a Tent (made with Deer Hide + Wood) at the Building Block. The player can upgrade the tents, and when they do that, another caveman or woman appears.
To get a caveman friend to show up at camp, the player has to make a Tent (made with Deer Hide + Wood) at the Building Block. The player can upgrade the tents, and when they do that, another caveman or woman appears.
Graveyard
Graveyard System from Morgan Davis on Vimeo.
Killing any of the villagers results in perma-death to those characters. In the original Tail of the Sun, when a caveman died, a gravestone appeared in their place, and the player had to continue the adventure with a new caveman. Unfortunately, Skyrim's save system would not allow this, so I made the Graveyard.
When the player kills a villager, their body goes away (after 20 seconds) and a gravestone appears at camp. (see video above)
When the player kills a villager, their body goes away (after 20 seconds) and a gravestone appears at camp. (see video above)
