Skyrim - Troll Cave | Joe Fore Portfolio

Skyrim Troll Cave

Level Blockout

Project Info

Developer – Joseph Fore

Genre - RPG

Game Engine - Unreal Engine 4

Intended Audience - RPG lovers and fans of Skyrim

Platform – PC

Development Time - 2 weeks

The purpose of this project was to mimic a level design test that one would typically encounter when applying to a game studio. I chose the Skyrim level design prompt which was this:

"You are a lone warrior born to the forests of Skyrim. High on the slopes of a gray mountain you were raised to hunt and live off the land. A band of Cave Trolls ravaged the mountainside and destroyed your home and the surrounding inhabitants. Gragar now seeks his sister and mother who have been kidnapped and taken away by the Cave Trolls."

I had two weeks to write a detailed level walkthrough, create a block-out in UE4, and then take screenshots explaining each step of gameplay based on the prompt. There was no scripting involved in creating this level so there is no playable demo, however the screenshots and walkthrough are shown below. A handful of 3D assets were downloaded to expediate the process of creating the level, however most of the assets were created by myself using the UE4 brush editor.

Gallery Walkthrough

Story

Gragar tracks the band of Cave Trolls to a cave entrance high in the mountains. At the mouth of the cave, he finds a dagger that belonged his sister. The dagger is covered in troll blood, and there is a trail of blood leading into the cave. Following the blood trail, Gragar descends into the depths of the cave and encounters Corrupted Cave Trolls in the first few chambers. There are locked cages in a side chamber, but they contain only animal remains and some gold pieces inside. The blood trail leads to a false wall in the back of the room that opens when Gragar pulls the chain hanging nearby.

The new route takes Gragar to a natural stone bridge that spans over a large cavern space. The bridge is blocked by a Blood Wraith, who Gragar can defeat using a dagger or the Hunter’s Shroud ability. After clearing the way, Gragar descends further into the cavern, fighting off more trolls on the way down. After reaching the bottom of the space, Gragar finds side rooms on either side and a large doorway at the far side. The troll blood trail leads to another holding area in a side room which is guarded by two Blood Wraiths. Gragar finds his sister, Ryla, in one of the cells, who explains that their mother was taken away by trolls only moments ago. Ryla insists on helping save their mother, so she becomes a companion and fights with her dagger that Gragar picked up at the mouth of the cave.

After entering the large doorway on the far side of the cavern, Gragar and his sister find themselves in the troll feeding chamber - a large circular room with chains along the perimeter where captives can be kept until the trolls are ready to feed on them. Their mother is stretched out on a stone slab in the middle of the room, still alive but about to be eaten by a group of trolls surrounding her. After killing the trolls, an armored troll boss is summoned forth as a familiar by a daedric entity. Gragar’s sister and mother run away while Gragar deals with the armored troll. After defeating the troll, Gragar approaches an altar at the far end of the feeding chamber and discovers an idol for Molag Bal. The trolls were only going out of their cave to destroy villages and kidnap people because they were under the influence of the daedric entity. Gragar destroys the idol and removes the daedric prince’s influence from the cave. After exiting the cave, Gragar reunites with his mother and sister.

Environment

The level is a cave made up of several natural chambers. The first few chambers are small spaces and are close to the surface where bits of sunlight and water can still creep in, allowing plants to grow in some spots. As the chambers progress further into the cave, the elevation drops as well, making plant life and light sparser. At the end of this first series of chambers there is a circular room that has several large cages inside it. The cages are crudely put together but are secure enough to keep maimed wild animals inside such as bears or wolves. There is a false wall at the back of this room that has a chain pulley next to it, which will open the wall when interacted with.

Beyond the false wall is a wide expanse over which a natural stone bridge connects. The walls on either side of the bridge continue downwards with switchback paths that lead to bottom of the expanse. The floor at the bottom is covered with shallow water which falls from an opening in the cave ceiling. On either side of the chamber are more side passages that lead to small torch-lit rooms used by the trolls for sleeping and storage. Some of the rooms contain loot such as gold, potions, and armor. One of these rooms contains a large prison cell that can hold humans.

Back in the main watery chamber there is a large doorway at the top of a staircase located at the opposite side from where the bridge path ends. Inside this doorway is a large circular room with a raised stone slab in the center. There are chains and shackles for holding humans on the perimeter and piles of human remains on one side of the chamber in a pit. The room is dark with no natural light creeping in, only dimly lit by a few torches. At the far side of the room is a crude altar to Molag Bal adorned with human skulls and a daedric idol. Behind the altar is a secret passage that leads back outside into Skyrim. The secret passage is opened by interacting with a pulley next to the altar.

Combat Ability

Hunter’s Shroud - Decreases Gragar’s movement speed and defense but increases stealth making him extremely difficult to detect. Gragar can also see the outline of enemies through walls, as well as the pathways that they patrol. Attacking an enemy while shrouded will remove the effects of this ability but will result in a more powerful stealth attack than normal. Can be used twice a day.

Core Mechanics

Running
Jumping
Ranged Weapons (Bow, Crossbow, Throwing Knives)
Axe

Enemies & Threats

Corrupted Cave Troll - Smaller Trolls that use fists and clubs as melee attack. They patrol back and forth on set pathways and may idle for short periods at key points along their path.
Blood Wraith - Wraiths from the realm of Oblivion who are attracted to sites of human sacrifice and daedric activity. They are extremely agile and difficult to attack with slow physical attacks such as axe swings. Quick melee strikes with a dagger are effective as well as stealth attacks. Their attacks will drain both HP and stamina.
Summoned Armor Troll (Heavy Mini Boss) - A larger cave troll covered with heavy armor and armed with two maces, summoned by Molag Bal. From a distance, the boss will charge at the player while swinging both maces in a wide arc. At melee range, the boss alternates swinging mace attacks. At 70% HP, he will re-animate the corpses of two slain Cave Trolls to fight alongside him. At 40%, he will re-animate two more Cave Troll corpses and summon a Blood Wraith.

Special Items

Bear Trap (Object) - These can be picked up and placed on Corrupted Cave Troll patrol paths to deal damage to them without Gragar being detected.
Ryla’s Dagger (Collectible) – Given to her by her brother, Gragar, Ryla keeps this silver dagger on her person always. It is sturdy and sharp, making it perfect for close combat as well as an all-purpose survival tool. It was dropped by Ryla when she was taken by the band of Cave Trolls. If Gragar gives Ryla the dagger after rescuing her, she will fight alongside him to save their mother from the trolls.