ABOUT

As with the main game, Far Cry 6 - Lost Between Worlds is set on the fictional Caribbean island, Yara and you play as Dani.

The story begins with Dani sitting enjoying a beer when they see a bright orb flying across the sky and crashing in a near-by jungle. Dani goes to investigate but in fear when encountering the being called FAI, shoots the orb.

This shatters reality and contains Dani as a safety measure. They must recover 5 Shards of the orb to repair it and escape. Dani must travel through multiple fractured versions of reality called rifts, each with their own set of rules.

MY ROLE

During this project I was Associate Level Design Director, giving gameplay feedback for 8 of the 15 rifts.

The inception period this project was unique from my previous experiences as the whole team pitched ideas for individual Rifts and gameplay mechanics. I was fortunate to have a couple selected when the core Directors distilled the ideas.
Wherever possible, LD's who pitched successful ideas worked on them during production. This was was the case for many LD's.

RIFTS

I worked with the team on the following Rifts:

Fractured Fortress

LD: Adrian Rosca

LA: Jason Zorn

The Fractured Fortress is the first Rift within an inverted pyramid campaign structure. It will therefore get played a minimum of 5 times. To add variety, 4 paths to the portals were created. Each path has a relatively simple puzzle as it is the first rift. Shortcuts are accessible on each of the path once the player has acquired the required tool. Additional variety was added through weapon randomisation.

Toxic Wasteland

LD: Bartek Paul

LA: Alexander Sychov

The enemies in this Rift are invisible until they decide to attack the player. They are tuned to be “glass cannons” but create a noise and affect the environment which encourages the player to slow down and be observant. The toxic swamp was chosen as it creates multiple paths and pinch points while retaining good visibility of potentially approaching enemies.

Light the Way

LD: Josh Garcia

LA: Jason Lacuna

This Rift consists of 4 main sections, each building upon the mechanic of light exposing objects within the environment. As the Rift progresses the player learns that removal of light can be beneficial, lights can be re-positioned and that blue and red can be combined to make purple.

Storm Runner

LD: Kyle Cislak

LA: Aaron Gallagher

Storm Runner is set in a valley which is plagued by intermittent lightning storms. Anyone not in shelter will suffer a high amount of damage if struck. The player must plan their route and time their runs between the shelters. However some are occupied which encourages sniper gameplay or CQC if they are caught out in the storm.

Deadly Decision

LD: Michael Pilatzkie

LA: Preston Wilson

In Deadly Decision there are 3 possible portal locations. The player must identify which is the correct one by finding clues around the rift that refence objects by them. There’s a water tower, smoke and a wrecked vehicle. Each of the exits have a different combination of two of the objects. If the play chooses incorrectly they will die. The correct exit is randomised each time.

Blackout Cave

LD: Ben Aerssen

LA: Preston Wilson

The player finds a Shard at the start of the Rift which creates a small glow. They can use this to navigate the dark and perilous caves. Additionally glowing edges, a heartbeat, music and rock patterns are used to help guide the player. Deadly animals inhabit the caves too, this creates moment where the player has to choose between light or fight.

Mountain Scramble

LD: Paul Pytlik

LA: Victor Rucareanu

A large “cleaner” has been generated by the orb and is moving down the mountain erasing everything in it’s path. The player must get to the bottom as quickly as possible using the multiple paths criss-crossing a lava filled gorge.

Color Combat

LD: Harry Scott

LA: Zubair Islam

Collecting a Shard at the start of the Rift grants the player a shield that protects them from the opposite colour of enemy as the player’s weapon. Using this they must fight through three sections of a shipping dock, moving containers to progress to the end.