The final level of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron plays out like an interactive version of an episode from the original Transformers cartoon series. The player switches sides from Autobot to Decepticon rapidly in an epic encounter that takes place aboard both the Nemesis and the Ark as they hurtle towards a wormhole to an unknown destination. I came onto this level after its Blockout milestone, and focused primarily on the gameplay sections featuring Soundwave, Jetfire, Bruticus, and Jazz. I worked on level layout, gameplay scripting, narrative vignette scripting, VO scripting, and more while taking these scenarios from a Blockout state all the way to shipping quality.
In this clip, you can see some of Soundwave’s gameplay. I worked closely with AI programmers, AI designers, and systems designers to help design Soundwave’s custom ability that spawns his minions, Rumble and Lazerbeak. I also worked closely with the level artist to re-tool the existing combat spaces to better suit Soundwave’s minions.
For the section featuring the Autobot Jetfire, there was already a really strong concept in place when i began my work. Jetfire must fly through outer space, destroying tow cables that the Nemesis have attached to the outer hull of the Ark. Some of my contributions include the final implementation of the destructible segments of the tow cables, and adding Decepticon dropships teeming with turrets to increase the difficulty as the sequence progresses. Additionally, I also added logic to randomize the locations of the weakpoint in each tow cable, to improve replayability.
En route to destroying the Ark’s primary Energon Tank, the giant combiner Bruticus has to bust his way straight through a two story building that’s filled with Autobots. The behavior I authored for this destructible includes hierarchical relationships so upper levels break apart if the foundations beneath them get destroyed. It also takes special care to make sure that every piece of the modular building will react correctly to all of Bruticus’s various attacks. For example, if a piece of the building is hit with Bruticus’s flamethrower, that building segment will spew flaming chunks and will stay caught on fire for a short while after the destruction is complete.
This screenshot shows part of the logic that governs how this huge destructible building will break apart.