LogInCheck out how No Easy Way Out was designed.
CD Projekt RED's Level Designer Andrzej Giełzak took part in this year's Blocktober, offering a breakdown of the environment for No Easy Way Out, a side quest from Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty.
The artist explained that the location was initially designed as a main quest area but was later adapted to fit the smaller scope of a side quest. Working closely with Quest Designer Jakub Skoneczny, the team maximized the potential of the existing layout, ensuring the experience unfolded in a single open space without compromising the location's role within the district.
"The first image shows the Main Hall Entrance, which was designed to create the feeling of progression through the galleries. Establishing an open space in the middle with a landmark – a giant robot statue – was crucial to providing the player with a strong reference point, as the act of going in a spiral around the gallery could easily have led to spatial confusion.
It was important to design the gallery with a layout that would be logical in the "original" state of the building, while its derelict state of the building as well as the damage and modifications done by Scavs, allowed us to break the open plan and create obstacles and challenges for the player to overcome. Senior Environment Artist Albertus Januardy did a great job of extending the few accents from the blockout into a full-fledged, disgusting Scavenger Hideout."
Andrzej Giełzak added that the design of paths for different playstyles was intended to convey a sense of upward progression. In combat, as enemy numbers thinned, they retreated upwards, drawing players into pursuit. For those using the netrunner path, cameras were strategically placed across floors, offering glimpses of the landmark as you hopped between them. For those focused on agility, the location was crafted with opportunities to continue upwards using double or charged jumps.
"The second blockout features the ripperdoc's office, which was blocked out in comparatively low detail as its layout was dictated later by the needs of the сinematics team. From the perspective of tying the location together, the presence of the window to the main gallery was crucial, with the added bonus of seeing the key landmark from it. Lighting played a crucial role in tying both spaces together, which was deftly handled by Senior Lighting Artist Marcin Stępień."
See the original post here and check out more Blocktober 2024 content, including the design for Cyberpunk 2077's The Man Who Killed Jason Foreman, cute house in the forest, and some scenes from Apex Legends, God of War Ragnarok, and Forever Skies:
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