Ridestiene (The Riding Paths)
This level is inspired by the walking trails I grew up with in Visnes, Norway. The game is 1st person. By having it 1st person it’s easier to immerse the player into the environment, and it can be used as a VR experience. The trails go through the forest, with a couple of different paths to choose from. The level would serve as an introduction to a historical game about World War II. The path would go through the forest and have two main routes where the player could go.
One of the paths leads to a melting hut, which where used to melt copper from the mines in Visnes. Visnes was Northern Europe's biggest copper mine, producing 70 % of Norway's copper export. The mines were active from 1865 to 1972. The Statue of Liberty in New York is built of copper from the Visnes Mines.
The other path leads to a lookout point, where you can look out over the ocean and even see the Haugesund Airport. Hidden to the left of the lookout are two small German huts/bunkers. The bunkers are hidden among bushes and shrubs; the huts also have bullet holes in the stone from WW2. There are two different huts/bunkers, one that’s only stones, with no door, and one where the entrance is more hidden, with a small but long, rectangular window at the top of the wall facing the ocean. When the player enters the hut with the windows, they will look out over the ocean and be taken back to World War II in Norway.
This is present day, and the player is just another hiker walking these trails. After the player is “transported” into the game, the color scheme turns to a dull/gray scheme, with the sun covered by gray clouds. The audio also changes drastically from the first level to the second. While the player is exploring the forest, there are birds singing, and the player can even choose to put on a headset to listen to calm lo-fi music. When the scene changes to the second, the birds singing are gone, you can only hear the trees brushing up against each other, and with the occasional sound of a car starting up and people speaking German. By making the changes from the first to the second scene so drastic, I’m emphasizing the drastic changes from WW2 to the present time.
One of the paths leads to a melting hut, which where used to melt copper from the mines in Visnes. Visnes was Northern Europe's biggest copper mine, producing 70 % of Norway's copper export. The mines were active from 1865 to 1972. The Statue of Liberty in New York is built of copper from the Visnes Mines.
The other path leads to a lookout point, where you can look out over the ocean and even see the Haugesund Airport. Hidden to the left of the lookout are two small German huts/bunkers. The bunkers are hidden among bushes and shrubs; the huts also have bullet holes in the stone from WW2. There are two different huts/bunkers, one that’s only stones, with no door, and one where the entrance is more hidden, with a small but long, rectangular window at the top of the wall facing the ocean. When the player enters the hut with the windows, they will look out over the ocean and be taken back to World War II in Norway.
This is present day, and the player is just another hiker walking these trails. After the player is “transported” into the game, the color scheme turns to a dull/gray scheme, with the sun covered by gray clouds. The audio also changes drastically from the first level to the second. While the player is exploring the forest, there are birds singing, and the player can even choose to put on a headset to listen to calm lo-fi music. When the scene changes to the second, the birds singing are gone, you can only hear the trees brushing up against each other, and with the occasional sound of a car starting up and people speaking German. By making the changes from the first to the second scene so drastic, I’m emphasizing the drastic changes from WW2 to the present time.
