The Crow House
Narrated exploration mission for Half-Life 2: Episode 2 ◦ 6 weeks ◦ 2015
Design Achievements
The level originates from a course that focused on "thinking outside the box," and it was developed over six weeks (after two weeks of introduction to the editor). Its narration system aims to immerse the player in a story without distracting from gameplay and exploration.
-
Narrative - Created a narration system that guides the player through paranormal events.
-
Level Design - Used Source BSP to create claustrophobic architecture and believable interiors.
-
Scripting - Scripted bizarre and startling systems that bring the haunted house to life.
-
A full play-through video of the mission can be found below. ⇓
Pick up SCP-2674-A and enter a paranormal house
In classic SCP Foundation style, the world is shrouded in mystery
Gameplay developed using Hammer's unique I/O scripting system
Pick up SCP-2674-A and enter a paranormal house
Mission Summary
This is a small level designed for the game Half-Life 2: Episode Two. The gameplay of the level focuses on environmental exploration highlighted by voice acting, offering a few basic "find the object" puzzles using the physics, object interaction, and scripting systems of the Source engine.
The setting of the level is not intrinsically part of the Half-Life universe or mythos, though it uses assets from it, and is instead based on a collaborative horror fiction website called The SCP Foundation. The Foundation is a secret organization protecting the world from paranormal artifacts that operate outside of the standard rules of science or even logic. In this mission, the player acts as an expendable Class-D subject in one of these experiments.
The player must explore a mysterious location, SCP-2674-B, otherwise known as The Crow House. This is a strange building that changes every time a subject enters it, reflecting key moments of the subject's history and testing them to proceed further. With clues from the environment and their handler speaking to them over a headset, the player proceeds through a series of rooms that more and more attempt to discomfort or confuse them.
Narrative Play-Through (08:43)