Fallout 4
The Ghouls Among Us
Project Summary
Game: Fallout 4 / Creation Kit
Development Time: 3 Months
Team Size: Solo Project
Playtime: 40 min to 1h
Level Info: 1 exterior (Small world), 1 interior, 1 main quest + 1 side quest.
This single-player standalone mission set in Fallout 4 has the Sole Survivor traveling to a distant island to find a missing woman named Melissa. There, they uncover a long-standing conflict between humans and ghouls residents on the island and seek to resolve it with the help of allies.
This level offers a memorable gameplay experience through a story-driven quest featuring dramatic moments & challenging combat.
Map Overview & Gallery
Design Goals
Goal 1: World building in Fallout 4 style
Although FO4 used modular assets to build its massive game world. Most of the places feel unique and not repetitive. This is partly due to the overall aesthetic of the apocalyptic post war environment – with many broken building structures, randomly scattered junks it breaks the sense of regularity created by modular assets. But another main factor that makes many places feel distinct is the dev team’s creative use of modular assets.
In this level, my goal is also to make creative use of modular assets to build space that doesn’t look modular. Here are some examples:
Techniques # 1
Reusing the same asset for different purposes:
I had 2 barge assets in the level, one being used as a foundation for buildings, another being used as a proper barge.
Techniques # 2
Scale assets to use them differently.
Inside the jail, I scaled up some numbered blocks to make them into number plates hanging on the wall of each jail cell.
Techniques # 3
Position the assets differently to build different structures.
When we can’t find a specific asset in the modular asset set, we can still build what we want by making smart use of some assets. In this area, In this area, I placed a pillar perpendicular to the wall to mimic trim, built the platform with a full wall but only half visible above ground, and used a full wall for the fence with half buried underground.
Techniques # 4
Mix and match different sets of assets.
This is the Mayor’s office, combining three building sets: the lower part is a greenhouse set house, the upper part is a ship cabin turned into an office, and the top is a Diamond RV for decoration, especially striking at night with its emissive windows. Although these modular assets are common in the Commonwealth, their combination creates a unique landmark for this level.
Mayor's office building at night
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Techniques # 5 Repurposed Buildings
In the FO4 universe, buildings often repurpose existing structures for new functions: Diamond City is a former stadium turned town, and the Combat Zone is a theater turned arena. The mixture of existing prewar building structure and the postwar manmade structure is what gives those places their unique identity. In my level, I also did some experiments with this building style.
Goal 2: Story Driven Quest that Keeps the Player Engaged
To achieve this goal my first step is to create sympathetic NPCs. Because the easiest way to get a player invested in the story is to get them invested in the characters. I designed each main NPC with unique personalities and backstories, showcasing these through dialogue and hidden terminal entries.
Giving NPC agency & tell story through gameplay beats
One of the gameplay beats in the quest is to help an NPC break out of the jail. I didn’t want the NPC to just wait inside the prison for the player to finish the combat like a traditional rescue mission. In this level, the player uses the terminal to release the NPC from her cell, the main combat begins as the prisoner NPC runs out and starts shooting at the jail guards. This dramatic moment aligns the story with gameplay, giving the NPC more agency and allowing the player to bond with her as a companion rather than an objective/tool for the quest.
Getting players involved in the story before they realize it
At the start of the level, the player sees a nervous kid on the dock who offers an awkward excuse before leaving. Later, talking to the doctor reveals the kid has stolen vaccines from the clinic,leading to a side quest to find her. I moved the kid to a house when the player starts talking to the doctor, so she’s gone from the dock by the time the player looks for her.
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By adjusting the AI package, I made the player witness the kid’s backstory (attempting to steal meds) and the ongoing side quest (finding her). This involvement makes the player feel compelled to solve the problems presented by the quest. Engaging players by making them part of the story, rather than passive observers, is key to keeping them invested.
Goal 3: Reuse gameplay space to reduce scope
Creating a 1-hour FO4 quest with a small world, one interior, and at least three combat encounters is a major task. To manage scope, I reused the map extensively to add variety. The Town (exterior/small world) and Jail (interior) are utilized at different stages for story, exploration, and combat
Stage 1: The Town as a friendly Hub
At the start of the quest, the town serves as a hub for exploration and interaction with NPCs. Players can gather resources, learn the town's backstory, and discover that Melissa, the quest's key NPC, is imprisoned in the jail. They must then enter the jail to meet her.
Stage 2: The Jail as a Narrative Space
The jail is initially used for story development. Players enter as guests, interact with guards and prisoners for more town history, and after speaking with Melissa, learn they must help her escape.
Stage 3: Jail being reused for Combat Encounter
After using the terminal in the guards’ office to unlock Melissa’s cell, the jail becomes a hostile environment for a combat encounter. I didn’t have to spawn tons of enemies out of nowhere because all the jail guards are already on their patrolling routines and will move to designated locations when the combat starts, this arrangement makes the fight feel more natural and story driven.
I also want the player to explore the jail, making mental images of the layout and the location of patrolling NPCs before turning this place into a combat space. When the player knows when and where to expect enemies, the fight feels more strategic and memorable.
Stage 4: Reusing the Town for final Combat
After releasing Melissa from jail, the player must return to the town to confront the Mayor, who abused his power to imprison her and other innocent residents. Since the Mayor controls the town and hired the security guards, players must fight their way through the guards to reach him.
To make the experience of revisiting the town feel different, I did a few things:
#1 Make the player Approach the town from a different angle. Initially, the player enters the town through the dock and is greeted by friendly NPCs. However, this time the player must approach the town’s locked gate through an abandoned beach area littered with radiative barrels and corpses.
#2 Change the Weather & Lighting to make it look different.
After the player escaped the jail, I changed the weather from a misty sunny day to rainy stormy weather to foreshadow the incoming danger. The rain drastically changes the lighting, giving a nighttime feel with better visibility. I avoided complete darkness to ensure the town, designed for arena-style combat, remained functional for large fights.
Challenge: Natural Environment as Combat Space
In order to reuse the same town for both exploration and combat, I had to make some adjustment to the layout to achieve a balance between making sense and play well. The town has to be a living space (that makes sense) and a combat space that provides a good amount of covers and path (for flow).
Here are some examples of the changes I made:
Fix Line of sight issue
Making Natural-looking cover
Adding Covers to make large open area suitable for combat
Postmortem
What went well?
World builing in Fallout style
The slum-style town, built from wood shacks and junk, was believable and fit well within the original game world.
NPC with character and story that provokes emotion
I portrayed the NPC characters through engaging dialogues, ensuring each major NPC had a unique backstory and opinions on the quest events.I made sure players could sympathize with the NPCs and see their actions impacting the game world.
Effective reuse of space
The main map area can be visited at different quest stages, keeping the experience fresh and varied.
What went wrong?
Overscoped the project due to not having a clear design focus
This level was overscoped from the start, causing frequent crunch time. This was due to a lack of focus during the planning phase. Instead of exploring all mechanics in CK and FO4, I should have focused on one aspect—combat, layout, or quest—to make it great.
Didn’t plan for buffer time, everything ends up taking longer than expected.
Smaller tasks in CK took longer than expected, including creating and adjusting Navmesh due to the complex layout and debugging quests and dialogues. I should have allocated more time for troubleshooting and technical issues.
What I learned?
Get everything functional first before start polishing the details
I spent too much time adjusting the map layout and dialogues, while delaying puzzle and combat scripting. I should have prioritized scripting before polishing other aspects. Better time management would have made the quest feel more polished overall.
Stop adding new content before launch and spend more time on playtesting
Making changes after the Alpha milestone can lead to additional testing and bugs. In future projects, I should schedule more time for playtesting, bug fixing, lock content early, and allow extra time for polishing.