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Title

Predator's Ploy
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Systems Designer | Level Designer | Scripter

Overview

Design Process

Tool

Fallout 4：Creation Kit

Platform

PC

Development Time

~ 400 Hrs

Team Size

Individual

ABOUT

"Predator's Ploy" is a single-player 3D FPS level designed in Fallout 4, serving as a side quest that doesn't affect the main storyline. Players receive a distress note at Red Rocket Station and head to HelloWin Town in Greener Place to rescue the townsfolk, only to discover everyone in the town is dead, except for a vending robot named Khoul found in a bar. After a brief interaction, players learn that the distress signal was a ploy by nearby ghouls to lure more people into the area. Players obtain a Pipboy upgrade from Khoul, enabling them to gain buffs through defeating enemies.

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The level focuses on roguelike combat in an arena, where players enhance their abilities by acquiring buffs or caps and purchasing equipment, preparing for increasingly challenging foes. It tests the player's resource management, map exploration/traverse, terrain utilization, and weapon management skills. Players are encouraged to try different combinations for a highly replayable and exhilarating combat experience.

Design Goal

Design Techniques

Roguelike & Upgrade Systems

Unique Buff System

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​The level’s roguelike experience revolves around its buff system:

  • Unlock – After the robot Khoul installs a Pip-Boy upgrade (usable only in this arena), the system activates.

  • Choice every 10 kills – Each time the player racks up ten enemy kills, the upgrade offers three random rewards:

    1. Buff ① (attack / survival / utility, e.g., melee-attack)

    2. Buff ② (same category, different sub-path, e.g., ranged-attack)

    3. Caps  (skip both buffs for currency)
      Choosing caps supports a gear/item-centric build via the shop; choosing buffs shapes a power-up route.

  • Freedom & replayability – The mix-and-match nature of categories and sub-paths lets players experiment with varied builds.

  • Upgradeable – Spending caps at Khoul levels up the buff system itself, boosting all future buff effects.

Together, these mechanics add randomness, meaningful choice, and high replay value to the arena.

Buff Appendix 1.png

Predator's Ploy Level Design Document Appendix - Buff System

Buff Categories

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  1. Attack Buffs

    • Effects:

      • ↑ damage, ↑ fire rate, ↑ range, ↑ area of effect, ↑ armor-ignoring, faster Critical meter build, ↑ Action Points (AP), faster AP recovery.

    • Sub-paths:

      • General (balanced by lower values or drawbacks)

      • Melee

      • Ranged

      • Explosives

      • V.A.T.S.

    • Example:

      • [Berserker] – You deal +15% more damage, but suffer +7.5% more damage.

  2. Survival Buffs

    • Effects:

      • ↑ Defense, ↑ Max HP, ↑ movement speed, crowd control, HP regeneration, Bullet Time & bonus effects when below a health threshold, reduced AP cost while sprinting, periodic invulnerability.

    • Sub-paths:

      • Mobility

      • Guerrilla (slow HP regen once out of combat)

      • Ranged combat

      • Melee frontline

    • Example:

      • [Icy Shield] – You become invulnerable for 1.5 seconds every 12 seconds.

  3. Utility Buffs

    • Effects:

      • Weapon enchantments (Level 3 only), corpse consumption ability, shop discounts, faster reload (Level 1), no-AP reload (Level 2), extra AP gain (Level 3).

    • Sub-paths:

      • New combat styles

      • Enhanced traversal

      • Alternative survival methods

      • Shop-focused perks

    • Examples:

      • [Elder Scroll] – Enchant your melee weapon so it can change the enemy's faction to hostile to all with a success rate.

      • [Space Leap] – Spawn several teleport bells in the map. Enchant your shooting so that hitting one teleports you to its location.

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Buff Upgrade

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Players can spend caps with Khoul (the quest giver who also runs the shop) to upgrade the Buff system.

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Higher system levels amplify buff effects, and some buffs unlock extra effects at certain tiers.

 

For example, [Demolition Expert – Level 1]: Your Explosives do 20% more damage; at Level 2 it also adds "Gain a throwing arc", and at Level 3 it adds "Affect a larger area."

Balanced Economy-Combat Loop

Predator's Ploy Level Design Document Appendix - Wave and Earnings

Early in development, I first mapped out the level’s core economy system and organized the cap sources in a breakdown table. Players earn caps mainly through:

  1. Round Rewards – Granted at the end of each round via Khoul. Players can spend these caps during intermissions at its shop to purchase items.

  2. Enemy Kills – The higher the enemy’s level, the more caps they drop.

  3. Exploration – The level hides a number of standard and rare loot chests. Standard chests can be opened freely but offer modest rewards, while rare ones require a bobby pin and contain more valuable loot. (The table only records cap amounts; chests in-game may also include randomized consumables and equipment.)

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Alongside this, I designed each round and wave following a good pacing and gradually rising difficulty curve, shaped by the level layout and terrain. Difficulty scales through a combination of enemy levels, spawn positions, quantities, and type combinations, as visualized by the grid color shifts in the "Enemy Spawning" section of the image. The goal is to provide players with escalating challenges, more rewarding payouts, and a stronger incentive to invest in better weapons and gear at the shop as the game progresses.

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** Enemy types include: Mirelurk, Ghoul, Bloatfly and their advanced variants (in different enemy levels. e.g., ranged-attack variants)

Predator's Ploy Level Design Document Appendix - Shop Items

Predator's Ploy Level Design Document Appendix - Price Formula

Next, I designed the shop inventory in detail—including consumables (healing items, ammo, throwables, bobby pins, etc.), weapons (ranged and melee), gear, and upgrades for the buff system. I documented their stats and related data, and created a custom formula to calculate their final in-level prices. The main steps were:

  1. Calculated a weighted value for each item based on its type, damage, fire rate, special effects, and other key attributes—this represents its overall "power" within the context of this level.

  2. Used the item's base game price, combined with the weighted value, to determine a weighted price—reflecting its relative worth while staying in line with the base game’s economy.

  3. Adjusted the weighted price according to this level’s in-game economy, pricing structure, and inflation rate to arrive at the final price players would encounter in the level.

Themed Arena Layout

Layout overview annotated.png

Highlands – Abandoned Hillside Residential Area 

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This area sits at the highest elevation in the level, offering a clear overview of the entire layout. It features more open ground and abandoned house structures with accessible interiors, designed to enhance verticality and smooth flow. A higher number of bloatflies spawn in this area, adding pressure from above.

Lowlands – Tavern (Khoul’s Location) & Central Fountain

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Positioned at the center of the level, this area acts as a visual and navigational hub. The tavern is framed from the town entrance, subtly guiding players to explore it early on. As Khoul—the quest giver—resides here, it naturally becomes a key point of interest. The central fountain serves as a landmark to draw attention and support player orientation.

The area features an open circular platform and transitions between interior and exterior space. The tavern’s two-story, open structure acts as a vertical bridge between Lowlands and Highlands, with multiple openings allowing smooth flow. Tucked-away spots like restrooms and a derelict bus offer extra loot to encourage exploration.

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To avoid overwhelming the player in this frequently visited zone, fewer enemies spawn here. Most threats emerge from the map’s outer edges, though ghouls may occasionally drop in from the tavern’s upper floor.

Lowlands – Lake & islet

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This water zone connects the central area to the graveyard, adding topographical and visual variety through low-lying terrain, rocks, woods, bridges, and a small island. It offers additional space for exploration and rewards.

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The area features tall cover and movement-restricting terrain, encouraging players to take risks in exchange for potential loot. More Mirelurks spawn here to increase tension during exploration.

Lowlands – Church & Graveyard

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This area is connected with the central zone and the lake, offering additional space for exploration and rewards. It features open exterior spaces and tight, enclosed interior layouts, both with low covers, making it more suitable for melee combat. More Ghouls spawn here to intensify short-range encounters.

Goals
Techniques
Process

  • I started building my level from a detailed map and an exhaustive document, covering all required gameplay elements (systems & mechanics, enemies, weapons, etc.), map layout, flow, pacing, dialogue flow, waves, difficulty design, and progression.

  • Following my design, I began constructing my whitebox model. Continuously iterating based on feedback from classmates/professors and other testers, I aimed to fix issues at each milestone, gradually refining the level to its current state.​

PostMortm

Postmortem

What Went Well

Buff System Design

  • The design of the buff system, especially its integration with randomness, worked surprisingly well based on player feedback. It delivered a roguelike experience that exceeded expectations. The synergy between buffs and gear paths gave players a high degree of freedom, significantly boosting replayability.

Successful Implementation of New Features

  • Despite being limited to the engine(Creation Kit)'s existing core systems, the completely new custom buff system was successfully implemented and felt well-integrated with the base game. All newly designed features made it into the final build as intended.

Thorough Early Design Planning

  • The early design phase was thoughtfully planned, with most aspects considered in advance. As a result, the systems aligned well with each other and required minimal changes later on. This allowed more time to focus on technical challenges—such as how to implement the new buff system effectively.

What Went Wrong

Limited Technical Feasibility Research Early On

  • In the early design phase, several interesting buff effects were proposed—such as granting additional effects based on elevation/move speed differences with enemies. However, many of these ideas proved too complex to implement or were unsupported by the engine, leading to necessary revisions and simplifications later in development.

Overscoping in Early Area Design

  • Some early design concepts overscoped the project, resulting in the removal of several features. For example, I initially planned unique environmental effects for each themed area: slowed movement and poison in the lake, gradually thickening fog in the graveyard, collapsing floors in abandoned houses after repeated traversal, and narrative-rich corpses in the tavern. Had these features been scoped and implemented more feasibly, they would have added greater variety and identity to each area—further enhancing the roguelike feel by encouraging players to combine terrain advantages with specific buffs.

What I Learned

Balance Between Creativity and Feasibility

  • This project highlighted the need to balance creative ideas with technical constraints. While many initial designs were conceptually strong, some had to be revised or cut due to engine limitations. In future projects, earlier feasibility checks will help ensure more ideas are realistically achievable without heavy rework.

Scope Management is Critical

  • Some early concepts—especially unique area-based effects—exceeded the project’s practical scope and were cut late in development. Moving forward, breaking ambitious ideas into modular, scalable parts will make them easier to implement and adapt, while preserving thematic depth within realistic production limits.

Gallery

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