Time To Breach CRPG-inspired ARPG
Role: Level Design, VFX, Narrative
Genre: Top-down ARPG (Payday+Superhot-inspired)
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Timeframe: 2 weeks pre-production + 4 weeks
Team size: 8 (4 designers + 4 programmers)
Camera: Fixed tilted top-down
Playtime: ~10 minutes
Overview
Core Mechanics
Time To Breach is a slow-paced action RPG shooter inspired by CRPG combat pacing and the time manipulation logic of Superhot. Time behaves as a controllable system rather than a background rule: enemy movement, projectiles, and combat rhythm are directly affected by the player’s actions, turning positioning and timing into the main tactical tools.
Narrative
The player takes the role of a former commander of the TEA (Time Extraction Agency), once a loyal operative of the system that regulates time resources. After discovering the true cost of the agency’s work, she becomes a fugitive and launches a desperate mission into the asteroid mining facilities controlled by the organization.
Her goal is simple and brutal: breach the prison complex where her husband has been sentenced as “used material” — a human resource drained of temporal energy and discarded by the system. The level represents the first major infiltration attempt, where the player fights through security forces and mining infrastructure to reach the prison facility.
Level Design
The story takes place on a colossal space structure orbiting a black hole. It consists of two main parts:
- the asteroid — its core is mined for Time, the most valuable substance in the universe. The very existence of this megastructure is justified by the importance of this resource.
- the orbital torus station — built around the asteroid to house workers, scientists, and prisoners.
The level represents the first ten minutes of gameplay and functions as an onboarding space introducing the player to the core mechanics, enemy types, and environmental logic.
Encounters are paced to gradually build the player’s understanding of:
- time manipulation
- spatial positioning
- enemy pressure
Each combat scenario is designed as a small strategic puzzle. Enemy placement, cover, and sightlines encourage players to analyze the space before committing to movement.
Because time reacts to player actions, every step forward becomes a tactical decision. Reckless movement often leads to being surrounded or overwhelmed, reinforcing deliberate planning.
Core Design Decision: Prison Composition
I wanted to create an environment that the player could easily navigate, since it’s based on a real existing location. For reference, I used an actual prison—the team chose it based on a single image (below), and it turned out to be a real pain in the neck considering our chosen camera angle.
Problem
In early layouts, the prison structure was placed centrally, dominating the space. Under the fixed tilted camera, this collapsed the perceived scale, caused frequent occlusion, and competed visually with combat spaces, making the level harder to read.
Design Decision
The prison was moved from the center of the level to the edge of the playable space.
Cells were repositioned below the main combat area rather than stacked vertically.
The prison became a compositional anchor instead of a navigational obstacle.
Result
- Improved spatial hierarchy and depth perception
- Clear separation between combat spaces and background structures
- Stronger visual framing of the level without blocking player movement
- The prison reads as a dominant landmark without interfering with gameplay
Why this matters
- This decision allowed the level to maintain scale and clarity while fully supporting the fixed camera, turning a potential technical limitation into a compositional strength.
Camera Constraints & Readability
The compositional shift enabled further camera-driven iteration:
Before
- Full-height walls and central structures frequently obstructed the camera view and flattened vertical scale.
After
- Wall heights were iteratively lowered and aligned with the new prison placement, ensuring uninterrupted visibility of combat spaces and routes.
Player Flow & Combat Pacing
Before
Secondary traversal routes allowed players to bypass combat encounters, weakening tension and pacing.
After
- Optional routes were removed to establish a clear critical path, keeping the player consistently engaged in combat scenarios.
Enemy Placement & AI Interaction
- Improved spatial hierarchy and depth perception.
- Enemy positioning reinforced forward momentum and positional decision-making.
Enemies used sensing-based behavior rather than static placement.
Navigation & Narrative Layer
- Abstract, narrative-driven area naming was replaced with functional labels.
- Narrative remains as environmental cues rather than explicit guidance.
Narrative ideas were present but subordinated to gameplay clarity.
This ensured fast decision-making during combat without removing thematic context.
Gameplay-Driven VFX
- Grenade effects communicate blast radius and timing.
- Projectile and enemy effects provide immediate hit and state feedback.
- Fire and smoke signal a major environmental event and intentionally break long sightlines.
- Effects reinforce player decisions without relying on UI.
VFX were used strictly to support gameplay and readability: