Dark Sand Lighthouse

Dark Sand Lighthouse is a single-player level based on Half-Life 2. After reaching the Water Hazard, Gordon Freeman accidentally runs into an island. Gordon needs to light up the nearby lighthouse to wait for Alyx’s help.

Goal:

Narrative goal: Using Symbolic meaning to identify the image of Gordon Freeman to the rebellion in the original half-life 2.

Gameplay goal: Dive deep into the weapons and enemies.

Visual goal: Dive deep into using visual conveyance to help guide the player.

Narrative:

Lighthouse: The Lighthouse symbolizes hope, just like Gordon in the original story for the rebellion.

Offence and Defense battle: Offense is usually a behavior of the first stage of the rebel in history to deal with a muddleheaded ruler. Defense is usually the last stage of the rebellion for rebellions to maintain their government.

So, the level was set as the player needed to offend the lighthouse guards in the first five sections and defend and light up the lighthouse in the final section. The behavior from crime to defense could give the player an early hint that Gordon would be the spirit leader later in the game. The player finally lights up the lighthouse, indicating that the rebels will be a success.

Gameplay:

Weapon_SMG grenades: Since the player usually uses the rocket launcher to deal with enemies and lacks SMG grenades in the original HL2, the player needs to use the SMG grenades to deal with higher-range enemies and Longer-range enemies in this level. The study process keeps the player on pace instead of getting frustrated.

Enemy_Sniper: The sniper is too hard to deal with in the original HL2 due to its invisible range and difficulty aiming. The player could see the sniper's range by visiting the light field and using SMG grenades to aim better at the sniper windows than regular grenades.

Enemy_Antlion: Due to the lack of short-range enemies and the verticality of the lighthouse, the jumpable antlion was designed to be put into the level. Also, because the antlion won’t cause too much damage to the player, it won’t cause much frustration. However, their pushing ability and jumping abilities could cause some distraction to players.