Official Synopsis

Planet Nine is an atmospheric, first-person puzzle game set in a factory on an abandoned mining planet. The planet has been overwhelmed by a photosensitive toxin and the light is the only means of safety. Players must use their wits and the light to solve complex puzzles and escape the planet…

Project Overview

Engine: Unreal 4.27.

Genre: Puzzle, Sci Fi, Atmospheric.

Release: December 7 2022.

Timeline: 15 Weeks ( 17/08/2022 - 02/11/2022)

Roles: Narrative Design, Puzzle Design, Level Design, Community Engagement.

Team Size: 10

My Level/Puzzle Design Contributions for Planet Nine

For the Level Design elements, I worked on one of the sections in the game known internally as “Toxin Continued”. This Map consists of two puzzle rooms and 2 hallways that connect the section to the main level sequence. This area went through many different iterations visually over the course of development. However, the core concept and layout of the level and puzzles stayed largely the same and was very consistent with my initial plans for the puzzles.

Puzzles

This Puzzle was the first one that I came up with for Planet Nine. The player’s ultimate goal is to unlock the door at the end by obtaining to charges and powering up both sides of the generator. In the initial playtests many players found the puzzle to be quite challenging as they did not know that they could run through the fog without dying. However after some meaningful changes the Puzzle is still quite challenging and for new players it always takes them a little while to complete. I am very happy with the design of the puzzle and am very proud of it’s design.

The steps to complete the puzzles are as follows. Walk into the room to the left, obtain the charge from the wall, use said charge on door behind the player to open up the door. Run through door and through the fog. Steal the charge from the original door and run back through. Run back to the main room and use a charge on the little room to obtain a light box. Use the light box to light up the middle of the room. Get the charge back out of the door and move the big red box to use as a platform. Run up the catwalk and put first charge in the generator. Run back to the room to your left as you walk in. Get that charge back and place it into the second generator for the door. The door is now open and you can progress.

This second Puzzle took a lot more planning and iterative design for me to complete. I wanted to create a puzzle that was not too hard and it was originally envisioned to be a multi-storey puzzle that tasked the player gaining access to a vent system to make their way up to into the office section and reach the “Comm’s Equipment”. After a couple of weeks we ended up scrapping the comms equipment idea and the room became a single storey room. The puzzle involves the player trying to open the door at the end of the room. They must find a way into the glass room to power the generator that activates the door and then work their way towards the door to exit the room and continue on their journey.

The puzzle is completed using these steps. The player grabs the charge right in front of them after walking up the stairs, they then must time their walk to place charge in the generator with a spinning light. The generator powers the door behind the player that allows them to walk in and grab a light box from the storage room. The box is then used to help climb the shelf at the far end of the level and navigate your way into and through the vent system. The player then drops down and activates the button in front of them, causing the light box to burst through the glass and create an exit point for the player. However before they leave the players must turn around and swivel the spotlight to make it face towards the exit door. The players can then run and go grab their original charge. Put it in the generator in the glass room and they have successfully completed the puzzle. On their way to their next area players may stumble across a little developer easter egg as well!

My Narrative Contributions for Planet Nine

For the narrative side, because of the size and scope of the game I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to tell a very long and convoluted story. However I knew that I wanted to create some sort of “Narrative” element to help immerse players further into the world of Planet Nine. So I created 13 different “Data Logs” that provided the players of the game some additional back story about what happened and how Nova Corp became how it is in the game. These were then re-developed and re written by two other writers and the final versions are in the game as collectible logs. Will you be able to find all 13?

Planet Nine Official Trailer

Planet Nine Developer Commentary

Check out “Planet Nine” on ITCH.IO