# Borders
> [!info] Level Design Doc
> **Teacher** (Environment Design): Kim Nutter
> **Teacher** (Game Engine): Jeff Gauvin
> **Tools**: Unity, Maya, Adobe
> ![[ATTACHMENTS/MAPS/Borders/In-Game/Borders_frontScreenshot.png]]
<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://itch.io/embed/3480095?bg_color=00043a&fg_color=ffffff&link_color=c00021&border_color=407ba7" width="100%" height="152" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>
***
## Design
The initial **design intention** of "Borders" was to make a homage to David Lynch and his "Twin Peaks" series. However, it turned into a deeper reflection on the death of a loved one, faced during development. In Freudian psychoanalysis, the work of grief is a process of reassigning meanings connected to the absent valuable other. The development of the game and the grief work resulted in a particular nostalgic dissonance. "Borders" commemorate the loved one. However, the attempt to preserve a memory of him revealed his absence, and turned into an experience of witnessing his disappearance. The preservation became an erasure.
The gameplay **goal** is to reach the avatar's guest [[ATTACHMENTS/REFS/TwinPeaks/roomKey.png|room]] in a hotel positioned at the borders between being and nothingness. "The boundary" might seem a more accurate reference to a transition between ontological binaries. However, "the border" is a more tangible, factual term, more relevant for digital games where spatiality is usually seen as an essential element.
The map has a **hub-and-spoke structure**. The hub is a mathematically unsolvable [[NEPOBJEDIVI/ENVIRONMENTS/Levels/Borders#Maze (Theseus & Minotaur)|maze]]: Abbott's "Theseus and Minotaur". Spokes are doors in the hotel that solve it in an extrinsic way. The original maze was modified to provide both the experience of death being inevitable, and the experience of death being tricked and evaded.
![[ATTACHMENTS/MAPS/Borders/In-Game/Borders_3Scenes.gif]]
![[ATTACHMENTS/MAPS/Borders/Bubble_PlayerPath.jpg]]
***
## Layout
**Base**: The level takes place at the *Borders Hotel* based on the *Great Northern Hotel* from *Twin Peaks* (filmed at Salish Lodge and Spa, 6501 Railroad Ave, WA, US at the borders of Canada). See [[NEPOBJEDIVI/ENVIRONMENTS/Levels/Borders#Exterior Reference|Exteriors]], [[NEPOBJEDIVI/ENVIRONMENTS/Levels/Borders#Interior Reference|Interiors]] references.
**Spaces in the level include**: Reception, Hotel Cafeteria, Guest Lounge, Smoke Room, Rooms Hallway, Maze, Room 305, Parking Lot, Valley, Mist
**Details**: pillows, blankets, rugs, and sofas with patterns (warm colours: orange - brown - black). Warm dim light: lamps and chandeliers, a fireplace. See [[NEPOBJEDIVI/ENVIRONMENTS/Levels/Borders#Interior Reference|Interiors]], [[NEPOBJEDIVI/ENVIRONMENTS/Levels/Borders#Details Reference|Details]] references.
**Implied**: Stuff Office, Hotel Director Office,
**Colours & materials**: wood, wool, brick, stone are main materials there.
**Lighting**: See [[NEPOBJEDIVI/ENVIRONMENTS/Levels/Borders#Exterior Reference|Exterior]] references
**Mood**: *American Weird* ([[NEPOBJEDIVI/ENVIRONMENTS/Levels/Borders#^5fc4bb|see Serada, 2021]]) & *Cozy liminal* spaces (solidified in [Backrooms Level 5](https://backrooms-wiki.wikidot.com/level-5); emblematic instance is the hotel in The Shining)
### Exterior Maps
| Top-Down | Side |
| --------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| ![[ATTACHMENTS/MAPS/Borders/Exterior_Top-Down.jpg]] | ![[ATTACHMENTS/MAPS/Borders/Hotel_Side.jpg]] |
### Interior Map
![[ATTACHMENTS/MAPS/Borders/Interior_Hotel.jpg]]
### Maze (Theseus & Minotaur)
The maze is based on Robert Abbott's [mathematically unsolvable maze](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Theseus_and_the_Minotaur_puzzle.png). Each step the Theseus takes, equals two Minotaur's steps (see fig. Original Maze). I modified the maze for the game (see fig. Modified Maze). To reach the room 305, the player must trick the minotaur, entering the maze from different points (see fig. Walkthrough). The player finds these entrances when they explore the hotel. While the maze itself exists out of this world (similar to *Black Wigwam* in *Twin Peaks*).
| **Original Maze** | Modified Maze |
| ----------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| ![[ATTACHMENTS/MAPS/Borders/Maze_Original.jpg]] | ![[ATTACHMENTS/MAPS/Borders/Maze_Modified.jpg]] |
![[ATTACHMENTS/MAPS/Borders/Maze_Walkthrough.jpg]]
***
## Reference
### Exterior Reference
![[ATTACHMENTS/MAPS/Borders/Exterior_Board.jpg]]
### Interior Reference
![[ATTACHMENTS/MAPS/Borders/Interior_Board.jpg]]
### Details Reference
![[ATTACHMENTS/MAPS/Borders/Details_Board.jpg]]
### Sound
Angelo Badalamenti
<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/7FO7BolIZsl1o8DDSjeOph?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="152" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>
Boards of Canada
<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/5Hf2h59YLInKlic7ooWZVd?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="152" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>
Caretaker
<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/0uEec9a0RsYeQiaeyJapjY?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="152" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>
### Literary Reference
**American Weird**
- On "*American Weird*" style see Serada (2021). ”Will Kentucky Route Zero Take You to Twin Peaks? Tracing the Narrative of the American Weird”. WiderScreen 24 (1-2). [LINK](http://widerscreen.fi/numerot/2021-1-2/will-kentucky-route-zero-take-you-to-twin-peaks-tracing-the-narrative-of-the-american-weird/)
- For more *American Weird*, see my [[NEPOBJEDIVI/RESEARCH/Deconstructions/2025. The Ontology of Ontological Anomalies|data analysis of Pacific Drive]] ([LINK](https://nepobjedivi.website/DATA_W1_PacificDriveAnalysis)).
- An infinite hotel at Backrooms' Level 5 ([LINK](https://backrooms-wiki.wikidot.com/level-5))
- "Overlook" Hotel (Shining, 1980)
**Games**
- [Twin Peaks Demo](https://blueroseteam.itch.io/twin-peaks-into-the-night) (Suspended). And a [YouTube review](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbQSINRkBmA&ab_channel=DungeonChill) on it.
- [Deadly Premonition (2013)](https://store.steampowered.com/app/247660/Deadly_Premonition_The_Directors_Cut/) (an early take on Twin Peaks aesthetic in games)
- [Still Ridge (TBA, 2025?)](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1668350/Still_Ridge__A_Supernatural_Adventure_Game/)
- [Lake Haven (2023)](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1696960/Lake_Haven__Chrysalis/)
**Other Resources**
- Twin Peaks Maps (official and fan-made, [LINK](https://welcometotwinpeaks.com/locations/twin-peaks-maps/))
- "Vacant Peaks" blog ([LINK](https://twinpeaksblog.com/2018/05/10/vacant-peaks-the-great-northern-hotel-part-1/)). A TV-series environments break-down, clip by clip (a perfect ref finding)
- Real locations where Twin Peaks was filmed: [[ATTACHMENTS/TwinPeak_realLocations.png|reddit screenshot]]
**Archived ideations**:
- ~~Jan Svankmajer~~ - [Luncay](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407236/)
- ~~Václav Mergl~~ - [Crabs, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igROsVAk7fY&ab_channel=FILMYČESKYASLOVENSKY)
***
## In-Game Photos
**Cafeteria**
![[ATTACHMENTS/MAPS/Borders/In-Game/TheCafeteria.png]]
**The Smoke Room**
![[ATTACHMENTS/MAPS/Borders/In-Game/TheSmokeRoom.png]]
**The Lounge**
![[ATTACHMENTS/MAPS/Borders/In-Game/TheLounge.png]]
**The Maze**
![[ATTACHMENTS/MAPS/Borders/In-Game/TheMaze.png]]
**The Minotaur**
![[ATTACHMENTS/MAPS/Borders/In-Game/Minotaur.png]]
***
## Asset Credits
- *Materials* (from AmbientCG):
- [Grass](https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Ground003)
- [Frieze asphalt](https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Asphalt025C)
- [Road asphalt](https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Asphalt019)
- [Brick walls](https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Bricks082C)
- [Roof tiles](https://ambientcg.com/view?id=RoofingTiles015A)
- [Rock](https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Rocks001)
- [Wooden floor](https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Planks037B)
- [Light wooden walls](https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Planks003)
- [Wooden pillars](https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Bark008)
- [Wooden tables](https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Wood025)
- [Wooden chairs](https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Wood013)
- [Red wooden walls2](https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Wood008)
- [Fabric 1 (sofas)](https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Fabric050)
- [Fabric 2 (sofas)](https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Fabric051)
- [Fabric Yellow (sofas)](https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Fabric025)
- [Fabric Blue (beds)](https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Fabric069)
- [Zigzag marble floor](https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Tiles082)
- [Gold (Yellow Submarine)](https://ambientcg.com/view?id=Metal034)
- *Skybox*:
- [Merl Ackerman](https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/2d/textures-materials/sky/allsky-free-10-sky-skybox-set-146014)
- *Characters & Animations* (from Mixamo)
- [Character meshes (all mannequins)](https://www.mixamo.com/#/?page=1&query=&type=Character)
- *Palettes*:
- [Blue - White - Red](https://coolors.co/palette/800016-a0001c-c00021-ff002b-ffffff-407ba7-004e89-002962-00043a)
- [Green - Yellow](https://www.color-hex.com/color-palette/104079)
- *Fonts*
- [Oswald Bold](https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Oswald)
- [Roboto Bold](https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Roboto)
***
## Appendix
### Idea Backlog
- If at night the avatar stays without movement for long, shadows around them slowly change to dark-blood colour
- At midday, Pan's flute sounds echo in the hotel hallways maze (_You have time from 12 am to 1pm (real-time clock synch) to find the Pan by the sound it makes_)
- A hallway at the 2nd & 3rd floors is a maze, and one of dead-ends loops the avatar to wander eternally
- In the cafeteria, you can order meals in a specific succession to discover a secret
- At the smoke room, each inhale changes the camera's colour scheme
- Designed bugs and glitches, bugs and insects, bloody shadows (shadows change colour to blood if the avatar stands without movement for longer than 15 seconds -- Use Camera effects in Unity)
- Bugs dancing at walls
- The fall + 1 - 2 rainbows at fall + upside-down rainbows
- *SFX*: fire, creaking footsteps, rumbling footsteps, [[NEPOBJEDIVI/ENVIRONMENTS/Zones/Daemonium|daemonium]] -- a voice sensation that people hear in day/dreams
- InUse: second sound source at the player's nape - a haunted sound
### Instructions
**Instruction for Level Design**
- [-] **Interior**: Exterior, Hall, Lounge, Restaurant, Smoke Room, Basement, The maze (isometric perspective), Hotel room 309 (the goal)
- [-] **Exterior**: Environment, Skybox
- [-] **Elements**
- *Modular assets*: Furniture (chairs, tables, sofas, ashtray), ashtray, windows, doors
- *Meshes*: Flowers, Succulents, Insects
- [-] **Effects**
- *Animations*: Animated lights (blinking on 2nd floor, a cue to Smoke Room), Animated avatar and Minotaur, Submarine
- *Particle* effects: Mist, Cigarette in the Smoke room
**Instruction for Functionality**
- *Game Elements*
- Avatar (*Mannequin*) with *animations*:
- [-] Idle
- [-] Walk
- [-] Wave (To call taxi at spawn point)
- [-] Press button (in the elevator)
- Enemy (Minotaur) with *animations*:
- [-] Idle
- [-] Run
- [-] Attack (Running jump)
- [-] *Behaviour*: Chase, (if Theseus moves) Wait (if Theseus stops), Attack (if Theseus withing reach).
- [-] *Passive hazard*: mist. Takes life gradually (HUD)
- [-] 3D meshes (flowers, succulents, insects)
- [-] End-goal (Room 305)
- *UI*
- [-] Starting Menu screen
- [-] Game screen
- [-] Game Over screen
- [-] HUD (vitality)
![[NEPOBJEDIVI/borders.borders]]