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BLEAKWATCH

Introduction

  • Solo project 

  • Castle infiltration scenario for an isometric party-based RPG

  • Built strictly within Baldur's Gate 3 rules

  • Small fortified garrison : 45x30 meters

  • 1 main watchtower at the gate, 3 corner watchtowers, 1 wall section under construction

  • Main objective: Retrieve the item from the commander (and optionally pull the lever for the refugees or betray them)

  • Designed around the Multiple solutions with multiple resolutions : Brute, Stealth, Clever solutions for every obstacle

  • Four-phase progression: outer wall, courtyard, inside the keep, dealing with commander

  • Inspired by Baldur's Gate 3 environmental interactivity, surface combos, throw mechanic, and elevation advantage

For Miro click HERE

Project Details

Pre-Production

Narrative & Ideation Phase

  • Built around Baldur's Gate 3 rules and its multiple-solution design philosophy

  • Used outside-the-castle NPCs (mobile medic, gallows, tent people) to gain knowledge for inside-the-castle solutions

  • Defined the alarm rule: picking Brute in any phase forces the remaining phases into Brute too because the castle is alerted

  • Locked certain routes behind class abilities (Druid forms, Misty Step, Speak with Dead) to make party composition matter

Player Agency & Node Graph

  • Created a multiple solutions matrix with four phases and four columns (Brute, Stealth, Clever, Additional Quest)

  • Filled every cell with a unique solution so no obstacle had only one answer

  • Built a node graph to map how every solution connects across the three main areas: Outside the Castle, Inside the Castle, Inside the Keep

  • Color-coded the node graph by approach type, with separate colors for final objectives and shared events

  • Used both documents to validate path completeness before moving to paper design

Paper & Digital Sketch

  • Started with a hand-drawn paper sketch to lock the layout and scale (45x30 meters)

  • Marked enemies, patrol routes, cover, alarm bells, traps and rewards on the paper version

  • Moved the layout into a digital Miro version for cleaner presentation

  • Color-coded the digital version: yellow for entrances, orange for trickable enemies, red for non-persuadable enemies

Level Beats

Outer Wall

BRUTE WAYS

  • Break down the main door

  • Blow up the construction area

  • Launch a companion inside the castle from the construction wall side

STEALTH WAYS

  • Use the boulder in front of the sea to reach the wall

  • Climb the ivy wall

  • Sneak into Watchtower1 and lower the drawbridge for the rest of the party

  • Create an illusion in front of the cliff near the construction to push the guard off

CLEVER WAYS

  • Talk to the dead man at the gallows and get the info about the secret hole that leads to the weapon room

  • Turn into an animal and use the sewer system to come out at the well or the toilets

  • Play music at Watchtower1 to gather the guards around you

  • Bluff and act as a messenger

Additional Quest

  • Convince the people in the tents to start a riot and lower the drawbridge with stealth to let everyone in

Inside the Castle

BRUTE WAYS

  • Fight your way through

  • A companion pushes a barrel from the top of the watchtower on top of the guards

STEALTH WAYS

  • Start a fire in the kitchen or the stables to distract the guards

  • Tell the horses to create chaos

  • As an animal, distract the guards watching the ivy wall corner of the castle

CLEVER WAYS

  • Poison the cauldron with the food of the guards

  • Make the Watchtower1 guards come outside and raise the drawbridge to lock them out

  • Put objects in front of the barrack doors to lock some of the guards inside

  • Disable the alert bells

Additional Quest

  • Trick the main door guards into opening the door

Inside the Keep

BRUTE WAYS

  • Kill the elite soldiers and grab their key

  • Blow up the keep door

  • Fight the commander to reach the second floor

STEALTH WAYS

  • Steal the key from the elite soldiers

  • Shoot down the chandelier on the commander

  • Pickpocket the item from the commander without him noticing

CLEVER WAYS

  • Learn from the medic that the groom faints every time because he is afraid of cats. Turn into a cat, make him pass out and grab the key to the keep

  • Bluff and act as a messenger again

  • Fly to the balcony of the keep

  • Push the commander out the window

  • Manipulate an elite soldier to attack the commander

  • Talk to the commander and convince him to hand over the item

Additional Quest

  • The commander steps out to the balcony and tells the party "if you kill the sick people right now I will reward you"

  • Side with the commander and kill all the tent people to get a reward

  • Side with the tent people and fight everyone in the castle with them on your side

RESOLUTIONS

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GOOD ENDING

  • Get the item from the commander by talking, stealing or killing him

  • Pull the lever in the keep to open the bridge to the magical forest

  • Outcome: The refugees cross to the forest and are cured. The party walks away with the item and gains  respect from refugees.

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NEUTRAL ENDING

  • Get the item from the commander by talking, stealing or killing him

  • Leave the castle without pulling the lever

  • Outcome: The party walks away with the item. The refugees stay sick outside the castle.

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BAD ENDING

  • Accept the commander's deal when he offers it from the balcony

  • Turn on the refugees and kill them

  • Outcome: The commander hands over the item with a bonus reward. The refugees are dead.

Level Design Techniques

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Natural Guidance

  • Demonstrated natural guidance without relying on UI markers

  • Directed attention through landmark placement, prop logic, and diegetic dialogue

  • Used the construction crane and the X God statue as distant landmark cues

  • Used the torches carried by the construction guard and the keep guard as light cues that draw the eye toward both key locations

  • Reinforced hidden routes through NPC tips and world details instead of explicit instructions

  • Delivered guidance through world logic so players discover paths by observation

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Multiple Paths

  • Designed the layout around one exposed main path and several hidden alternate routes

  • Made the obvious path riskier and the side routes safer to reward exploration over rushing

  • Some side routes need a certain class ability so different parties get in different ways

  • Connected every entry  sewer, secret hole, ivy wall, boulders, construction, into one readable network

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Points of Interest and Rewards

  • Used points of interest to reward curiosity and add narrative, like the gallows and the tent camp

  • Tied each point of interest to optional information, a quest or a route the player can act on

  • Placed rewards at the end of exploration paths to pay off investigation

  • Scaled reward value to route difficulty, so harder access returns more loot

  • Reserved the commander's chest as the final payoff for reaching the keep

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Cover and Elevation

  • Spread cover across the courtyard so players have places to hide and fight from

  • Made the central paths open and the side paths covered, so each route feels different

  • Used high ground to give ranged attacks a bonus and to allow drop attacks in BG3 rules

  • Placed cover close enough that players can move from one to the next in a single turn

Traps and Alarms

  • Placed alarm bells that let guards alert the whole castle if the player is seen early

  • Let players disable the bells beforehand to neutralize the alarm cascade

  • Put the trench as an environmental hazard that only certain only characters with specific abilities or items can cross

  • Hid a chest trap in the weapon room that triggers the alarm if the player misses it

Blockout Process

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