PHANTOM: COVERT OPS - The Ruins
The Ruins represented a chance to really explore, present and experience the first-person genre in a whole new way.
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We did not want the Kayak context to limit players to rivers and waterways, so the Ruins takes those expectations and subverts them. Traverse urban landscapes, infiltrate interior structures, navigate railway tunnels etc.
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This level was conceived to present a first-person world with a twist. The flooded town of Voldat gave us the opportunity to present and explore things from an all-new perspective.
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Derelict and stagnant in terms of structure and atmosphere, the Ruins offers a distinctive tone in both gameplay and visuals. Fog is fully utilised to deliver an eerie atmosphere fused with high-stakes sniper gameplay which really heightens tensions and immersion.
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It was this the idea of this location that helped inspire the dev' team early on in both conception and pre-production phases. We all feel there is still plenty more to be explored, way beyond what tension and creativity that this level already presents. We feel this just scratches the surface of innovative possibilities in level design and gameplay experience.
"Close Quarters"
With the flooded remnants of Voldat’s infrastructure as cover, close encounters become even more intimate and dangerous.
Designing familiar settings and structures all explored and traversed in a new way.
"The Industrial quarters"
The derelict evidence of a grim environment lingers in what is now a haven and hunting ground for enemy snipers.
A new style of first-person action.
The Ruins was always intended to subvert the expectations of kayaking along rivers and waterways.
Here we explore how an urban setting offers all new POV's from a kayak’s perspective.
Soviet relics of the past tower above, still a potent image and reminder of the locations volatile and destitute history.
Scale and form put to good use to create an imposing sense of apprehension and awe.
"Centre Square"
The centre of Voldat houses the municipal buildings and vast relics of a soviet past.
Partially destroyed by the original 1966 NATO bombing, now completely derelict and flood damaged by a purposely sabotaged dam infrastructure.
"The Smelters Yard"
A snipers haven, an operatives nightmare.
"The Industrial quarters"
Surrounding the town itself, the roles of Voldat’s population is evident in its industry, architecture and quarried landscape.
"The Derelict Pump Station"
Turbines once powered by the dams lie dorment and partially flooded.
In preperation for Zhurovs return to Voldat, the dams were blown as a ploy to ensure a site wide evacuation of the entire area.
The Ruins thematically offer a chance to present and explore a world from a an all new POV.
A flooded, destroyed world where mood, tone and tension prevail.
The epic scale satellite feature was originally intended for the ruins, but was later re-purposed as a gameplay centre piece for the fully operational Base location within Voldat.
"Phantom Essence"
A piece of initial Key Art that set the tone and expectation of the Ruins early on.
A derelict flooded location presenting the normal in unexpected ways.
Relics of the soviet past.
Our 2D team had some fun creating our very own nationalist materials, befitting to the era.
"Glennin"
In a nod to the project's Art Director Glenn Brace, he was immortalised in a Lenin-like statue.
"Glennin"
Originally sculped with a cup of tea in hand, the fuel of games development.
Sadly this was later removed, but a fun fact none the less.