Far Cry 5 - Grapple Paths
Level Design by Nicolas Najm
One of the key pillars of an open world game is exploration. I had the opportunity to create grapple paths spread throughout the entire northern region of the open world with the intent to ease of exploration, and provide players with fun and interesting platforming challenges.
All images and footage captured using Far Cry 5's Photo Mode and Windows Screen Recorder.
A deep dive into Grapple Paths. What, where and how!
When creating Grapple Paths, I had 4 goals in mind. These were consistently maintained throughout the various dozens of paths spread throughout the northern region.
The paths consisted of platforming and exploration challenges that involved basic mechanics such as jumping and climbing, paired with the trademark Far Cry grapple.
Paths were etched into the side of large mountains that were located between Major and Medium POIs (Points of Interest).
Terrain painting is done for:
- Procedural cliff tech occlusion
- Skeleton path sculpting
- Biome occlusion
The rest is complimented with bolder/rock meshes, along with special climbable rock meshes.
An example of how a Grapple Path offers a quicker and much more engaging/fun option in comparison to simply walking around the mountain.
Visual elements consistent with all Grapple Paths are essential to help organically communicate to the player that a path is nearby.
The player's eye is always lead in the right direction thanks to subtle set dressing techniques.
