Project Snapshot

Vault 115 is a Fallout 4 mod where the player is asked to investigate the glowing sea where a team of gunners have mysteriously disappeared.

Engine: Creation Kit (Fallout 4)

Base Game: Fallout 4

Level Design Document

Mod Download

Level Overview

“Vault 115” is a quest for Fallout 4 designed for players that are at level 40+. The quest allows player to utilize lockpicking if they choose. This quest takes place in the glowing sea and has challenging combat. The quest begins with the player finding a gunner at the Dugout Inn. Once the player starts the quest, they are sent to investigate a team of missing gunners that disappeared in the Glowing Sea. The quest takes place in the interior of a vault near the Federal Supply Cache 84NE. The vault is a large space that focuses on small vignette encounters with a legendary Deathclaw called Betsy. The vault also focuses on telling the story of Arthur Wentworth and how he tried to keep Betsy as a pet. The main quest leads to the player finding Betsy and her last remaining egg in the basement. They can choose to leave Betsy and her egg alone, take it and return it to the gunner, or keep the egg for themselves.

Retrospective

Design Goals

• Create a vault that has a narrative conveyed outside of the traditional quest structure (make heavy use of environmental storytelling like notes, holotapes, and props)

• Have small cinematic moments that utilize sounds and particle effects to build-up a tense, horror-esque atmosphere.

• Create a quest with drastically different endings depending on the players choice at the final confrontation

 Maps & Layouts

Vault 115 is comprised of 3 interior cells out in the glowing sea. Maps and references as well as screenshots of each space can be found below.

Vault 115 Entrance

Prior to visiting this location the player has no idea that the gunners disappeared in a vault. The space has a holotape with a gunners death on it that introduces Betsy. A terminal gives the player a clue as to what the original purpose of the vault was. This is a space that the player returns to so I made sure it was a recognizable space that the player would remember.

 Vault 115 Main - Security HQ & Maintenance

This is the first introduction to the combat in the vault the player has. They encounter some pre-war security. The space is easy to understand at a glance. The player has to unlock the door to the atrium via a terminal in an office. When they approach the terminal they hear Betsy behind a window in the office.

 Vault 115 Main - Atrium

The atrium contains a gameplay sequence where the player needs to find the overseer’s key to unlock the door to the experiment labs. When the player collects the key a pressure plate is triggered which raises an alarm and activates an Assaultron. This space is focused on being an environmental storytelling rich space. The player can find a good number of items and clues here were they can discover more about the vault.

 Vault 115 Main - Experiment Labs

After grabbing the key the player enters a space where the vault conducted the majority of their experiments. This space is where the player has their second encounter with Betsy. She dumps a body down from a hole in the ceiling to startle the player. There are more environmental pieces here that expand on the head scientist’s character.

 Vault 115 Basement

This space is when the player finally meets Betsy. She slides down the slide of a wall to greet the player. Here the player can choose to fight or leave her alone and return to the quest giver empty-handed. I focused primarily on scene composition here. Betsy is silhouetted against the cave wall in dramatic lighting to make sure she has an impact on the player.