Daniil ShorginLevel Designer
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The Great Temple

A first-person exploration of Mayan temples, heavily inspired by the Indiana Jones franchise

Overview

Summary

This is a first-person project centered around the exploration of ancient Mayan temples, where the player must solve riddles, uncover secrets, and seek untold riches. The primary objective is to reach the main Mayan temple by rotating all surrounding statues to face it.

Throughout the level, enemies are present, but direct combat is not an option — the player must remain hidden to avoid detection.

The core goal was to create an engaging, non-linear, multi-layered environment filled with puzzles, exploration, and hidden discoveries.

The main inspiration for this project comes from the adventurous tone and style of "Indiana Jones"

Breakdown

  • Individual solo project spanning ~ 180 hours
  • Playable location size - 450x450m
  • Gameplay time:
  • First time ~ 45-50 min
  • Replay ~ 30-35 min
  • All logic scripting by me (using nodes)
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TheGreatTemple.exe · UE 5.6

Top View

Level layout
Level layout

Click the map to enlarge

Path

01Starting location

Here we begin our journey, pass through a dilapidated building and see that the ancient ruins of the Maya with their statues and temples open before us

02Archeology small center

A small archaeological center where gangs operate who want to get all the artifacts and riches of this ancient area

03Excavations

Excavations are being carried out here by people who were captured into slavery. Here we will find out what we need in. First rune at the location

04Bonus location

Optional location with lots of rewards. We will be able to get into it only after completing all the other locations. To get into it, we need to insert rubies into the statues. We get rubies from the large statues that we see from the very beginning of the level

05Small Temple

A small temple that stands apart from the main buildings. The location is designed to teach the mechanics of reflecting light to solve puzzles. There is a second rune here

06Underground Temple

An underground location where we have to collect 2 runes to enter. Here we solve puzzles to rotate the first (largest) statue

07Old Ruins

Part of this location is on the surface, but in the process of exploring, we fall against our will to the lower tier and we need to find a way to return to the top

08Hidden place (waterfall)

As it usually happens, there must be something behind the waterfall. A small location with no mysteries. The purpose of the location is to give the player time to relax and collect small rewards

09Side location with tunnel

We can see a part of this zone even before we came here. Optional location to visit, made for storytelling

10Right Big Temple

A large aboveground/underground temple complex. Here we have to solve puzzles, dodge traps, everything in the spirit of Indiana Jones. Here we turn the second statue, take the ruby from it for a bonus location, and when we leave this area, we take the same ruby from the central statue

11Archeology General center

The main archaeological center. There are already a lot more mercenaries here than there were in the small center. There is an elevator here that we can use to have quick access to the bonus location where we need to insert rubies into the statues

12Left Big Temple

Part of this temple is located on the surface, but exploring it we fall into a cave where we find the entrance to a really large underground structure. There are no complicated riddles and puzzles here. The location is a simple jump puzzle. When we get to the surface, we turn the last statue, take the ruby from it, hand it over to the bonus location and head to the Great Temple

13The Great Temple

The last location. Inspiring music plays here according to all the canons, we reach the main treasures of the Maya. And at the end we have a view of other similar statues. But that's a completely different story...

Iteration work

First, I create large shapes, place cubes where buildings will stand in the future.

I'm planning a route. Then I start to detail it from iteration to iteration.

Iteration work
Iteration work
Level design

Light Puzzle

Use a prism to reflect the light into a green ball. After that, something will happen, for example, a door will open. The prism in your hands can be rotated to accurately hit the ball with the beam

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Fire Traps

Beware of pressure plates. You need to make no mistake, or you might get fried. Look for the image on the walls nearby, it should help in passing

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Level design

Artifact Loot

Explore every nook and cranny of the level to find all the artifacts. Their cost is very high, because these are unique statues of the ancient Maya civilization

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Level design

Rotate Puzzle

Turn the mechanisms to bring the beam of light to the desired location. It's possible that some of the mechanisms will confuse you

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Level design

Stand Plate

Stand on the plate to open the door. But alas, you will not be able to enter it, because when you get off, the door will close. Find a special cube to put it on this plate

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Level design

Lie & Truth

A puzzle where you will need to reflect. The symbols on the wall are indicated and they need to be activated with pressure plates. Tell the truth where it's needed. And lie where the lie is indicated

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Gameplay

Reflections

The main objective of the level was to get into the style of Indiana Jones. Make the canonical puzzles and traps that are inherent in this franchise. I decided not to make a combat system, because it is assumed that we will pass the opponents in stealth. The main difference in Indiana Jones is a large height difference (Somewhere we go down to the lower part of the temple, then we go up a little higher, then we go back down again, and so on). I tried to bring it to the level.

Next project

Cyberpunk

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