Forsaken Cove
The Forsaken Cove is home to a scallywag so greedy the sea itself didn't want him. For his punishment, his soul has been imprisoned in the very cove he hoarded his vast treasures. Dare ye enter this Skyrim custom dungeon?
Engine
Skyrim Creator Kit
Contributions
Level Design
Set Design
The Ship
The ship itself had to be meticulously crafted to ensure it met the purpose of the level. Given that there are no massive, multi-tiered ships in the Skyrim creator’s kit, the entire thing had to be put together using the boards and flat surfaces available. Given that the lore is that the ship crashed, much of the sides of the ship were left deliberately open to look like it was splintered and destroyed, leaving only the general husk remaining.
Atmosphere
The lighting gives a sense of direction to the player, as the critical path is lit directly in front of them. However, once they reach the ship, they can see torches in the two other paths they may not have taken, potentially inspiring them to explore them. In order to properly light the ship in the thick fog, lights that look like spirits were strewn about the edges to give it an ethereal look.
Scale
Despite the level looking massive and intimidating, I wanted to make sure the player still moved as if they were in a traditional dungeon. This is why the pathways are fairly thin and everything else is either blocked off or covered in water. This way, the scale of the room seems like it is big enough to fit destroyed ships and potentially dozens of more rooms but the player is left with the few paths they have.
Tasteful Clutter
The best way to decorate a Skyrim map is with little details. While I did want everything to feel barren from years of neglect, it was important to still have themed locations. These range from a spider room filled with webs to individual camps dotted with sleeping mats and rotten food. The only section truly flooded with detail is the captain’s cabin, as that would be where all of his loot went.
Enemies
The point of this map was to seamlessly fit into the world of Skyrim, therefore the enemies were not meant to be overwhelming. Skeletons, ghosts, and spiders are sparsely sprinkled throughout to keep the dungeon difficult without being a slog of unending combat. Rather than that, the majority of enemies were made higher difficulty to make the individual fights last but be fewer and farther between.
