I added the statue and this space behind it simply to provide the player with more time exploring with Merrin. Before its addition, it felt like Merrin and Cal would meet and suddenly get whisked away on a spamel.   Some more Merrin 1 on 1 time improved the pacing of the back half of the level.

Here, the platform on the right was lowered to improve the encounter experience in that space.
On the left, I thought it would be cool to traverse across the arms of this statue, give an “off the path” feel.
However, players didn’t register it as a path, so I changed it to a grapple point/hang.

We needed an enclosed area to ambush Cal and introduce Merrin.  As Cal’s jump height metrics fluctuated during development, more and more wall had to be added above the doors on the right .  You can see the difference in height between the early graybox and the finished art.

However, in playtesting we found that, by the time players returned, they did not recognize this area or notice the slide hill out.  
I added the large stone hand as a unique landmark to help players recall this area and draw attention to the exit.  We saw marked improvement in future playtests.

One of the early requirements for the level was for players to pass by the exit to the Ruins early in the level but be unable to use it until they obtained a Spamel later.
I intended for the face of the giant statue to act as the “weenie” for the level and always be pointing the way to the exit.

Greetings!
It's Blocktober & I'm excited to show you some of my work from Jedi: Survivor.  Specifically the opening to Jedha.
Everything in GD is a team effort.  In these areas you see the work of Env. Artists Nate Rulli & Brain Gao and Lighting by Sam Santillo.
#blocktober #gamedev #leveldesign