Design Theme 设计主线
Inferno is developed in a realistic visual style and presented from a first-person perspective, allowing players to experience the spaces of Hell immersively through sight, sound, bodily sensation, and other senses. Two main objectives - searching for the expeditionary force and finding a way to close the Gate of Hell - jointly drive the player's exploration of the levels. As the player gathers clues and information through fragmented texts, they gradually come to understand the world of Hell and learn the truth about the Gate, the demons, and the expedition. The game begins at the Gate of Hell and ends in the deepest part of Hell; following the order of Dante's journey in The Divine Comedy, the player explores a succession of visually distinct circles.
地狱（Inferno）采用了写实风格的第一人称视角开发，让玩家可以沉浸式地从视觉、听觉、身体感觉等多种感官体验地狱空间。游戏中的两条主线任务：搜寻远征军和寻找关闭地狱之门的方法共同驱动玩家探索关卡。在通过收集碎片化文本不断获得线索和情报的过程中，玩家将会逐渐了解地狱世界并知晓有关地狱之门，恶魔和远征军的真相。游戏的关卡始于地狱之门，终于地狱最深之处，玩家将会依照《神曲》中但丁游历地狱的顺序，逐个探索风格迥异的地狱关卡。
Core Gameplay 核心玩法
The core gameplay draws from classic survival horror series such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill, with combat, exploration, collection, puzzle-solving, and resource management as its central components. The game avoids a direct quest system; instead, the player's actions are primarily driven by the narrative. Players must manage ammunition, medical supplies, and other consumables during fighting and exploring, while also continuously collecting texts and clues that assist with puzzles or help them understand the story.
游戏的核心玩法参考了《生化危机》系列、《寂静岭》系列等经典生存恐怖游戏，以战斗、探索、收集、解谜、资源管理为核心组件。游戏不存在直接的任务系统，玩家的行为主要通过剧情驱动。在游戏中，玩家需要管理弹药、医疗用品和其他消耗品来进行战斗和探索，同时持续收集文本和线索来辅助解谜或推进剧情。
Game Mechanics 游戏机制
Beyond conventional survival horror mechanics, the game includes several immersive systems:
1. The save-point system draws from the bonfires of the Dark Souls series. Players encounter crosses standing in temporary cemeteries throughout the levels. Within the narrative, these are graves established by the expeditionary force for soldiers who died during the expedition; within the game design, the crosses serve as save points. The player can save their inventory state and restore the number of uses available for specific items at a cross. After death, the player respawns at the most recently saved cross with their health fully restored. Combined with the melee weapon, this full-health respawn system prevents the player from getting stuck in levels after running out of ammunition and medical supplies.
2. The player obtains a compass early in the game, which briefly displays the direction of progress on the HUD. This corresponds to Virgil guiding Dante through Hell in The Divine Comedy and, in gameplay terms, prevents the player from becoming completely lost within a level. The compass has a limited number of uses and must be recharged at a save point once depleted. It only indicates direction rather than displaying a route. These limitations help the player identify the correct direction while preventing the navigation function from being abused.
3. The player's movement speed is affected by the weapon being carried, current health, and movement state. The player moves fastest when empty-handed, slows down while holding a weapon, and becomes significantly slower while aiming and firing. Once health falls below a certain level, the player temporarily loses the ability to sprint. Players must therefore choose their equipment carefully and maintain as much health as possible.
4. The game includes "Infernal Rifts," which function as portals. Within the story, these rifts connect different spaces and circles of Hell; however, after the Gate of Hell opened, changes in the infernal environment created large numbers of unstable rifts that randomly connected different locations. In gameplay, a Infernal Rift is a one-way portal , allowing the player to travel quickly within a level. The system addresses the conflict between the large scale of the levels and the player's limited movement speed: without vehicles, travelling solely on foot would require a great deal of time. Infernal Rifts preserve the sublime scale of Hell while reducing travel time and the need to produce additional gameplay content simply to fill the journey.
除了常规的生存恐怖游戏机制之外，本作还有一些沉浸式的机制设计：
1. 本作的保存点参考了《黑暗之魂》系列作品的篝火设计，玩家在关卡中会找到一些矗立在临时墓地上的十字架，这些墓地在剧情上是远征军埋葬深入地狱途中丧生士兵的临时墓地，在游戏设计上这些墓地的十字架是玩家的保存点。玩家在十字架处可以保存自己的装备状态并恢复特定道具的使用次数，在玩家死亡后会在最近保存的十字架处重生并完全恢复血量（这个重生恢复血量的设计搭配近战武器可以防止玩家在弹药和医疗品耗尽后卡关）。
2. 玩家在前期就能够获得指南针道具，会在HUD短暂显示前进的方向，这对应了《神曲》中维吉尔引导着但丁在地狱前行，在游戏设计上防止玩家在关卡中彻底迷失方向。指南针有使用次数的限制，在耗尽后需要在游戏的保存点进行充能才能恢复使用次数。同时指南针只会提供方向，但不直接显示路线。这些设计在辅助玩家寻找关卡中正确方向的同时，又防止了玩家滥用或者过度依赖寻路功能。
3. 游戏中玩家的移动速度会受到所持武器、血量和运动状态的多重影响。玩家在空手时可以获得最高移动速度，在拿着武器时速度减慢，并在瞄准射击时大幅度减速。当血量降低到一定程度时，玩家便会暂时无法奔跑。因此玩家需要在游戏中慎重选择装备并且尽可能维持健康的血量。
4. 游戏中存在着传送门功能的“地狱裂隙”设计。地狱裂隙在剧情上是连接地狱各层空间的传送门，然而在地狱之门开启后因为地狱环境的变化产生了大量不稳定的地狱裂隙随机连接地狱的各种空间。在游戏设计上地狱裂隙是单向的空间传送门，玩家可以借此在关卡内快速移动。这个设计是为了解决游戏的关卡尺度过大和玩家移动速度不足的冲突，在没有搭乘载具的选项下，玩家单纯依靠步行会花费大量时间赶路。地狱裂隙在维持了地狱空间崇高尺度的同时减少了玩家赶路的时间和额外的游戏内容制作需求。
Level Design 关卡设计
The overall progression follows Dante's journey through Hell in The Divine Comedy, beginning in the lost forest, passing through the Gate of Hell, crossing the River Acheron, reaching Limbo, and then continuing deeper in the order described by the poem. The design of each individual level primarily extracts three elements from Inferno: the environmental description of each circle, the sins committed by the souls within it, and the corresponding punishment they receive. In particular, each circle's concept of sin and punishment is translated into the environmental art, narrative, puzzles, and level design. The use and translation of these elements are examined in detail in the breakdown of each level.
游戏的总体流程设计参照了但丁在《神曲》中游历地狱的过程，从迷失的森林出发，穿过地狱之门，渡过冥河之后到达灵薄狱，并继续依照《神曲》中的顺序深入地狱。单个关卡的设计主要从《神曲·地狱篇》中提取三个要素，分别是每一层地狱的环境描写，这层地狱中亡魂所犯的罪孽和其受到的相应惩罚。尤其是将每一层罪与罚的概念转译到了环境美术、剧情、解谜和关卡的设计中。这些要素的使用和转译的手法将在各个关卡的关卡详解中具体解析。