Mystery Combat Man IV: The Time Bank
Mystery Combat Man IV: The End of Time is the gripping final installment in the legendary Mystery Combat Man series of Source Engine mods. The story follows the Mystery Combat Squad, led by the Mystery Combat Man on their time-traveling and globetrotting quest to save the timeline of Earth from meddling by nefarious forces.
The Time Bank serves as the true opening of the game, after following a short pre-credits action sequence. Mystery Combat Man meets up with his ally Matt Pipe (based on a one-off citizen character from Half-Life 2 who wields a lead pipe in battle) and the two investigate the recent break-in.
Designing the Time Bank was a relatively simple affair as it is a small location with little screen time. I wanted to strike a balance between authority (stone and marble structure, large lobby) and trustworthiness (warm lighting, wood panels, plants and carpets) which to my mind should define a bank's place in society (reality is much different!). It had to have a general air of overall pleasantness to it too, as it represents the peaceful status quo at the start of the game that gradually becomes eroded due to the timeline distortions.
The Time Bank's exterior facade. It had to look respectable, aged and yet containing elements of modernist design to bring it into the present.
The street outside the Time Bank. As the time and place was undecided for a while, I designed the city environment to be "nondescript contemporary".
Bank lobby. Each clock on the far wall works at different speeds.
High-angle view of the lobby. The map as a whole was mostly lit using texlights (textures that emit light) in order to keep the building lit evenly and smoothly.
A peek of the outside city from the lobby.
The clerks' desks.
Inner corridor, with Matt Pipe's office in center view and the entrance to the vault off to the right.
Matt Pipe's office, interior view. As it would only be glimpsed shortly, there was no incentive to fill it with details.
The bank vault, exterior view. The lighting around the vault door was kept low to both heighten the drama and obscure the repeating explosion decals.
The bank vault, interior view.