FPS Multiplayer Map
Level Design | Unity
Summary:
Tasked with creating a multiplayer map for a college project. The map evolved from the conception phased, to blocking out, art pass, and finished with the light pass. Playtests suggested the map had a good flow towards the center of the map.
Project Breakdown
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Created in a few weeks
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Developed for a College Midterm
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Created in Unity
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Asset Store/Plugins used:
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SciFi Neon City - Daelonik Artworks
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Responsibilities:
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Level Concepting/Blockout
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Asset & Spawn Placement
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Lighting/Post Processing
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Particle FX/Particle Placement
Overview
Top Down
Design Techniques
Map Landmarks
As the map unfolds for the player to roam for several objectives, multiple landmarks serve as waypoints to enhance spatial orientation for seamless traversal.
Sightlines
In the beginning, the player starts next to the locked exit door. The starting vantage point offers a panoramic view of the majority of the level, allowing players to foreshadow upcoming challenges.
Although initially unable to clear the first jump, the player will traverse back up, allowing a layer of anticipation and rewarding keen-eyed players.
3-Lane Layout
The first half of the level is linear while the map teaches the player the rules of the world. After exiting the Sky Temple, the second half of the map opens into 3 objectives to be completed in any order.
While the start and end point remains the same, the objectives remain open for player choice and increased replay value.
Leading Lines
After the player completes the bottom floor and teleports through the sky temple portal to get upstairs, the level design teaches the player that buttons and gems open doors.
The player is then released into the open area to grab the 3 remaining gems to open the exit door at the beginning.
Evolution
After the player completes the bottom floor and teleports through the sky temple portal to get upstairs, the level design teaches the player that buttons and gems open doors.
The player is then released into the open area to grab the 3 remaining gems to open the exit door at the beginning.
Pre-production
Space Planning
To create the layout of the underground area I first made a very rough sketch with the different areas I wanted to include. I knew from the beginning the 4 objectives I wanted for the level, and began creating the level based off that criteria.
The main parts of the level stayed concrete and translated well from drawing to blockout phase.
Hugely inspired from the playstyle/level design of Bioshock's Fort Frolic area and DOOM 2016's Foundry level.
Early Stages
Tasked with using the Unity 3D asset kit, I used the pieces from the kit to block out the level from start to finish. The next step was implementing enemy locations and ensuring they fit & logically made sense from a new player perspective.
Once the level was playable and met the criteria needed, the rest of the visuals were added afterwards to populate the world.
"This playspace needs to be fun before it's pretty!" - Adrian Perez, Bungie
Progression
Process
After blocking out the map further assets would be placed to detail the world such as foliage, cluttered, etc.
Then I proceeded with particle FX, lighting, and post processing.
Gathering References
The first thing I did when creating the level was to gather a big amount of references.
The references inspired the layout and were used as architectural guidelines to make the space believable.
Reflection
This was the first time I had indpependetly created a project playable from start to finish. I had a lot of fun with this project, but learned a lot!
Structure - sketching out and gathering references makes a world of difference when working on these projects. It is extremely difficult to make a project from scratch. But having a vision in your head that you put into something visual makes creating the project significantly smoother!
What I'd Do Different - I think I could have improved some of the world's storytelling elements. Although I have elements such as the Lighthouse that have the player ask questions, I could have put more ques in the world to also answer certain questions or told more stories through world elements.
This project substantially improved my blockout skills and I learned a lot about general level design. I am very pleased with the pacing of the map and I think I accomplished my goal of creating a holistic experience for the player.