The Project
My project is made to make me understand the importance of level design and how it affects the player engagement whilst in the levels. This is because you can have all the best ideas stuffed into one project level and it still wont be fun if it hasn’t go a coherent gameplay loop to intrigue the player. I have designed the level using asset packs from unreal while also using my own knowledge to build a quick scene to play in. In my level I have one main pathway with sets of challenges with interactive areas that keeps the player interest until the next set piece happens while there is also side areas that could hold secrets and more challenges to give the player a choice that doesn’t ultimately lead to anything different but it gives the player a sense of choice.
Research
When creating a level design proposal I needed to think of the things I wanted in the level itself, and create a basic plan of what I wanted to make before creating the level. This means I have to think of the themes, size, dangers, interactivity, weenies, pathways.
For the themes I chose I went for a feudal Japan, with elements of horror and fantasy. However, originally I went with purely fantasy but it felt bland and surface level. So adding in elements of horror within the level will make it seem like it has character; using blood effects and general horror elements in the environment creates a story in the level.
The main inspiration for my level design was games like For Honour. This is because they include having long levels filled with character so you can decipher what had happened and then having an ending boss fight arena. Whilst also fighting small enemies; for example in my level I will have archers on a bridge that makes you think about what you are doing and you have to use environment to stop them which means I have to think about what cover I give the player to make sure the gameplay is fair but challenging.
For example, in this level you have to go along a set path until you meet the main set piece that intrigues the player. You then keep doing this until the boss fight with each bit getting more challenging with the small enemies, until you meet the big challenge.
Pre-Production Level Design
While creating the level I need to think about how I want to use the height variations in my level. Having it all one level makes it all feel samey and boring therefore incorporating height provides more flexibility for different path types and allows better flow in the level. Good examples can be the resident evil games.
I also want to take advantage of the spacing of the level by incorporating narrow places and wide places using stones, trees and structures to guide the player into different variations. This can make it more tense in some spots and makes the structure of the level less of the same that makes it boring and the gameplay loop will fail if it becomes stale.
Luckily, shapes in my level can be extremely varied due to not being inside, however I can makes my hallways into rectangles, the man made shapes like bridges into squares and the open spaces into wide or small circles making the level interesting to walk through.
I could use inaccessible areas using Denied affordance to make the world seem bigger than it is. This is easier done by having an indoor level and having doors with glass on them to show extra rooms with more doors in them to make them seem bigger. But with my open level design I would probably have areas blocked by bamboo, but things like campfires make it look bigger without too much detail and it also makes the level seem like its lived in.
Visual Style
The visual style of my level/game would be a realistic take on feudal Japan whilst including elements of fantasy, so a merge between the two would look nice and appealing to the average person. However it might be overdone especially in the time period I am doing (medieval era).
I want to do medieval as I like the simplicity of the combat and also i like the designs of many things made in the medieval era.
Although making my level realistic might be a challenge it would be worth it to convey the story in a gritty reality to make you feel like you are there. The fantasy elements are mainly the magic that is incorporated, but the magic used will be things like blood magic and also light manipulation.
Examples from games like Skyrim and also Elden ring for the magic I am aiming to include in the level whilst also making it realistic.
having light magic will be useful as the level is supposed to be dark apart from the main roads meaning that if you get lost you can still have a Lightsource and explore the world created.
AI
Ai can be a powerful tool however I don’t feel like it is personally that useful when you have a solid metal image that you are using, AI can be great at making concept pieces to provide support while making the game. You just have to be careful you are not stealing anyone else’s work while using AI.
Therefore, I am not using it in this level project but it will probably be used in future projects to help the start of the process.
2D Level Block out
I can have a small feel of what the world will feel like with a simple block-out like this showing the directions the player can go. What will happen, when interactive events or gameplay sections will happen.
It starts off interesting by immediately giving you something to do, then calms down a small bit before you have to either go against people or do another activity.
You then can explore and have a rest or go into another action set piece with more of a challenge getting players used to combat against different types of enemy’s, which will get players more used to how to defeat the boss of the level.
This first block out was changed so that you cant just walk through the bridge to avoid combat, as to keep the game interesting.
How do we want to guide the player
to get the player from one spot to another we need to guide the player, one way is to show a weenie to show the player what the end goal or a set piece is. But we can have other small guidance’s. This can be things like the shape of the environment, denied affordance or affordance where we allow the player to go certain ways to have them intrigued in the level to keep them going forward without confusing them.
I could use the Japanese lights to guide the player certain ways while making dead-ends darker. This has the advantage of making the player trust the lights but it means if they are adventurous they don’t get lost but you can reward the adventure.
Early in the level I use openings to allow the player to see the small bits of the upcoming level to make it easier to see where to go but also to make sure the player knows what’s to expect like enemy’s, treasure or even a boss fight.
I could probably use a mix of sound and also movement to lure the player to different locations if one location isn’t of use of staying in by having the SFX cut out and showing things moving Infront of the player to try make them go the more interesting locations that I pick out.
Narrative
The narrative of the level is that our character Bucket-Head is going through the level trying to fight a tough battle to get stronger, but on the way we see a almost destroyed pathway but the only properly intact thing being the massive arena with the throne of the person we are trying to fight. Showing that people have been massacred and they are under fear that if they disobey they will be killed.
Although Bucket-Head doesn’t speak we can hear the guards that we have to fight and they look and sound distraught as if they are forced to do this and unluckily you have to go through them and kill them to get to the big bad.
This can be displayed by having out of bounds places looking destroyed as well, having everything not look good as if someone has gone through it and destroyed everything but the things they have. This subtly makes you hate the person who did this and makes you feel bad for the people put up to stop you as they look like they don’t want to. I could have it so when you first fight people they hesitate to attack you and try to talk you out of carrying forward.
Having things like ghosts to point to a direction of a dead body is a good storytelling way as it makes you connect the dots and it seems like that is the ghost of that body and by it being there makes you want to get revenge for it. And having it disappear if I move the body to a suitable location where they can rest could be a nice moment whilst also giving the player sometime to think before going into combat again or exploring. The dead body is called an environmental vignette. Commonly used in the fallout series.
Another narration device I will be using are cutscenes to show important events and showing off set pieces while giving off story by perhaps showing blood somewhere and having the player intrigued of what it means. This could lead into the story point of a ghost.
Having notes in the world showing that they were being slaughtered could be a useful device to make sure the player hates the other people without the need of showing what happened in something like a flashback, in order to cut costs and to have a simple reading section.
Draw Overs
These two draw overs are of the same place, however the second one is a later version. I wanted to show them both to show the differences that happened during making the level. I wanted to give the player a bit more of an open space while in this section to make it a bit more fair and it gives me the opportunity to give the player more options on what they can do. For example, they could go through the sinking, burned house, or they could go to the right behind that cover to get underneath the archers that will be placed there. Perhaps you go through the mud and be slowed down and be easy target practice.
I also wanted the weenie to be showed therefore I put it right behind the bridge as that is one of the set pieces in the level and I used it as an opening and to lead the player, as they can see the bigger challenge behind the current problem which indirectly makes the player go towards the larger object.
I want some blocked affordance inside the bride, like a door. Something you can see to the other side and you can unlock it from the other side but you cant go through it just yet.
The use of draw overs, are that it lets me refine what I want to make before I dedicate a large amount of time trying to make that thing in my mind, that may or may not even work. And it’s especially useful in a group and you need to explain yourself to the 3d artists that need to make what you want to put in the level.
Interactivity placements
Having interactive spots be where you could have fought something makes it better as you could risk doing the interactive event like pushing a lever or lifting up a rock to get under it. But if you do that you risk being hit in the back by the enemy’s placed in these spots. It forces the player into tension and also makes the player learn what they have to do the next time they come across. But then you could take advantage of that and cause tension simply by having an interactive event even if there is no danger.
Enemy placement
Using the 2D block out we can figure out the general placement of where I want the enemy’s to originate from. The first few I want to spawn them to the left path of the initial split path on elevation. This allows the player to see the world more when they defeat the enemy’s giving them a reward while also making it so they cant go backwards and they can keep moving forward.
The second enemy placement is on the bridge and will give constant fire onto the player unless they are in cover. This gets the player more used to the arrows and how to defeat them, but since they are on the bridge you have the choice to go under them and have them shoot you in the back when you exit on the other side. It makes the player more used to timing in the level and how to deal with something even if they have an advantage over you.
Starter Block out
The starting area I’m going for makes it so the only thing that is even noticeable is the interactive event right in front of the player, it allows for a bit of exploration but you know exactly where you’re meant to go. This part is only small as I don’t want the player to be bored in the first 5 minutes as that is when I’m supposed to make them interested in what’s happening.
Directly after the fist interactive event to get the player used to what they have to do in those sections in safety so that when they are in danger it doesn’t seem unfair. At this point you can see the weenie in the background but in order to get to it you have to go through a split choice that inevitably makes no difference but it is good to give the player a illusion of choice. In this option it also gives you the option if you want to go a hard route or the safe route by the sign that would say DANGER THIS WAY. It allows the player to see what makes the area dangerous and where they should avoid if they don’t want to fight.
Directly after the split choice you get to see a big scene with an in game cutscene sliding down the hill. This part will take control away from the player to show off the level like where they need to go and what they need to watch out for. It also allows me to show inaccessible areas that may make the player want to go to them and it could make me subconsciously make the player go somewhere they would not normally go, such as into a dead-end but with some story implications.
Having a drop here is called gating making it so that the player doesn’t go back too far and get lost. As long as there is nothing important and the player doesn’t feel cheated out of something blocking off areas is good.
When going left in the big main area you can come across two large stone pillars with one slightly leaning over and will have vines and vegetation growing on it. This is here to signify a different way you can go and to make the player feel small in regards to the world and what’s in it. Making you fear why is it so large. The small blocks are meant to represent small slabs of stone but they are big to the player and its supposed to give a reference to how big the towers actually are.
Once again having spikes to represent danger and if you didn’t face the earlier enemy’s you will have to fight them here in order to proceed this way. You have to come this way as there is an blocked acceptance gateway that allows you to see the other side but you cant pass into it as it is blocked from the other way but you can unlock it later on after you defeat the archers and the swordsmen on the bridge.
After seeing the bridge you are meant to walk over here to try get onto the bridge set piece but you are immediately brought into this set piece where there are spikes, crumbing stones. a highly detail area full of bodies and also a fight you have to deal with. Having to walk up all the stairs is meant to try make you feel small in comparison.
This is the entrance to the bridge, I wanted this to be a tight fighting area with swordsmen with the archers coming over to give some help to the swordsmen. Meaning you have to focus on more than one thing. There will be cover here or a collectable shield that you could use to push people or block arrows.
A little look at the bridge and what your upcoming battle is. If you get too close archers will start firing onto you but if you make it under them you get to see what’s on the other side. Using framing you also get to see the big weenie that is being shown off to the player causing the player to instinctively go towards it.
The bridge is supposed to be the first set piece you are meant to see. It is a set piece due to it’s importance in the level and how intimidating I am trying to make it feel.
Level Structure thoughts
I think the overall structure is good, but I think there should be some more dead-ends and path ways to more treasure to make the level feel more alive. This could be giving a big middle piece in the centre of the big area and using that as a metaphorical roundabout to different gateways but keeping a common theme in each section to keep the player from being confused, and using breadcrumbs like torches to show the correct way to go, or to direct the player in a general direction.
In some places I may need to leave yellow paint to direct the player to what they can do. For example if I add a climbable rock I should mark it to show what you can climb and what you cant, unless I want it to be a secret to a secret area as long as it is clear after that what type of rock you need to see and climb. I could also do the same with a alcove in a rock with vines covering it. This is also called affordance making the player directly tie something to something else like yellow paint being a thing to show that you can interact with something.
Level Interest
I made a interest curve to show off the main parts of the game and to pre determine where I think is the most interesting parts of the game. The original interactive event is supposed to act like a cutscene where you can interact with the scene itself. I plan on making this event into something that reveals the plot like having a body under a rock that you have to lift. The very start also starts with a cutscene of our character sliding into the scene giving us a good look at our character before we play as them, this is a useful piece of info as it shows that we haven’t just teleported into a random area. We could also have some mud on the area we started to make sure it looks like we actually came from the place we slid down.
I plan on this level being around 5-15 minutes long, making sure it is not too long but making sure its long enough to make the player seem like it was a worth while investment.
I’ve tried to make sure the pacing between combat and exploration is good and to make sure we don’t have too much of one to make one of them seem tedious. The exploration areas are meant to act as a mediative area where you don’t feel in danger and all you are doing is exploring for some treasure. As every other area with enemy’s have been marked with spikes or a sign. Mediative spaces are good to make sure the player isn’t in a constant state of fight or flight and gives them a rest. A good example in many games are elevators.
UI
Even though the UI isn’t directly tied to the level design, it is important to include as it tells you how immersed into the level you can be, having no UI would be good to get you fully immersed as long as you don’t need to show any vital information.
For example of UI I may include are text prompts to interactive with things and if I have quick time events. this stops the player from getting confused and you can simply have an option for immersion in the settings menu.
Final Block out
Here is a 3minute walkthrough my level showing off some important parts I would like to show off. Some areas i would like to improve but that would come when detailing the environment and currently the main walking areas are to the point I like them.
The final video will have a narration in a fully detailed environment showing off the level design. It will stop in each area I would like to talk about and how it is utilising all the tools I can to make an engaging level for the player.
Conclusion / After thoughts
I think in conclusion everything went smoothly and I think that as soon I start to detail the environment with textures, small details, and height mapping to make it realistic. While also using trees and bamboo to hide and reveal certain locations when I want would make the level even better. It also would increase the amount of time people want to spend in the environment as having something pretty to look at is satisfying.
Adding things like small collectables adding custom models, making Bucket-Head have animations in the level making the level seem immersive will make it seem like a proper level and I think I made the pacing and the overall structure of the level to a good enough standard.
Overall, i think everything went well and I did it in an appropriate time manner.
References
FromSoftware (20022) Elden Ring’s Rivers of Blood katana build and location guide [Screenshot]. Available online: https://www.pcgamer.com/elden-ring-rivers-of-blood-location/ [Accessed 10/11/2023].
JOSEPH SACCO (2023) Skyrim: How to Cast a Mage Light Spell [Screenshot]. Available online: https://gamerant.com/skyrim-how-cast-mage-light-spell/ [Accessed 10/11/2023].
Ubisoft (2017) For Honour [Game/Screenshot]. Available online: https://www.amazon.co.uk/For-Honor-PC-Code-Uplay/dp/B01MV6YLUU [Accessed 10/11/2023].