Adventure

Level Design | Storytelling

Introduction

There were several iterations on my level for this project, both by myself and others.

However, I was overjoyed to be spending time on a level that would be merged into other people’s levels. This is the first project I worked on where Game Design actually felt like a team effort. My inspirations for this level were Uncharted and exploration games like Assassin’s Creed

Project Breakdown

Conceptualize designs through iterative processes involving constant feedback
Design a level suited for navigation and exploration by utilizing a blockmesh to provide clear leading paths
Collaborate in a team of 5 to merge individually created levels into one cohesive level
Effectively communicate changes through Perforce

Overview

Design Techniques

Shadows & Leading Lines

At the start of my level, the player is presented with a monumental pyramid. Using foliage, I created leading lines as well as a focal point in the cavity of the pyramid to encourage them in that direction.

From a previous section of the game, the player knows that the wood highlighted in yellow are climbable, so they’re encouraged to follow the Golden Path.

Lastly, there is a tent on the left hidden in the foliage. This is meant to entice them to explore.

Changes Through Testing

In Adventure, we iterated often with blockmesh before actually polishing it into a presentable project. As a result, my level in Adventure went through many iterations.

Specifically, there is a pillar in the image on the right I had to focus on fixing. It was short enough for players to skip a part of the level, and too low to make the jump to the next section.

So I made the pillar taller.

Gates and Valves

I implemented a valve to seal the player off from the previous section of the level. Later on, when the player transitions from the second section of my level to the third, I also created a gate requiring a key.

The key can be found within the second portion of my level, and is higher up, encouraging the player to platform more.

Pre-Production

Creative Vision Board

I researched several areas around the world to find inspiration for an exploration adventure game. I really liked the look of an oasis in the desert so I went with that.

I also utilized this as a reference constantly while I was working on the level to make it my own while still matching the source content.

Task Tracking and Communication

Utilizing Perforce and Discord

This was one of the first projects where I utilized Perforce to track progress on the project. Unfortunately, I was unable to grab my logs as I was working on them, so enjoy the picture below, which is my pending tasks on Perforce.

My team also utilized Discord to communicate, screen share, and meet in general when we needed to.

Reflections

Adventure was a very good practice in Level Design for me. I was able to really create something a narative could fit inside, and practice storytelling through environments. There are some things I could still have done better.

Mesh Clipping - I’d combed over my level many times, yet when I recieved feedback for the final project, I’d still missed some clipping somehow. After fixing it in my level, I realized that this is bound to happen in games, even when you think you did catch all the errors. To me, this just emphasizes why playtesting is so important. Although I will keep a better eye out in the future for graphical errors.

Adhering to Standards - I did break an implementation standard when I uploaded my final build of this project. I was not to use 4k textures, and I hadn’t realized that I did. Now, I have ADHD so sometimes figuring out how my disability affects areas of my life is always something I can improve. Now I know to pay better attention when adhering to project standards.