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Level Design

/ overview

For one unit during my study in 2023 I did some level design work, focusing on creating a prototype version of a competitive multiplayer shooter map, as well as a fully fledged topdown singleplayer experience. Both of these projects incorporated a lot of planning, map layout and encounter design, visual and mechanical polish, and I was very happy with the outcome, especially for what are prototype levels made in a limited time frame.

/ work

asset creation
level design
documentation
animations
particle system

/ shooter map (metro)

Metro is a prototype control point (king of the hill) map for the game Overwatch, set in a futuristic, under-construction subway / train station. The level features a lot of open space, wide sightlines, and flank routes to accommodate multiple playstyles and characters, and a constant stage hazard in the form of trains that can be effectively utilised by position manipulation characters.

The level is completely symmetrical, with each team’s side indicated by a colour (and the control point being a separate colour to indicate neutrality). The level makes use of the three lane level structure, with three distinct main routes each team can take from their initial spawn point.

These include the main platform (the arrow at the bottom), shops (the middle arrow), and back alleys (the top arrow), which all provide different benefits and drawbacks (e.g. back alleys allows for easy high ground access, but shops is quicker and more direct to the control point, etc.).

Each of these routes also has optional offshoots allowing for flanking or better positions depending on the team’s character composition.

Visually, the map is meant to be part of a futuristic underground subway system, with the main platforms wrapping around the train tracks and the control point being suspended above the station. Each location or “biome” of the station is populated with different assets and features that differentiate the look and allow the map to be more easily understood, but without diverging from the overall subway look. The map in general is littered with fare gates, yellow lines, sliding shutters, electronic subway screens displaying arrival times etc.

Competitive Shooter Map Layout

/ top-down linear game

The second project for this unit was a top down space exploration game where we had to create tiles to be used to form a variety of levels. My group and I created a handful of space themed tiles, and decided on a gimmick for the game experience, "time-shifting" where players could press a button to transition between the current time and a previous timeline in order to navigate through the level in unique ways, by passing obstacles and creating new paths. The setting for our game was a space cruise ship, with three different sectors that used related tiles in different contexts.

The chosen core mechanic for the game, this time travelling system, meant I was required to create two versions of each level, a pre-disaster pristine version, and a wrecked and dishevelled current time version. The player would start in the present, and can press space to drain a gauge that allows them to instantly teleport to the past, letting them navigate the ship as it would have been before being destroyed by a cataclysmic event, with an added warped filter to add to the effect and differentiate it from the present day level.

This mechanic, alongside key cards and a space suit, increases the player's options for exploration, allowing them to navigate areas they would normally not be able to access. This could be due to an airlock being destroyed, requiring the space suit, low visibility in either the past or the present, or debris and obstacles blocking the player, etc.