Design Process
As a Level and Game designer I have to craft the player experience through mechanics and the level structures.
In this page I briefly explain in 4 steps my design process, using as example a personal project that I am solo developing.
1) Limits & Resources
It's fundamental to know the available resources and the technical limits in order to don't overscope and set the proper vision.
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Since the project is being developed only by me (and as the site says I'm not a 3D artist), I listed all the problems and potential overscope that I have to avoid during the development. Knowing them helped me to finalize the High Vision,
writing down the Must and Must Not but also the Nice to Have (trying to "raise the bar" is always good).
Eventually I came up with the Concept Brief:
Ratha Mel finds himself in the jungles of Angkor, Cambodia. Tasked with finding
the last team of researchers, Ratha enters the ancient temple where the research
was being conducted. Once inside, he is unable to leave and believes something
hostile is with him. It is through exploration and puzzle-solving that Ratha
will manage to escape the structure.
Gathering informations about games of the same genre is crucial in order to understand what has been successful and not.
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For this project, two major references are​ "Alien: Isolation" and the first "Outlast". From the first one I analyzed the metrics and how the environment is set, alternating the sense of "immense" and "claustrophobic". From the second one, I analyzed the environmental mechanics (such as climbing and crawling) and the player camera, since in the project the player POV is from a camcorder.
After the analysis I wrote the following documents, listing metrics, enviromental mechanics and player camera of the project.
3) Layout
2) Research
From sketches to well defined level maps, layouts are perfect in order to visualize the golden path and the spaces of a level.
After a research on Cambodian temples (most of all Angkor Wat) I started to sketch layouts of the first area that the player has to explore: the Exterior Temple Entrance. The spaces respect the established metrics and the player pace that is designed for this introductive area. The large spaces and the linearity of the level contribute to a low paced gameplay bit, perfect for the basic tutorials such as movements and environmental interactions.
Iteration after iteration I refined the initial layout, pointing out each important element in the level usch as interactable, guiding lights and landmarks. The following layout is the last iteration with which I built the blockout for the level (in this layout the the visibility of the golden path is turned off).
4) Blockout
As a 3D layout, the blokcout helps to define the level spaces and if further iterations are necessary via playtests.
Once the layout is established I start to set it in engine with a rough blockout, built with simple shapes and basic materials. After doing so the blockout has to be refined and, using a blockout kit made by me, meshes represent in a much more clear way what they will be replaced with during the production. Eventually, materials help to identify the function of a specific blockout mesh, such as interactions, guiding lights or surfaces.
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In the following videos are visible views with the rough blockout, the refined blockout, the production and the post production.
| Temple Arch
First Pool Statue |
| Collapsed Hallway
Flooded Room |
