RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Designed layouts of the entire map, Story beats and visual language of the third level of Regradable.

  • Scripted player interactions via Unreal Engine Sequencer including cutscenes and puzzles

  • Set Dressed the entire level.

  • Implemented assets made by other team members such as enemy AI, spawners, art, and music.

Details:

  • Team Size: 19

  • Genre: 3D Action Platformer

  • Role: Level Designer

  • Engine: Unreal Engine 5.6

  • Tools Used: Sequencer, Chaos, Modeling tools, Illustrator.

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Full Playthrough

Level Trailer

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EARLY BLOCKOUT

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2D MAP

Beat 1: Old City Outskirts

The level begins with ELI being dropped off by the transport shuttle they took from level 2 landing on the Outskirts of the Central City. Vine swings, zip lines, and camera drones are used to traverse the level and have been tutorialized in the first two levels. The Vine Tension ability will be used more in this level as environmental interactions and puzzles. This the start of level 3 and the goal is to fight through the city to reach the Center Spire.

Opening Sequence:

  • Serves as the intro to the level showing how the player gets to this level and showing a pan of the whole level.

  • Sequence helps frame the level, establish scale, and orient the player before being given control.

  • Plays on start via a trigger box checking for the player with a do once to ensure it cant be replayed.

Entering The City:

  • Introduced the player to the first of many environmental blockers that the player must use the Vine Tension ability to progress.

  • Seed talks to the player giving more insight regarding the city.

  • Eases player back into combat with new tight and controlled spaces.

Old Residential District:

  • Forced the player to fight through enemies and scale up the encounter.

  • Vine Tension interaction Via the moving crane serves to gate the player.

  • Barricades and transport ship creates negative space funneling and boxing the player in tighter risker encounter space

Roof Top Shops:

  • End of the city outskirts guiding player to the start of the inner city.

  • Player fights through enemies to reach the roof top to pull down a ramp.

  • Billboard traversal servers as a brief downtime from combat while having the player avoid getting hit by flying cars.

Beat 2: Inner City

As ELI continues making his way through the city he reaches the inner city. The Seed speaks once again to ELI informing him of how vital it is that they much reach the Spire to plant the seed. ELI is also met with a dead BR-0 unit being told how this is not the first time the seed has been here and the farthest anyone as gotten to the Spire. Eli faces more resistance and new security gates as The Crimson Iris Sentries spread across the city looking for ELI. This is ELI’s only path to reach the transport to get to the Spire.

The Overlook:

  • Serves as the mid-point to the level showing the player the tower and next areas.

  • Sequence helps frame the level, establish scale, and orient the player before being given control.

  • Sequence provides dialogue further progressing the story.

  • Provides a major sightline letting the player see where they are needing to end up.

Uptown:

  • Player faces the first set of security gates that they must destroy the power cores to turn it off.

  • Tight circular combat space design with the middle being the most open with the most combat affordance.

  • Start of ramping up the combat difficulty and need to keep moving via enemy density and encounter space.

Billboard Jumping Puzzle and Ship Ride:

  • Provides another section of combat downtime to the player via a jumping puzzle.

  • Vine Tension interaction is heavily used now as a environmental puzzle mechanic having the player move billboards around and jump between them.

  • Last section leading the player to the ship to get to the Spire.

Beat 3: The Spire

ELI finally reaches the Central Spire. Now being at the Spire ELI and the Seed are in the final push where they must fight and scale up the tower to reach the top and plant the seed. ELI faces the most resistance he has faced yet with multiple makeshift outpost built onto the Spire and guarded by The Crimson Iris Sentries. ELI must fight and scale the tower using the environment and disabling multiple security gates.

Outpost 1:

  • First outpost on the Spire with lowest difficulty while still easing the player into the more difficulty sections they will face.

  • No sequence helping the player making the last part of the level have the player be on their own now having a mastery of all the mechanics and way they are used.

Scaling the Spire:

  • Vine Tension ability is used for more puzzles, pulling down ramps, platforms, etc.

  • Harder traversal sections making the player chain their launches and swings one after another with tight windows.

  • Player gets to see the full city as they move up the Spire having a impact as it lets the player see how far they have come.

Outpost 2:

  • Largest outpost divided into 3 sections.

  • Outpost has the most enemies providing the hardest challenge yet.

  • Each section as its own way of gating the player forcing them to interact with the environment to fight the enemies.

First Section:

  • Open combat area letting the player move around and have some breathing room.

  • security gate preventing progression having the player destroy power cores.

  • Electric enemies balance out the open space by creating on and off negative space having the player avoid the electric AOE attack.

Second Section:

  • Small tight combat space providing more of a challenge and quick thinking.

  • More electric enemies makes the space even more cramped.

  • Gated behind a zip line that connects to the third area of the outpost.

Third Section:

  • Two floors first floor having two ways up either by destroying a bridge or launching off a enemy.

  • Second floor as multiple enemies and is gated by two separate security gates requiring the destruction of multiple power cores.

Outpost 3:

  • Last outpost, straight final push to the top of the tower.

  • Most enemies blocking the player in one given encounter space.

  • Heavy use of negative space, barricades, and electric enemies to maximize reducing the play space to add difficulty.

  • One last security gate powered by three different power cores, first in the open, second behind a gate, and third via a zipline.

ITERATIONS

Old Residential District

First Iteration

  • Combat space was really open making it easy to avoid enemies.

  • Low difficulty due to lack of negative space and aspects to pin the player.

  • Space felt generic and lacked identity preventing the space from standing out.

Final Iteration

  • Added negative space and electric enemies made the combat space more tight and challenging.

  • Blocked off areas created the room to funnel the player making them fight the enemies.

  • New objects and set dressing make the space standout more giving it its own identity.

Outpost 3

First Iteration

  • Space felt too empty and lacked negative space.

  • Last area of the level and lacked real difficulty with few enemies and room for full use of mechanics.

  • No clear path for how to progress through this encounter aside from fighting enemies.

  • Enemies could be avoided easily due to lack of pressure and objects in the play space.

Final Iteration

  • Added barricades, reshaped platform, angled gates helped tighten the gameplay space.

  • More enemies along with added electric enemies increased difficulty along with further reducing play space.

  • Barricades and added negative space helped create leading lines showing clear paths to complete the encounter.

Gameplay Sequencers

Using the Vine Tension ability and Unreal Engine Sequencer I was able to create multiple environmental interactions and puzzles to further use our mechanics and immerse the player.

  • Created in world interactions and puzzles.

  • Pushed the use of our vine mechanic.

  • Allowed for more dynamic down time sections and adding interactions into combat sections to combine all mechanics.

Crane

Old Gate

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