* level design project 001
* level design project 001
* level design project 001
* level design project 001
CONCEPT
CONCEPT
SPACE LEEK
An Onion Odyssey
UNREAL ENGINE 5.1
BLUEPRINTS
TRELLO
10 WEEKS
GROUP PROJECT (9)
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
SPACE LEEK is a casual charming 3D-platformer. The main mechanic of the game is that the player can grapple and swing from hooks, aswell as rolling which serves as the games equivalent of sprinting.
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This was a group assignment and I was the sole game & level designer on the project. On this page I will present my process of level designing.
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ITERATIVE LEVEL DESIGN
Designing and refining three engaging and fun levels from whitebox to complete levels
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DESIGNING FOR DIFFERENT SKILL LEVELS
Making memorable experiences for both experienced gamers and newcomers
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SEMI LINEAR STRUCTURE
Giving the player agency and choice on their way to the goal
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TEACHING AND FOLLOWING UP
Making sure the player learns and understands the mechanics through the environment
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BLUEPRINT SCRIPTING
Prototyping different mechanics and objects such as appearing platforms, pickups and more
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KEY POINTS
FULL PLAYTHROUGH
ITERATIVE LEVEL DESIGN
Before I started working in the Unreal Editor, I started with writing scripts and making flowcharts for the different levels to get an idea of what I wanted to create.
During early development, many of the different mechanics were either not implemented or work in progress, so I started whiteboxing the first level with broad strokes using the terrain tool, basic shapes and whitebox-meshes to allow for quick changes and to not get too attached to early ideas.
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Slide to compare
Whitebox - Finished area
After the first playtest, I realized I needed more space in the levels for the player to move around in. This resulted in a total rework of the first level where the majority of the areas were thrown out or altered, and the map almost doubled in size.
Each week we held a playtest where I would take notes on which parts of the level design worked and seemed fun, and which did not work. I reworked the problematic areas and playtested them during the whole project, resulting in Level 1 undergoing more than 10 iterations.
Level 2 & 3 didn’t need quite as many iterations since I could utilize the knowledge gathered from playtesting Level 1, but they were also worked and iterated upon many times during the project.
Concept sketch
Whitebox
Finished area
DESIGNING FOR DIFFERENT SKILL LEVELS
Since one of Space Leek pillars was Easy to pick up, challenging to master, I wanted to create levels that are engaging for both beginners and experienced gamers, in all ages from 8 and up. To achieve this, I was focused on having playtesters with different gaming experiences to see if all of the game's areas were balanced and fun for everyone.
One method I used was to break up the different platforming sections into small branching paths, with one easier path and one more challenging. If a player tries one path and fails on them, they can opt for the other. To reward the player for choosing the more difficult path, I placed more of the game’s pickups in those sections.
Another way to make it forgiving was to have a large amount of checkpoints, so that if the player fails, they will never have to run very far to come back into the action. I also made sure every jump in the game is possible to clear without the rolling/sprinting mechanic. The pickups; spores, are also placed to visually guide more inexperienced players towards new areas or points of interests.
SEMI LINEAR STRUCTURE
Another pillar of Space Leek was exploration.
We wanted the player to feel like they were discovering the planet's secrets bit by bit at their own pace.
To achieve this, I went for a semi linear level design, where the player can choose how and in which order they want to tackle different areas. I wanted each level to consist of small playgrounds for the player to explore.
To be able to achieve this, I used our version of keys; seeds, to force the player to explore the surroundings to open the way forward.
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To further encourage exploration and replayability, optional secret collectibles were hidden in both easy and hard to find places.
Flowchart of Level 1
TEACHING AND FOLLOWING UP
To make sure the player understands the different mechanics, I decided to make designated areas where the player at their own pace could learn them, practice them before using them “in action”.
Since the grappling/swinging mechanic is the game’s core mechanic, I wanted to make sure the player understands how to utilize it effectively.
By locking them in an area where they are forced to complete and practice different jumps with the grappling, I ensure the player knows the very basics of the mechanic.
In Level 3, I introduced the trampoline flowers by an optional easy-to-get reward, before gradually giving the player more challenging jumps to overcome. I also made sure to let the player practice the mechanics with risk free jumps in the beginning to then move on to more dangerous jumps.
Introduce...
Practice...
Succeed!
BLUEPRINT SCRIPTING
To help show the rest of my team and most of all the programmers the intention of different mechanics, I prototyped basic blueprints using mostly trigger boxes and animations.
The magnetic effect of the pickups was needed to help balance the different jumps in the level design, and the growing platforms are our “locked doors”, prototyped by me
You can download SPACE LEEK - an onion odyssey for Windows free of charge at https://hiveix.itch.io/space-leek!