Project Details
Role: Level Designer
Time: 3 Weeks, 2020
Team Size: 2 Developers
Engine: UE4
Genre: Singel Player Stealth
This Level was developed during our Futuregames Advanced Level Design Course. Our mission was to create a Hillside level that could provide nice photographs from many viewpoints across the level. We decided to develop a medieval inspired level where the player has traveled from the future to do research about the black plague!
The player needs to be careful to not get spotted by the guards protecting the town! So the player has to stealth through parts of the level to find a disguise to blend in.
Map Sketch
Before we jumped into the editor we sat down and created a sketch of the Hillside, we wanted to give it some nice elevation through the level to create a nice foreground and background.
We wanted the level to feel like a living town so we added a lot of animal life and farms. The green areas are farm areas for crops and the black lined areas with A inside are enclosures for animals. All the houses are grey with a red outliner and the red dots are corps that the player has to photograph for research.
This helped us when we entered the editor to block out the level and to get a feel of size.
Block Out
Framing
We wanted the level to provide nice shoots for the player to take outside the photos on the infected corps, so we worked a lot with framing interesting parts of the level from many points of view. The ruins on top of the mountain were the most important one because that provided a hole overview of the level that should give the player a wow effect!
This is where our players start the level, the lantern on the right side is our saving mechanic! When the player walks close to it lightens up and gives the player a small sound effect.
This is an early part of the level and here we want to show off some depth in the level to let the player know that you can get higher up. You see the large In that will help the player escape from evil guards later on! On the right side, you can see light at the blacksmith that will give the player a spawning point incase a guard finds you!
The pictures in this carousel are pictures from the top of the tower landmark that the player can see from the start of the level and at the end of the level. As you can see we frame some areas from the tower as well!
The harbor where the player starts, the In and the ruins.
The player needs to sneak around the level to not get taken by the guards! Here the player can use the bushes to stay hidden from the evil guard guarding the animals and crops. The player can also see the ruins from this point of view!
If the player manages to sneak around the level and find the right house the player gets rewarded with a disguise that will let the player enter the ruins without getting taken by the guards!
This is inside the ruins and here we used the light to give the player a hint that you should walk out and see what’s happening, there is also a corps in front of the opening that the player needs to take a photograph of!
Ruins View
