Third Person Linear Adventure

Infected

This project is focusing on level design in a singleplayer experience with change in pacing.

My goal with this project was to level design an organic and natural environment.

Introduction

Specifications

Developed in 5 weeks half-time
Made in Unreal Engine 5
Made using a pre-made 3rd Person template.
Inspired by The Last Of Us and God Of War.

Overview

This level takes place in a world where zombies rule the wilds. The level is intended to be a part of a bigger game and this is how the game starts.

The focus lies heavily in level designing a fun survival adventure in a natural and organic environment i.e forests, mountainous areas and naturally flowing water.

A Linear Experience

This level is linear i.e it has one thread the player can follow. The player can get through the level in their own way by sneaking or shooting everything that moves but there is only one intended path for them to move forward on. Since this experience is based on story-driven games I decided to make it linear.

Process

References and inspiration

I started the process of building this level by finding references pictures and inspiration. I started by playing the games I was basing the level on and decided which features I wanted to have in my level.

It was during this stage I started thinking about what flow structure I wanted the level to have.

Pre-Production

Once I was done finding referneces I started making quick sketches with a pen and paper. I was focusing on making the river a datum, where the flow of the level was dependent on the river.

During the Pre-Production stage I ultimately decided to end the level in a hospital to test the player with the Ki-Sho-Ten-Kestu structure.

Blockout

The blockout stage was the most important stage in the process when making this level. Since it was going to be a natural and organic environment I placed the blocks without being too meticulous in order to get a natural feeling to the layout.

I focused alot on the river to give it the importance I wanted it to have.

Whitebox

During the whitebox phase I had to decide if the blocks I placed were either trees or boulders. All scripting and gameplay mechanics were implemented during this stage aswell i.e the boat gameplay, all scripted events and zombies.

Refined Whitebox

The refined whitebox stage took the longest time to finish. This was mostly because I changed the layout of the level and the hospital area during this stage in order to make the experience better and feel more organic.

The scripted events were also refined by adding animations to some events and making them more presentable in general.

Gameplay

Zombie Combat

The zombies im using will react to seeing the player and start running towards them with intent to kill. I used this to my advantage as a level designer to keep the player on their toes.

The player can kill the zombies using their pistol.

Boat Gameplay

The boat gameplay was inspired by the last of us and God Of War: Ragnarok. The player can traverse the river by boat to get to the other side or further down the river to reach their goal.

Parkour

This level features alot of parkour elements like jumping across cliffs, climbing up on boulders and vaulting over objects.

Using parkour in combination with zombies and zombie hoards makes for an interesting and high-paced experience.

Level Flow

This level follows the Ki-Sho-Ten-Ketsu flow structure that teaches the player the core gameplay loop then tests them throughout the 4 acts. All acts have an exponential increase in difficulty as the player makes progress.

Ki

The level starts with teaching the player the main mechanics: Zombies, gun gameplay, parkour and boat gameplay.

During the Ki stage the player also gets their main mission where they need to use the explicit knowledge they just learned.

This stage should be easy for the player.

Sho

The Sho stage of the level starts testing the player by making the player fight zombies in new environments and combining gameplay elements.

By this stage the player should be familiarized with the gameplay loop. This stage should be of medium difficulty for the player.

Ten

The Ten stage of the level is all about testing the player of their explicit knowledge they have learned in the previous stages. During this stage the level gets a twist by making the player use their attained knowledge in an unfamiliar environment and setting.

This is the final test for the player. This stage is supposed to be the hardest of them all.

The Ketsu stage is short and sweet and only has one purpose, rewarding the player.

The level ends with the player finishing their mission they got in the Ki stage.

Ketsu

Design Techniques

10-second rule

I designed the level so that something happens every 10-seconds to keep the player entertained. This is important for this level due to it having alot of servant spaces with minimal gameplay, which in turn could be boring for the player, which is why the 10-second rule comes in handy.

When dealing with the 10-second rule you have to be careful not to do the same thing over and over, repetitiveness can give the player gameplay fatigue.

Funnel before reveal

Revealing new areas to the player happens often in this level, making it more important to design the level with the proper revealing technique.

When entering the path to the hospital I funnel the player through trees and rocks and give them a soft reveal. I did this to increase the importance of the hospital to the player.

Bait & Switch

When riding the boat, the player gets baited to ride closer to the fishing hut. This is used to confuse the player, making them look around to find another path.

When the player turns around they will find another path and switch which way they were going in order to make progress in the level.

Level flythrough

Closing thoughts

My goal with this project was to level design a natural and organic environment, which is something I don't usually do. After this project I feel like I gained new knowledge as a level designer when it comes to designing environemnts in an outside area.

If I had more time I would definitely extend the Ten stage, where the player fights zombies in a hospital. I felt like the inside experience was too short for my liking. I would also polish the level with better lighting and a little set dressing to make it seem more natural.

I would also like to mention the boat gameplay. I had a hard time making it fun for the player riding the boat, but as a level designer I felt like I did my job of making the flow enjoyable. If I had more time to focus on the boat gameplay I would make the player ride through a beautiful environment whilst engaging in combat against zombies.