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Cameron Singleton
Level Designer
Nascent
Responsibilities:
-Level Design
-Texturing
-Lighting
Development Time:
-1 Week, March 22nd - March 30th
Narrative:
"In some derelict island adrift from the channels of man, constructs of tissue and flesh stew their malice and seek the feast of a man-thing... you are ordained by the priests to stomp the choir of evil and reclaim the land that once was..."
Research Phase
My research consisted of analyzing Quake's mechanics and features through gameplay. I played the first half hour of the game as an introduction to its sandbox and entities. I was reticent to play further because I knew the more I played, the more my level would become imitative rather than entirely my own.
As I played, I created a list of items I'd want featured in my level, as well as a collection of the enemies the player would be encountering. The parentheses are to account for their purpose in the level, when I was first brainstorming it.
I imagined the level playing out much more like something from the first Half-Life, so I considered that in terms of pacing, encounter design, and weapon introduction/functionality.
I set some restrictions in order to maintain a reasonable scope. One major factor I considered was player freedom: I wanted everything to feel like it was of the player's actions. Thus the omitting of scripted events.
Design Process
I began to sketch out the map, defining gameplay sequences, key drops, safe spots, and boss encounters. I knew that I needed to account for at least two boss fights, so the rest of the level was tertiary to those. I located the end door directly at spawn, knowing it would hinge on the player to keep it in mind throughout, rather than meander then discover where to go. The paths that are in sight throughout the level remind the player where the end goal is.
The sub-rooms such as the boss encounter, the spiral staircase, and the "courtyard" all had small blurts under the main map drawing. These were general guidelines for their shape and flow rather then expected to be directly copied.
I began to copy the layout into Trenchbroom, learning the tools as I went along. The goal at this stage was to have a top-down view of the map, and then populate the rooms thereafter.
I populated the rooms with entities, interactables, and buttons for the doors. (as well as the doors themselves.)
Playtest One
Following my sandbox outline and 2D maps, I filled the rooms in with what I deemed as necessary. I didn't get too intimate with the logistics and vocabulary of the level: I needed to test the pacing first and foremost.
I took notes, as well as logged the feedback from playtesters, and concluded a handful of things, as seen in the notes.
It gave me a sense of perspective and I recognized how the level needed reformation in spots in order to keep the player engaged. Primarily it required more prudence and engagement, which I defined as more intentional and meaningful placement of entities and pickups.
Design Process (cont.)
After the first playtest, I reconfigured the layout to drive player exploration. The open-ended concept of the first map felt rather vacuous. I decided that making it more linear actually rewarded exploration MORE, as long as the solutions to roadblocks were placed with intelligence.
First off, I changed the textures to properly reflect the ceiling, floor, doors, hazards, and walls. It allowed for better readability and prose.
I closed off the path from the left at spawn in Slide 3 and turned it into an overlook and a channel.
The center of the first room in Slide 4 turned into a platforming sequence partnered with a button scavenger hunt.
Slide 5 highlights the reduction in backtracking, showing the player where their goal is rather than blindly trudging forwards.
In Slide 6, I added a hallway that connected the final encounter room to the bridge at the center of the level, and I made it a shooting gallery as a "reward" for level completion.
Playtest Two
Once I resolved all my issues as seen in my playtest notes, I recorded the second playtest. This wasn't just for pacing anymore, it was to gauge item drops and encounters. I wanted a rewarding challenge that required prudence.
Design Process (cont.)
I began to texture the level. My reason being was supplying a distinct atmosphere for each room. If each sequence of the level had a personal look, it would be much more memorable to the player.
Finally, I added proper lighting. Shrouding corners and creating hotspots led to guiding the player without much need for setpieces or text on the screen. It also added certainty to the atmosphere, with these foreboding, NASCENT (ah-ha!) environs.
Notice the lack of a skybox. TrenchBroom was a learning curve, and I couldn't get the texture I wanted to apply. Therefore, I ended up using the oblivion to my advantage. This murky, shrouded sky helped build mood.
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