The Awakening

Role

Level Designer

Engine:

Style:

First person shooter

So here one of my personnal projet: The Awakening. This project was intented to be a exemple on how i work on some game devellopement project. Generaly i like to separate the devellopement in "Phase", so we will see the multiples phases i have taken during the devellopement.

Here a little trailer/gameplay of the level if you don't have time to read all the text.

Phase 1 : Pre-Production/ Ideation

So before i start a project i like to start with the phase of preproduction or how i like to call the "ideation" phase. I start with a general idea and create a mind map of my ideas, usualy i use Miro for the mind map. After having a good idea/good fondation of the project i like to think about the tasks needed to do the project, and so i go on Trello and create the tasks that i think i will do during the devellopment.

If you want more details of my mind map here the link: https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_lAKieJw=/

I can't share the link of my Trello so it's only this picture... Sorry

Phase 2 : Plan on paper

Phase 3 : Blocking/Grey boxing (On Unreal Engine)

Phase 4 : Production in game engine (Far Cry 5 level editor)

Usualy i use multiples programs for creating the map of my levels (Figma or Photoshop), but for this project i was alone and i'm more confortable with the good old pen and paper, it's more quick and easy to create plan with this methode.

After having a good idea of the level with the plan, i start the production in a game engine (Unity or Unreal engine). For this project i choose Unreal Engine. After choosing the game engine i start a simple blocking for having a good idea of the metrics and the size of the levels in 3D.

After all the levels blocking complete and some testing of them, i can start creating the levels in the game editor (Far cry 5 level editor for this project). It's the phase where the art come into play and i polish even more the levels. Some playtests are needed during this phase.

So here the "first chapter" of the game. I am pretty proud on how the level have manage to follow the base of the grey boxing. The most difficult part was the position of the AI and where they would spawn and what will be their path to the objective/player. I will talk more about this in the Postmortem (See below).

For the second chapter i didn't have much difficulty with the Ai positioning, but more with their pathfinding and because of that i changed the geologie of the level (i rise the terrain at some place to act as a wall for the AI). But except that it was pretty easy.

Phase 5 : The postmortem (How can i improved and what went wrong?)

Generaly after a project i like to do a "postmortem" and take a step back on the project. I look on what went good and what went wrong. For now, the project is not finish, but when the time will come i will do a postmortem for the project.