REAL LIFE LEVEL PRACTICE
LEVEL DESIGN PRACTICE
Genera: Single Player, First Person, Puzzle, Exploration
Level Length: ~5 mins
Personal Level Practice (3 Weeks Project)
REQUIREMENT: Build a linear level with unique experience based on a real-world location, with only basic movement
SOFTWARE: UE5
LEVEL DESIGN:
+ Reality Layout simplifies into a game level
+ Basic white box
+ Guide player with light, space, and layout only
+ Block out with only basic material
+ Improve level based on playtest feedback
+ Collectables for guiding and inspiring players
+ Dream core style level
Level Play Through (06:02)
The goal of the level was to practice applying common design principles in level design and create a fun space for exploration, incorporating elements such as lighting, vision, space, and shape. There are additional limitations, including a first-person perspective, no death, limited mechanics, basic movements, and simple textures. There is a gun that shoots light balls, but it has no practical use other than fun. I made it as a fun collectible; the player could still go through the whole level without it. There is a level that seems like a dangerous room with no bottom, but the player will soon discover it was fake after their first fall.
BUILDING PROCESS
INSPERATION
The real-world location reference was the new apartment I moved into back then. It was nearly complete, so there were almost no residents, and many common areas were either blocked or under construction. In the center of this U-shaped building, the only walkable common garden on the third floor even had water leakage issues, which the worker had to dig through the floor, which also extends through the second-floor parking lot. The limitations of the textures and the feeling of loneliness in this new apartment inspired me to use the "core" style, which, at the time, was a popular trend that developed dream core, pool core, and many of its derivatives. The main idea was to create a picture of a space that is common in people's memories, especially those spaces that were once prevalent in old times. Then, it made the space feel a bit mysterious, humanless, and perhaps contained certain abnormal elements that made the warm memory feel lonely and a bit weird.
In my mind, I was thinking about a blocked and malfunctioning apartment that contains many bizarre rooms full of different puzzles or visually styled. Since I only got 3 weeks, I can hardly use the original apartment layout with so many rooms. I choose to use the most interesting part: The U shape and the central courtyard. The drilled hole by the worker becomes the endpoint, and the original elevator room is the starting point. I also extracted the leakage and construction as ideas to design the roadblocks and visual guidance. Since there are no gameplay functions allowed, I think Maze, Balance Bridge, Visual Illusion, and platform are the options I could create with what I have.
LEVEL FLOW DIAGRAM
CONSTRUCTION
These are larger areas that I used as main puzzle rooms, connected by smaller rooms that serve as transfer or extra reward rooms, which help decorate the game and make it less boring.
In the puzzle room, I've included one or two "Wow" moments that players can discover if they figure out the trick, such as in the bridge balance room, where they learn they can not die after falling. In the torch maze, the blinking light indicates the correct path. In the next maze, the right path is where the statue was facing. At the end of the 2nd floor, the look back sign will surprise those rushing players about how many coins they missed. In the final rewarding room, I also did a little trick where some coins are fake, which rotate at a 90-degree difference.
The rewarding room is designed for players who collect everything, rewarding them for exploring side paths filled with collectibles. Additionally, I attempted to create an engaging visual style to make it visually appealing.
I also created many preview areas across the level to inform players about upcoming locations in their journey, encouraging them to invest. Additionally, it clearly indicates the player's next destination, thanks to its distinct visual style that differs from the current areas.
PLAYTEST & ITERATION
I learned a lot from the playtest and iterated my level design. First, the player's attention is highly limited and short on one spot. Even with the indication of light, shape, and space, it can still be challenging to identify the correct object to focus on. The maze guide with a torch has been improved in terms of flash frequency, as players generally focus on the torch for less than one second. In the statue maze, I need to change the statue to a glowing white color to draw more attention. There is also feedback on the frustration of encountering a dead end. I make all the dead-end areas shorter and add collectables to reward their exploration.
There are also areas I got expected reactions to happen, such as the look-back area, which truly surprised many rush players. When the player found out they could not die in the bridge balance room, they laughed, and most players really love that guns shoot light balls as an easter egg collectable.