Level Design – Matheus Pitillo

November 9, 2012 — Comments are off for this post.

National Mech League

Level Overview:

Game Engine: Unity

National Mech League is a 9 - 15 minutes Single Player Campaign Dual Stick Shooter experience that consists of 4 Major Objectives with more than 3 conflicts per goal. The Single Player campaign is the only Game Mode available in National Mech League. The player takes on the role of a new pilot that wants to compete in the new season of the National Mech League. As the player progresses through the Single Player campaign, they must face a series of tests in the first Section of the League Arena, to learn the basic mechanics of the game. After that, the player will navigate their way through the environments of the League Arena – divided into sections – to reach the top central platform and fight against the League Boss.

Single Player Progression:

The player's progression through the Single Player Campaign occurs in 1 level and 4 sections. The League Arena is divided into four different sections. Each section differs by difficulties, enemies, hazards, advertisements, challenges and increasing environmental elevation. The player starts on the first floor and, by advancing and completing the Major Objectives, moves further to access new environmental elevation in their search to reach the top platform.

Stages and Single-Player Time Projections

The following chart is a projection of the expected gameplay time for each level of the game and the associate difficulty progression. As the campaign progresses, the difficulty will escalate to challenge the player. There are also three game modes available with progressively more difficult gameplay: chicken, normal and badass mode.

Single-Player Beat Chart

Victory Conditions

The main goal of National Mech League is to reach the Central Top Platform of the League Arena. As victory conditions the player will be ranked and compared with other players according to their results in the end of the game.

Environment Hazards

There are four different hazards in the League Arena of NML. All Hazards are there to strengthen and reinforce the concept of the “American Gladiator”, our biggest focus for our Arena Gameplay. The hazards are: Fire Hazard, Sand Hazard, Conveyor Belt and Magneto.

Stages / Areas:

The Paper Layout below contains a complete description of the unique level and 4 sections that the player goes through in NML, the League Arena.

League Arena Stage Progression

The League Arena has 4 different sections, divided into 3 different elevations / floors. Each section has its specific Major Objective as listed below:

Goals - League Arena:
- Deactivate the Laser Gate by pressing x5 Power Buttons;
- Control the position of the bridge by filling correctly the x3 Energy Targets;
- Turn on the Pizza Box Elevator by placing x3 new slices of Pizza;
- Press the button to turn on the Survivor Glass Room Door.

Progression Flow - Sections A to D

Design Notes:

Our biggest challenge with the levels and the game design was the fact that the main game mechanic is the shooting. So, how could we vary the gameplay for each area of the game, considering that all that the player can do is shoot? How could we change up the missions to keep the player interested and invested in the game? In the end the decision to add different hazards for each section, and to relate the whole game with the idea of a Gladiator Arena, helped a lot. The player will always be facing situations in which the whole environment will react against him, while the crowd will scream and celebrate based upon your decisions in game. All missions and designs needed to relate with our theme.

[box type="info"] For a detailed and complete Level Design Document with all Enemy Spawn Points and Level Progression, please request via e-mail.[/box]

Screenshots:

Game Trailer:

Published by Matheus Pitillo in Level Design

Tags: 2012, document, game design program, Game Trailer, GD25, Industry Night, Level Design, Matheus Pitillo, Mission Design, National Mech League, NML, objectives, portfolio, Screenshots, Team Baking Power, vancouver film school, VFS, video

November 9, 2012 — Comments are off for this post.

Single Player: Sand and Dust

Level Overview:

Game Engine: UDK

Sand and Dust is a 7.5 - 12 minutes vertical slice of a single player experience that includes two machinima scenes, one for the intro and one for the ending of the level. The experience consists of 5 goals with around 2 – 4 conflicts for each goal. The map also includes two paths at one point in the game in which the player is required to make a decision and solve a puzzle element.

Design Notes:
Sand and Dust is a Single-Player Map that features two very different environments, presenting a vast and warm desert and an old Maya Temple, full of nature. As the player walks through the desert, he needs to find a torch to guide him into the dark tunnels, revealing that there is another secret passage to the Maya Temple. During his way, the player will need to solve puzzles, changing obstacles and fighting against enemies, to finally be able to find the Old Relic.

Goals:

Find the Torch Light;
Traverse the Dark Tunnels;
Activate the water levers;
Solve the Maya Puzzle;
Take the Old Relic.

Screenshots:

Video:

Published by Matheus Pitillo in Level Design

Tags: game design program, GD25, Level, Level Design, Matheus Pitillo, Paper Layout, Sand and Dust, Single Player Level, Temple, UDK, vancouver film school

November 9, 2012 — Comments are off for this post.

DeathMatch: Dust Storm

Level Overview:

Game Engine: UDK

Dust Storm is a DeathMatch Level that focuses on prop dressing a level whilst maintaining the level designer perspective. As one of the VFS assignments, the goal with this Level was to take the fundamentals of Environmental Level Design and use it to adhere to the map gameplay that has been set out, as well decorating it with 3D Art Assets of UDK.

Design Notes:
For this project we received a whitebox / template of a DeathMatch Level, and it was required for us to Prop Dress the level from start to finish, according to the principals and guidelines of a DeathMatch Arena, maintaining the core gameplay of it in the map.

Dust Storm was a project to practice the new techniques of Terrain in UDK that we've being studying during the time at VFS. It was a try to create a Desert Terrain and to test the warm weather and strong lighting. My biggest references was the game Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, trying to capture some of the light aspects of that game.

For this project we were evaluated in the following areas: Visual appeal, Gameplay Integrity, Landmarks, Theme, Continuity, Lighting, History, Contrast, Believability and Level of Detail. The instructors asked us to try to create the most believable background for the level, complementing and developing a story and a good theme.

The main highlight of this level is the large central tower in which the player can get the rocket launcher by traversing into the access points on the side of the tower, or cross through it by using the jump pad at both ends, and landing on the opposite side. So all the gameplay had to be focused around this main gameplay aspect.

Screenshots:

Video:

Published by Matheus Pitillo in Level Design

Tags: DeathMatch, DeathMatch Level, Dust Storm, GD25, Level Design, Matheus Pitillo, Paper Layout, UDK, vancouver film school, VFS, video, vimeo

November 9, 2012 — Comments are off for this post.

Capture the Flag: Metro Interitum

Level Overview:

Game Engine: UDK

Metro Interitum is a Capture the flag (CFT) Level with team-based gameplay; each team has a flag and the players attempt to retrieve the opposing team's flag to score. As CTF Levels are not focused solely on the 'killing' aspect, this level features more options for paths and must even follow some important rules to ensure there are enough options to successfully capture the flag. Metro Interitum features a Post-Apocalyptic Subway Station for 24 players, with each base (red and blue) supporting one side of the station and one line of the train. By capturing the other team's flag, the train line is activated and the train an additional hazard to the level.

Design Notes:

This Level was development by Pablo Ros and myself in a team. The name Metro Interitum came from the meaning of the word Interitum in Latin, which means “destruction”. We decided to create a 3-storied environment, with the first floor comprising the external area of the city, with the closed gates and the subway entrance, and the two subsequent floors being the subway station and the access to the train. We decided that the flags needed to be in the second floor of each station, and that from each side, the player should be able to see the other team's flag. For that, we opted to use a lot of glass materials and colours referencing the bases.

Development Rules:

Level Identification: identifying the level by identifying the goals of it and how those goals are being achieved;
Map Gameplay: designing a map that enhances the core gameplay and promotes the use of complex strategies by the players, various styles of gameplay and leverage core gameplay. The players can identify that we add all kind of things in the level, requiring that the player sometimes needs to cover, run, jump, crawl etc;
Hallways and Choices: One of the most critical rules for CTF Maps, we created at least 3 choices for the player to choose from, and between all of them, the hardest path to follow which contains the most conflict (the top outside area);
Rooms: We tried to create rooms that give to the player at least 3 paths leading in and approximately 3 or more ways to get out. But for some specific corridors, we decided to create a hard and one way path, that the player needed to chose if it was a better idea to take a short path, and be able to be attacked, or to get the long path with more options of path;
Creative twist: In our level what makes it different was the way that the trains are activated during the game. When captured the flag of the enemy, one of the trails and trains are activated, so the player needs to pay attention even more, to be able to cross the trail before be reached by the train. After took for the first time the enemy flag, the subway station will be always working on;
Points of conflict: The players can identify POC in the first outside floor, in which there is the most powerful weapon in the top area of the tree, that is only accessible using the futuristic hand elevator. Another POC area is in the glass bridges, since the player needs to be very strategical to cross it without being trapped;
Landmarks: besides the fact that we used lights with colours all the time, to help the player to identify where is his base, we also created two big structures using as Landmarks, with their respective colours, helping them to recognize their location.

Screenshots:

Video:

Published by Matheus Pitillo in Level Design

Tags: Capture the Flag, CTF, flag, game design program, GD25, Level, Level Design, Matheus Pitillo, Mission Design, UDK, vancouver film school

November 9, 2012 — Comments are off for this post.

Mission Design: The Factory

Level Overview:

Game Engine: UDK

The Factory is a Single Player Level divided into several Acts in which each member of our work team were supposed to cover one of the 3 storytelling acts (Act 01: Intro, Act 02: Confrontation and Act 03: Resolution). Each one of the Acts were done individually, but the whole Level had to make sense and complement itself, following the same genre, story and visual theme.

I was responsible for Act 2: Confrontation, a 5 to 6 minute gameplay experience . To do so, the player would be presented with a new type of Enemy AI for the first time, as well as some kind of reward that could give an extra weapon to him, or something that could influence the gameplay. Each Act had at least 3 main objectives, followed by 3-5 different enemies (Near, Far, Heavy, Minion) and 1-3 different enemy groupings using the enemy types that we created.

Design Notes:

As Level Concept, The Factory had the follow:

“In the future robots have become a part of everyday life. As we continued our inexorable advance with technology in the 21st century, we unlocked the desired milestone of Artificial Intelligence. Robots now work alongside their human counterparts, shackled by the Three Laws of Robotics. If a robot was ever not constrained by these laws, it is unknown what would happen… until today.

At a remote robot factory, a rouge AI appears to have been created. Its origin is unknown, but the military contract this company which has led the police to suspect clandestine research. All that is known now is that robots have taken over the facility and obey a different set of laws. Because of the potential danger to humans, a robot officer has been sent in to uncover and stop this AI before it can grow any stronger.

We begin outside the facility and must find a way inside and down to the heart of the facility.”

In the Act 02 of “The Factory”, the level will introduce the Second Base Area (B2) of the Old Robot Factory. The player needs to find a way to turn ON the factory system again – by finding the battery and plugging it into the core – to be able to access the elevator to the third base floor. Along his way the player will need to protect himself against two new Enemy AI that will be activated right after the energy gets back. One enemy is in patrol mode and the other one hangs from the ceiling. By restoring the energy and acquiring the new Time Weapon, the player can cross the laser corridor and finally access the elevator. By accessing the new elevator, the Act 02 ends.

Estimated Difficulty: 7/10
Estimated Gameplay Duration: 5-6 minutes

Goals:

Find the battery;
Plug-in the battery in the core;
Access the elevator.

Published by Matheus Pitillo in Level Design

Tags: Act 2, game design program, GD25, Matheus Pitillo, Mission Design, Mission Design Document, Paper Layout, The Factory, UDK, vancouver film school, VFS

November 8, 2012 — Comments are off for this post.

Jack

Level Overview:

Game Engine: Flash

Jack is a 15 - 21 minutes game divided into 3 different Levels featuring different game mechanics. For each of the levels the mission design changed radically to match with different and easy learning mechanics. Jack is part of EBM Compendium VII, in which the theme was "Jack of all Tales". The Compendium VII is about an alternate version of all Jack tales turning into the famous Jack the Ripper. The Flash Game Jack is the game version of this project, focusing specifically on the Jack and Jill fairy tale.

Design Notes:
In a total of 3 Levels, each level of Jack shows a different time of his life, to explain how he ended up turning into Jack the Ripper. The biggest challenge as Level Designer was to create objectives and mechanics that could add value the core story and that could keep the difficulty in a not too high level. For the game controls, I used in-game silhouettes and shadows to show each one of the controls the first time the player is faced with a new situation.

Goals:

Level 01:

Estimated Difficulty: 7/10 - Opening
Estimated Gameplay Duration: 4 minutes
Objectives:
1. Run away from Jill, trying to avoid obstacles in a fast paced level.

Level 02:

Estimated Difficulty: 7/10 - Mid-Game
Estimated Gameplay Duration: 5-8 minutes
Objectives:
1. Find the apples to recover Jack's energy and keep him alive;
2. Discover the correct path between the options of trees to reach the exit of the Dark Forest.

Level 03:

Estimated Difficulty: 8/10 - EndGame
Estimated Gameplay Duration: 6-10 minutes
Objectives:
1. Control Jack's Insanity Bar to keep him sane and alive;
2. Find the three pieces of memories/poems scattered around the city of London;
3. Reach the Main Plaza to follow and kill Jill, without be noticed by the Cops.

[box type="info"] For a detailed and complete Level Design Document with all Enemy Spawn Points, Level Progression and Potential Risks, please request via e-mail.[/box]

Screenshots:

Video:

Published by Matheus Pitillo in Level Design

Tags: Compendium VII, Flash Game, GD25, Jack, Jack of all Tales, Jack the Ripper, LD, Level Design, Matheus Pitillo, Term 02, vancouver film school, VFS