Initial Diagram Designs

Because I was loosely basing this level off of an already existing area, my first goal was to gather references on what the layout of this area looked like, and plot out a skeleton of a level design. I gathered reference screenshots from the show, and placed them together in a bubble diagram to get a sense of where each location was. I tried to get multiple angles of each location to get a better idea of the architecture.

After this, I plotted out a rough parti diagram of the level. During this stage, I was also planning out how the players would engage with each other.

While plotting this out, I discovered that the outside area of the map was lacking in engagement and appeal. Since there was a direct line to the other base right through the middle, I needed to allow the outter rim to have a draw to it as well, to make it a valid path. While the center of the map was already going to be an open area, which would leave the players more open to enemy fire, a skilled player could easily dodge and evade gun fire and make it to the enemy base unscathed. I solved this by doing 3 things

Initial Greybox

Before starting on the greybox, I took a look at the player controller, to see all the metrics I would have to work with. The metrics included things like player height, walk speed, jump distance, and wall running distance. After gathering those, I started on the greybox in unreal.

Using the greybox diagram I created, I created a rough greybox using unreal's geometry brushes, and added appropriate props and weapons. At first, the level seemed too small, and this was likely because I based the greybox diagram on the main character's height, which was smaller than unreal tournament's player. I adjusted the level to the new height, and added some geometry in the newly created gaps from the adjustment. From there I started to playtest.

I playtested the map with both NPCS and real players, and I found that players still wouldn't travel to the edges of the maps. I tried adding a large health pack to the edges, and this seemed to help draw players in a bit more. I found that players would typically rush through the center to grab the flag, and then choose between the side paths & the center based on the amount of enemies in the center, and how much health they had left.

I continued to playtest, and adjust the level, a few more times, before I was happy with how the overall level felt.

First Art Pass

For the first art pass, I teamed up with an artist to create props for the central area. I started by taking screenshots of areas within the map, and found references images for what I imagined those areas to look like. I found this process not only helped in creating a list of assets that we needed, but it also helped paint a better picture of what the overall level would look like outside of the greybox.

After creating some modular assets, I began to place them around the map, and plot out what the courtyard area (central area) would look like. After the area was decorated with props, the first art pass was complete.

Level Design Document