THIRD-PERSON - ADVENTURE
Level Design | Level-Flow
Introduction
I recently played Elden Ring for the first time and was deeply inspired by the combat and environment, which piqued my interest to build something of my own. So I went with Unreal's third-person template and focused on the aspects of the game that I enjoyed the most, such as the combat and environmental storytelling. Level-Flow being the focus.
Story Summary
You play as a warrior exploring forgotten lands, smashing through the opposition. As the player explores deeper into the level, secrets are revealed, and a massive underground world is found when you least expect it.
Project Breakdown
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Solo project spanning 4 weeks 8 hours/day
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Created using Unreal Engine 5
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Scripting of events and interactable objects
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Marketplace assets/plugins used:
Blockout Tools Plugin
Flexible Combat System - Basic
Overview
Top Down
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Lower Floor
START
FINISH
= Enemy
= Locked door
= Key to open door
= Elevator
= Stairs
Level Flowchart
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Reveal of Dale Castle
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Inner castle combat "Key Found"
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Door is locked
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Discover your way in
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Take the elevator
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Dungeon combat "Key Found"
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Door is locked
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Reveal of Avenbreath
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Enter the Myriths Castle "Boss"
Player Graph
Reveal of Dale Castle Inner Castle Reveal of Avenbreath Dungeon Combat to Myriths Castle
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Design Techniques
The road is blocked
When the player reaches the gate, they can turn left to enter the hidden entrance.
However, it is not how I intended this part to be played.
It is my goal that the player perceives the stairs as the only path ahead.
This is because, just when they are about to ask themselves, "So, where the heck is the way into to this?" That's when I want them to see the hidden entrance. Turning this whole section into a Bait&Switch.
Probable issue:
If the player approaches the gate with no distractions, they will most likely turn their camera to the left as a way of exploring the area, and they will see the hidden entrance.
My solution:
Make the area at the gate feel explored by using the whitespace technique and lead the player to the stairs by light and an enemy that forces you into combat.
As I was writing this, I had an idea that I think will reduce the number of players missing this experience. I think many players will currently kill the guard at the beginning of the stair before returning to the entrance, to make sure they did not miss anything. Solution: When the enemy's HP drops below a predetermined threshold, they rush up the stairs to open their stash and retrieve a stronger weapon at the location where I want the player to be for the Bait&Switch. I believe, if I did that, more people would end up at the top of the stairs when killing the enemy. This could be done with a ranged enemy as well.
A new area?
To make sure the player is facing the reveal at the desired direction, I put cracks in the elevator walls drawing their attention to the only light source at the moment.
Composition and framing were important for me as a designer to make sure the player sees what I want them to see.
Building up to this reveal was super important and the foundation of this project.
Where is my Map?
I intentionally created distinct environments in each section to maintain the player's immersion as well as expressing various types of progression.
Additionally, I intended for the player to have a clear mental map of the entire level. I created callbacks to help the player solidify their mental map of the level whenever they advanced to a new section. To aid the players in locating themselves in more busy areas, unique architectural styles were also created. etc.
Oh, I'm back here!
As a designer, it is important that I ensure that my work is utilized to its utmost capacity.
I therefore make every effort to get the player to explore around the castle from different angles.
The level loop seen in this video is a good way of reusing the environment while also giving the player an Illusion of Choice at the time of simply doing something linear.
Easy Path
The easy or the hard way?
I think it is important to be able to choose your own degree of difficulty.
Here the player is seen trying to take on these enemies upfront.
If the player gives up and takes the easier path they will eventually be rewarded with an easy kill on the enemy that earlier never let them pass.
And for the player that never tried to take the enemies upfront, they will get the reward of
"ha-ha, I outsmarted you"
Hard Path
Easy Path
Hard Path
Vantage point
Storytelling
Why would I have story in my game, I'm just a Level Designer?
For me as a level designer, I think that creating a level with a purpose—ideally several purposes—is essential to creating a great level. I assume the duty of coming up with a possible story if there isn't one. Therefore, everything I design needs to have a purpose and make sense within the narrative. And that, in my opinion, will only make it simpler for me to achieve my objectives of producing excellent level flow. To a certain extent, level-flow will naturally occur if the player believes the surroundings.
To tell a story about the habitants in the castle fighting a war on two fronts.
Entering the underworld had consequences
As the player descends on the elevator, two guards notice the player.
They fire an attack that slams into the mountainside, causing large boulders to crash down into the underground area.
Rock Debree set a new path
A huge rock hit the north building destroying its roof and floor, revealing the dungeon for this area.
REFLECTIONS
This was one of the funniest projects I have worked on. I am super happy with everything I accomplished, but I would still make many changes because I learned many new things along the way.
Size:
If I could recreate the level, I would make it smaller overall and concentrate all my attention on the underworld or the castle to add more purpose to them.
Clear goal for the player:
I would start by giving the player a much clearer objective. Perhaps there is a large guard yelling at their soldiers to defend the castle before they enter and shut the gate. This would assist in guiding the player during the entire experience.
Playtest:
Feedback was something I took very often, but playtesting not as much. I feel like many of the things I could have done better would be noticed in more playtesting.
Combat:
I would like to have more time to play around with how the combat is played in certain areas. Specifically, Inner Castle and the Underworld.
Most encounters are simple. I would like to add more interesting patterns in how the enemies are placed and play around with their pathing's. The goal would be to have the player choose to engage in a fight at a slower pace.