J Patrick Hesbrook

Level Walkthrough

For a complete picture of the end result, I have narrated a walk-through of the level, explaining its contents and demonstrating how the game's mechanics work.The cutscene at the begining of the level was voiced by my friend Alistair Blades.

Iterations

Throughout this project I created 5 main iterations of the level.Each iteration was tested with coursemates and tutors to identify issues with level flow, teaching and readability.

Top-Down Diagrams

For level diagrams I use shades of colour to show elevation - the darker the colour, the higher the ground in that area.In the diagram for the final section, white numbers and lines are used to represent the order that enemies enter the arena, and from which doors.

Pacing

Intensity gradually increases as the player is given time to learn the mechanics, with some pauses included to give the player time to explore or rest.

Cutscene and Storyboard

This cutscene was designed as the player's first introduction to the world, using depiction of deforestation and narration to set the mood and cement the concept of humans being the antagonists in the setting.

Level Walkthrough

During this level, the player enters the castle through a hole at the rear of the building.Their objective is the dungeons, but they soon find the door locked, requiring them to explore the castle to find the key, located in the dining hall.With the key they can descend into the narrow passages of the dungeon, which open into a cave.

Top-Down Diagrams

The general shape of the level remained the same, but adjustments were made to improve the overall flow.

Process

While the overall level remained effectively the same, throughout production some notable changes were made to the layout and lighting which affected gameplay.

Dungeon Entrance

Initially the dungeon door was placed on the right wall of the first hallway. Every single play tester walked straight past it, so it was moved to the wall directly ahead to make it more noticable.

Servant and Guard rooms

Early on these were sparsely decorated, with tables as the only furniture.More furnishings and pillars were added to make the layout more engaging and preventing the player walking from entrance to exit.

Servant Hallway

The player is naturally led to the right by a torch. A collectable item was placed to the left of the doorway the player enters through, rewarding them for taking a second to examine their surroundings.

Entrance Hall and Upper Hallway

Originally the player had to wrap around the top floor and enter the Dining Hall from behind, but walking through a long passage introduced too much downtime, so the way in was relocated.

Dining Hall

Moving the entrance to the dining hall while keeping the old entrance as the exit made better use of the space, preventing players from dropping in, collecting the key and running straight back out.

Backtracking

To avoid wasting the player's time a hole was placed in the floor to lead the player straight to the dungeon, rather than forcing backtracking through the whole level.This was also another opportunity for exploration, with a collectable item being placed beyond the hole in the floor, rewarding curious players that jump past it.

Gameplay

In Baking Bedlam the player takes the role of a baker who shrank when attempting to put magic into his products.For the first two levels the player only has access to movement mechanics, requiring them to navigate their way around danger.

Level 1 Process

Begins with a safe learning environment to help the player learn the metrics of movement, before introducing a sink as the first environmental hazard.

Level 2 Process

A raging oven fire blocks the player's path, injecting a sense of jeporady and making them find a way to climb upwards.Alternates between dangerous areas with stationary mousetraps and patroling cookies, to safer platforming sections.Health pickups are placed regularly to provide a forgiving learning experience.

Level 2 Pacing

This level's intensity was measured on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the most extreme situations that a full version of the game would contain.1 - Mousetraps
2 - Downtime
3 - Oven fire, platforming
4 - First Cookie
5 - Platforming and third Mousetrap
6 - Second Cookie
7 - Shelf platforming section
8 - Final shelf and Mousehole

Gameplay

The core gameplay loop is simple; enter a zone, fight a wave of enemies, and earn scrap and blueprints with which to upgrade your tank between zones. If your tank is destroyed, you lose everything and start again.Each zone has randomly spawning Caches that drop scrap, repair packs or blueprints to encourage exploration during downtime, and there are no dead ends so players can make full use of an arena without getting trapped.

Level 1 - Layout & Iteration

Level 1 focused on natural environments, showing the player's path from their concealed hideout, through overgrown wilderness, and gradually towards ruined civilisation.The first zone started as one main path, with a side road being the main one - this wasn't very intuitive so it was switched to a crossroads where the critical path was clearer.Second a forest - players didn't use the upper or lower areas, so clearer paths that looped into eachother were added.Third, two sections split by a river - the split paths weren't clearly connected, and it was a bit plain, so an extra path was added with more buildings.

Level 2 - Layout & Iteration

To contrast the previous level, this one featured a more structured city environment with lots of buildings for destructible environments, stone walls for persistant blocking, and explosive crates as hazards.Zone 1 uses a Dock with wide paths and a handful of buildings to ease players into the different environment. Stone buildings and more docks were added to allow more space for enemies to spawn.Zone 2 then ups the number of structures, with only a couple of looping paths. Originally there was far too much space, so a section was removed with some buildings converted to stone.Originally the level started with an open outskirts area with only a few structures, but this didn't fit well with the rest of the level and was swapped out for the current Zone 3 - a castle which instead puts the player in a tight, less destructible area for more intense combat.

Tutorials

To avoid breaking the flow of gameplay, tutorials were made to be quick, simple and skippable, delivered through text pop-ups outside of combat.Basic movement and shooting is taught at the start in a skippable tutorial section, based in the player's hideout.Beyond this, only a handful of pop-ups appear, such as when the player finds their first Item Cache and Workshop, and their first Explosive Crate.

Sketches & Diagrams

Most zones went through at least one redesign, each of which I sketched out before hand to get an idea of how it should look.I also put together level diagrams for every zone for a more preceise representation of scale and structure.

Layout

The map is divided into six equal segments, with a central area that enables multi-sided battles.Every player has access to resource points inside their base, but not enough to sustain them for a whole match.The most valuable resources, which speed up the deployment of powerful units, are in the highly contested centre-ground.A destructible gate is placed between each base, allowing players to strategically open an additonal route between themselves and an opponent.

Iteration

Play testing was done with members of the community, and the layout was iterated until I found something that fit a game designed and balanced around two teams.I also had to navigate game's maximum map size, considering how to give every player equal space without forcing them into a small area.

Gameplay

Matches of this scale are difficult to capture in full, so I've compiled clips from a player's perspective and the game's replay viewer to provide some idea of the type of gameplay that occurs across this map.

Layout

Resources are positioned to encourage players to explore the furthest reaches of the map, with the greatest quantity towards the south (bottom-right).A deployable bridge in the north (top-left) provides a far-out flank route but deters heavy commitment.Power Core objectives are placed on either side of the teams' bases, with another path through the middle protected by both turrets.Cover is placed at three strategic points to assist in defending far-out locations without interfering with the central battlefield.

Process

I experimented with combinations different objects, textures and decals as well as using splines, creating detailed scenery that matches the mood original level while making it something of my own and going beyond what was possible in the older game's engine.

Original vs Remake

The layout is largely the same, but each location was reimagined with more varied texturing and more complex structures that set them apart from other areas.

Gameplay

I adjusted the map to accommodate two game modes.Power Core - A MOBA-esque game mode where players destroy the opposing Shield Generators, Turrets and Power Core.Annihilation - Destroy all of your enemy's structures.

Reference

Set in Germany, inspired by the maps Black Forest and Eichenwalde.If Blizzard published community map making tools, the level would be made using the existing assets from these maps.

Top-Down Diagrams

There are no dead-ends, so players will rarely be trapped with nowhere to go.Jump pads offer extra mobility for Heroes with limitted movement.The central area is a danger zone, with water that players cannot survive in and little cover, discouraging but not preventing passage.

Mechanics Considerations

Throughout the whitebox Health, Jump Pads and Spawn Points have been represented as shown on the left.To fit the size of Tank Heroes in Overwatch, all spaces and doors were designed to accommodate large characters.Areas of high-ground for snipers that gives strong but limitted sight-lines.The deep water in the centre creates opportunities for heroes with knock-back abilities to get environmental eliminations.

Level Fly-through

The level is moderately sized and split into four main areas - the ruin, the cliffside, the caves and the central river.Each section is connected to several others, giving players freedom to reach any specific point with ease.

About Me

My first experience with level design was as a kid, back when my dad modded Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament 2004. I remember watching him making a four-team Capture the Flag map and I loved the idea of being able to create something that you and others could play in your favourite games, so tried it myself.Fast forward and I moved on from my first level (a box with two other boxes in it, I was very proud) to working with other community members to make maps for games like Dawn of War 3.Now, at the age of 25, I'm studying Game Design at York St. John University (UK), where I've learned more about engineering engaging experiences for players and how to work on a project with a team.