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Carl Rutter
Lead Level Designer
Project: Train Graveyard (PS4)
Engine: Dunia
Role: Level Designer
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Credit:
- Ubisoft
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Level Design
Following the month of October or #Blocktober as it were, I decided to create and release a small Outpost map based on the design I came up with for that. I wanted to keep the environment short this time with tight gameplay within the realms of a believable train graveyard environment.
Challenges Faced
- Elevation
In comparison to previous maps, this Outpost is smaller in terms of scale, with the difficulty of enemies ramped up. To accomodate this I had to try and ensure that the experience is fair to the player. The various meshes available for this environment were incredibly useful in providing both cover as well as elevation points, particularly with the placement of containers and scaffolding.
- Cover
Once again as the odds are against the player, the use of cover is essential to the players' surivival, given the nature of the environment this was easy to achieve as train carriages in particular provide both an efficient aesthetic as well as a design choice to aid the player. In addition to aesthetic, the containers in particular served another useful purpose, as some of them are accessible and as such is a great way to both break line of sight, and re-stock their ammunition reserves.
- Infiltration
The Outpost main gate is heavily fortified, this was created intentionally as I wished to discourage the player from taking a direct approach. The question I asked is "How can I achieve this"? I made good use of the [Terrain Hole] tool to carve out the geometry. I then decided to run a series of pipes that were literally undernearth the terrain and have the player emerge in 2 seperate places within the compound. The major challenge of this was lining them up correctly so as to not break the immersion of seeing underneath the terrain.
Beauty Shots
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Conclusion
Whilst this particular level is not as long nor as large as previous projects, it still provided a challenge for me to learn from. I learnt a great deal about the importance of prop placement with both design as well as aesthetic in mind, and also gained a great deal of knowledge about how line of sight is used in FPS gameplay experiences.
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