Hi ,
I`m a Level Designer.
''Tundra'' is FP walking simulator experience in a cold and dangerous environment made with unreal engine 4 by a team of ten. We had a 3 months deadline. I was tasked with the level design and level art of the starter area (zone1).
Design intentions
Since I was in charge of the starter area a.k.a. Zone 1 , my intentions was to make the objectives as clear and simple as possible and introducing most of the features that the game had to offer. The player initially in a wooden shack , where he can find the lantern (that he/her can use to light up the other shelter and brave the blizzard, that`s the main gameplay loop). So I made sure that the player would be well oriented with the little knowledge from the game at the start.
Prototyping and iterations
We (the design team) made a lot of iterations to fit the theme and intention of the project , working closely with the art and game design team.
Here is the first iteration of the zone1 (starter area) as the theme was a calm and starting area forest.
Here we have the second iteration of the zone1, at the time the theme was a really dark and cold Forest starting zone and the gameplay was focused on exploration with a lantern that needed to be refueled and each shelter ( house/shack).
F l o w
Jump, walk, protect your lantern from blizzard, walk, jump again.
D E S I G N I N T EN T I O N S :
Jump, walk, protect your lantern from blizzard, walk, jump again.
D E S I G N I N T EN T I O N S :
slowly prepare the player to be challenged by his environment.
Here we got the third iteration , as the theme had change a little to a direction and mindset of a cold and brutal environment , this iteration is much simpler and straight forward for a new player, keep in mind that those screenshot are not the final product but reflect the core of the level design.
F l o w
Jump ,run, protect lantern from blizzard.
D E S I G N I N T E N T I O N S :
I wanted to design a more engaging way to navigate the level. Indeed, the player will be challenged to combine the basic mechanics in order to reach the shelter on the left (locked and hidden by blizzard).
Jump ,run, protect lantern from blizzard.
D E S I G N I N T E N T I O N S :
I wanted to design a more engaging way to navigate the level. Indeed, the player will be challenged to combine the basic mechanics in order to reach the shelter on the left (locked and hidden by blizzard).
Here you can see the in-game maps I did for zone 1-2-3 , just to help the player get a litlle bit of direction if the affordance wasn`t enough
T h e d i f f i c u l t y c u r v e
I needed to make it as clear and simple as possible, since it was the starter area , so the fail conditions are very lightweight.(Blizzard is not as strong as other zones and lantern more resistant ).
I needed to make it as clear and simple as possible, since it was the starter area , so the fail conditions are very lightweight.(Blizzard is not as strong as other zones and lantern more resistant ).
A f f o r d a n c e s
The player will be guided through the game by light sources, visual cues, other shelters and his lantern.
The player will be guided through the game by light sources, visual cues, other shelters and his lantern.
