Level & WORLD Designer
"Manifesting memories through psychology, innovation, and real-world experience"
Arachna Towers
Project Summary
Role: Level Designer
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Genre: FPS, Multiplayer, Deathmatch
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Editor: Unreal Tournament Editor
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Platform: PC
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Process: Level Design Document, Map Diagram, Whitebox, Gameplay Iterations, Aesthetic Pass, Testing, Iterations, Post Mortem
The Project: (2022)
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"Arachna Towers" is a multiplayer, first person, deathmatch map made in the Unreal Tournament Editor. The level takes place high in the clouds, inside and on top of towers, overlooking mountain ranges. Best played with 2 teams of 3, the map can accommodate up to 2 teams of 8.
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Focus: Multiplayer Design, Constant Motion, Designing for Differing Player Styles
Postmortem
WHAT WENT WELL
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I built this level almost entirely out of BSP primitives and duplicated/grouped pieces together in order to work more efficiently. I also stayed on the grid for the entire project which eliminated the risk of any wall gaps, z-fighting, and other issues.
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I met all of my design goals for this map. The gameplay is almost entirely what I had initially set out to achieve in my design. Each weapon placement mirrors what my initial design document stated with only minor adjustments after testing.
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I met each deadline and communicated well with my stakeholders.
EVEN BETTER IF
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I had a very limited amount of time to focus on this project -- about a third as much time than I usually have. For this reason, I poured all of my focus into the gameplay of the map, and not so much the aesthetics. With more time I would have added more decals and small props to bring the scene alive.
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I learned that my platforms were a bit too narrow and could use a little bit more space overall so that the player was not in a frantic state the entire 15 minutes of gameplay (the gameplay video shows 2 teams of 4); this map was probably better suited for 2 teams of 3.
WHAT I LEARNED
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This project allowed me to further develop my skills using primitives to blockout a level and reshape primitives using 3D modeling tools.
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This project allowed me to put theory to practice and build a level designed for multiple player styles in a multiplayer environment.
Design Goals
Circular Flow.
Constant Motion.
No Camping.
Fun and
Exciting
Gameplay
Strategic
Weapon
Placment
Constant Motion
This map diagram was created in a short amount of time to present a general idea of what I was aiming for in this level.
This map diagram was created in a short amount of time to present a general idea of what I was aiming for in this level.
My initial design idea started with a quick and rough map diagram consisting of a few towers connected by multiple levels of bridges like a spiderweb.
I quickly realized, however, that my scale was way off in this diagram, and the bridges created these long sightlines that were just not going to work for gameplay or performance.
To get a better sense of scale and cover, I started to block out some pillars and platforms with BSP/primitives.
After many hours of testing and iterations, I had a a solid whitebox built entirely out of BSP and a couple of rock meshes that felt properly scaled for a fast-moving deathmatch level. I continued to refine this whitebox over several days, adding more layers of verticality, adjusting the size of the pathways, creating and modifying vantage points and cover, and strategically placing weapons.
Moving further into gameplay design and testing, I realized that some weapons had more advantages than others, and I needed more safe places to regain health. I achieved this by expanding the play spaces vertically.
Roughly 3 layers of verticality and constant circular flow.
Player can run between buildings on three separate levels, use lifts to fly over the map to another building, or use lifts to change floors quickly inside of buildings.
Roughly 3 layers of verticality and constant circular flow.
Exciting Gameplay
This image was taken while the player was soaring through the air. They would have collected mini health tubes while enroute to another tower. While in air, the player can shoot down at multiple places on the map including shield locations and the large health keg.
Mini health tubes hover in the air and are only accessible via jump pads on the blue and red towers.
This map has a heavy focus on sightlines and constant movement. The player has the ability to jump off of a jumpad into another tower, collect a line of small health tube in the air, and simultaneously shoot enemies below. Shields are tucked away in 3 corners of the map between towers for safety of the player, but also are exposed to windows and platforms above for balance; the player is fairly safe if they keep moving.
Weapon Placement
I wanted to create a map that appealed to several player styles while still being balanced. I created a sniper rifle platform with optimal views of heavily contested areas, like the massive health keg in the center of the map.
To balance this, the platform is completely exposed leaving the player out in the open. The platform is surrounded by tower walls that protect the other players; the sniper rifle platform is also at a height disadvantage from the rest of the map.
This space was created for optimal sniper rifle use. Player is vulnerable in this area from multiple angles. Sniper rifle is located in a separate location.
Sniper rifle located on the lower level of the map in a narrow tunnel with 4 exits. Player has no where to use this rifle in this area as a balancing technique; this causes the player to travel to a better location with the rifle before they can use it.
This space was created for optimal rocket launcher use. Player is vulnerable in this area from multiple angles. Sniper platform is below.
This secondary spot allows players to shoot into the lower tunnel area where the sniper rifle is house, while still being able to see the large health keg at the center of the map.
I also wanted to create spaces for rocket launcher users that would look and feel exciting on rocket impact. Like the sniper rifle platform, I added an exposed, overlook area above and offset from the sniper rifle platform to make it visible from this overlook area. This allowed the player to shoot a rocket down at a group of fighting players or at a sniper on this platform.
The rocket launcher platform also hovered over the center of the map where the largest health keg would spawn. I placed the keg there specifically to attract players to the center of the map.
Lastly, the player could aim a rocket in the lower, darker tunnels where the sniper rifle resided (a reward) resulting in a bright explosion and added risk for the player who was looking to score a sniper rifle from the darker, narrow tunnel.
Inside of the towers, I hid health and ammo behind partial-cover walls. A lift takes the player to another floor with similar features. Each tower assists the player in different ways, and the towers are distinguishable by wall and light color. These half-walls inside the towers, and the tower walls themselves, create circular flow in a tighter space which creates the perfect opportunity to set bio-rifle traps or use the impact hammer (close-quarters combat). Each tower has three to five exit paths from the each floor of the tower.
Each tower has two floors, and on each floor, the room is semi-divided by these half cover walls which protect the player while also preventing them from camping. The player is standing right in front of a lift that could take them to the second floor.
The player has many exit routes to keep moving and avoid stuck points.
Jump pads exist on all three towers to send the player soaring through the air to another tower. The jump pad path between the red and blue tower allows the player to score mini-health tubes in mid-air.
Each tower has two floors, and on each floor, the room is semi-divided by these half cover walls which protect the player while also preventing them from camping. The player is standing right in front of a lift that could take them to the second floor.