March 10^th, 4 PM

So the first week done and the first whitebox built! I’m nervous, excited and I don’t think I fully realize how much work I have ahead of me. Our Game Design Document describes our level as such:

“Our game takes place in a train yard maze where a horrific accident has warped the train yard into a nightmare of twisted metal and broken machinery. Your master is trapped inside an object at the center of the train yard and must be fed the spirits of the train yard in order to break free of his prison.”

Using Gizmosis as inspiration for Level Design I started creating the mazes. One of the issues we face is that train yards are quite a challenge to make interesting. They tend to be laid out in a very one directional manner and don’t have many levels of height and interesting shapes. Another issue we faced is that we want the player to visually be able to keep track of what is going on in the level at all times no matter where they were. I’ll actually do a breakdown of our level.

 

The level is divided into four sections all bordered by the upper level catwalk.

-The Catwalk serves as a lookout platform and access to the Jump Pads in each corner

-The Collapsed Building area is filled with large debris piles that both the players and ghosts scramble up. Partial walls still stand.

-The Repair Area features lots of overhead catwalks and platforms filled with tools and technology. Cramped quarters, multiple height levels, hoists and lifts, and office buildings.

-The Refueling Area is the most undamaged part of the train yard. It still has complete trains and undamaged water towers.

-The Train Wreckage is where the train yard has suffered the most. Twisted train cars, half submerged, rust and decay. It’s like a bomb went off here, sending freight cars flying and shattering stone and mortar. There are one or two large heavy duty cranes that have fallen over.

-The walls bordering around the catwalk will be large brick. There will also be cranes that have crashed down on the wall but it was strong enough to hold.

*Note* The Gates are closed. The marker is there just to indicate from where the trains come and how the tracks should be set up.

 

Design Goals:

- To create a unique arena that challenges the player’s abilities. Give them challenging paths to follow that will allow them to rapidly catch ghosts.

- To allow the player the maximum amount of visibility we can give them through level design but at the same time creating interesting paths and viewpoints.

-To make the Master a centerpiece and try to have him on screen at all possible times.

-To give the player a sense of speed and motion as they dance and jump over the trainyard.

Things we want the player to be doing:

- Chasing the ghosts throughout the train yard

- Spotting ghosts nearing the master or hiding off in a corner (from long distances away)

- Using the steam vents to rapidly get back to the Master to defend him and to drop off ghosts to feed him.

- Jumping and running on top of train cars and debris to catch the ghosts. This will allow you to move much faster than the ghosts.

- Using the upper level to quickly scout out the level.

How will we hopefully accomplish both:

- Design mesh placements to allow the player to bound around the level and hopefully avoid touching the ground when possibly. Map out paths and play test running on top of the train cars and other objects in the level.

- Limit the ghosts to the ground. Make it so that they can’t jump and it will limit their movement to a very grid like pattern. Because the player will be able to move on angles this will assist him in catching the ghosts.

- For the Master and visibility issues, I will be creating three levels of height.

When a player interacts with a jump pad they will be at the 3^rd height level. This high up level will have no static meshes in it and most of the game will take place in the lower level of height. The highest the player will ever reach is up to the Master’s waist at full growth.

The 2^nd Height level is for large objects such as water towers and for the catwalks. From this level Hench can jump out onto various paths and meshes down on the 1^st level to chase down ghosts.

The 1^st Height is where the maze is located. All sorts of obstacles and debris get in your way as you chase the ghosts. Jump up to the flatbed car decks and leap across to other objects to help navigate the mazes easily.

Cheers,

Braden Bahen, Level Designer