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Adventure Project

This level was made for the course Level Design I and later used in the course Project and Portfolio II, I was tasked with creating a level from scratch following the creative vision that they provided, the creative vision stated that the game had to be in a Modern-ish setting, in an Earth-like planet, for the genre to be "Adventure", and for the player to be alone throughout the level.

Level Overview

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Level Start

Transition Area I

Focal Point

Transition Area II

Level End

Pre-Production

Mood Boards

Level Start

At the beginning of the level the player should feel like they are exploring a jungle/forest area and are attracted to the waterfall in the distance, but once they get close they see an open entrance to some sewers and they decide to investigate.

Focal Point

For the middle portion of the level, the player makes his way through the sewers until they find an exit and find themselves in an abandoned town in front of a collapsed building which they decide to climb in order to get a better view of the town and to see if they can locate a way out; On the roof of the building they see a tunnel far away but the roads are blocked so they have to cross to the building in front by roof jumping.

Level End

In the level end, after the player lands on the roof they try to get down by taking the roof exit, but they realize its locked so they must find a way to open the door, once they open the door they make their way down and start walking towards the tunnel wondering where will it take them.

Limitations

Restrictions

Core Gameplay

  • Movement

  • Variable Height Jump

  • Grab/Climb/Drop

  • Interact

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  • No Drivable Vehicles

  • No Mini-Games

  • No Aimable Weapons

  • No AI, NPCs, & Other Interactive People

  • No Fantasy or Sci-Fi Elements

  • No Religious & Political References

  • No Plot Deviation

Blockmesh

Level Start

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In the beginning I wanted the player to walk in and be immediately attracted towards the waterfall, I achieved his by making the background and other landmarks bland and by refocusing where the light is directed, I wanted to have more before the player reached waterfall but we were limited to a 30x30 space per section. 

 

After the player is drawn towards the waterfall they can see a pair of stairs, after the player reaches the top of the stairs they can see some jumpable/climbable surfaces behind the waterfall.

I wanted to reward the player for exploring and looking around instead of going straight for the objective and completing the level, if the player decided to go for the collectible,  there is a rock with a climbable surface that leads back up.

 

After they climb the waterfall the player is able to admire the level and immediately spot the entrance to the sewers.

 

During this section the player is introduced to the climbable surface and is meant to serve as introduction to what lies ahead for them.

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Level Transition I

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The first transition of the level is a short sewer section in which the player must make their way through the abandoned sewer and find a way out.

 

The ambiance changes after the player enters the sewer tunnel, I purposely hid what was next in order for the player to not be able to prepare.

 

For this section the players view is reduced the level is removed, in order to create excitement for the next section.

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The player reaches an area all the water falls down and notices that there is no water flowing on one side and that the water on the ground is flowing towards that side.

 

The player has to drop down and with no way back up he must follow the water to see where it leads.

 

I made the water flow towards the exit to guide the player since water only flows to places where it can leave.

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After the player follows the flowing water they reach a section of the sewer that has collapsed but they can see in the distance some climbing surfaces indicating that they are going the right way. 

 

I placed some stairs to signify that there is some debris which the player can climb in order to reach the climbable surfaces.

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The player climbs and reaches a new section of the sewer and sees light coming from the outside from a part that has collapsed.

 

The first transition ends by introducing the player to the focal point and left in a thematically different place than the one from the start.

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Focal Point

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The section begins by having the character look at the main building from a low angle, the focal point is a building that was abandoned mid construction.

 

Due to the size limitations of the level I could only fit 2 buildings and cover the background with buildings.

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The main focus of the player at this point is to find a way through the building and must explore in order to find a way through it.

After the player enters the building they notice that most of the floors have collapsed and only parts of the roof and support structure remain and the back exit is covered in debris.

 

The player has to climb through the remains and reach the roof of the building by jumping on the remaining parts of the building and using the climbable surfaces to make jumps that they normally wouldn't be able to.

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After the player reaches the roof they notice another building that has debris on it and a collapsed antenna that reaches the other building.

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The player can choose whether to jump to the neighboring building or to use the antenna to cross.

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After they reach the other building they realize that the door is closed and they need to find something to open it with.

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They follow the antenna and find a toolbox between the debris which has a cutter so that they can cut open the door.

Level Transition II

The transition to the level end is shorter and more slow paced than the first one since the objective of this one is to relax the player and prepare them for the level end.

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While building this section we were told that in the next class we would utilize the levels we built and join them together so I didn't put too much detail in case I had to change my ending to better accommodate the level that would go after mine.

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Level End

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As mentioned before, due to the fact that I was going to be joining my level with the ones of my classmates I wanted to leave the ending as open as I could while retaining most of my vision.

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The player can see a tunnel in the distance while at the lobby of the building and a road leading directly to it.

After the player exits the building they see that they are surrounded by buildings and that the road is damaged.

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The player should be fully focused and wondering what will be waiting for them at the end of the tunnel.

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Wondering if they're gonna find answers about what happened to this place.

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Asset Integration

Level Start

Changes Made:​

  • Removed the stairs and added a fallen tree to make it seem more natural.

  • Made waterfall seem more realistic.

  • Changed Middle lake structure to two rocks.

  • Hid the entrance to the transition area​

  • Added vegetation and changed lighting

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Explanation:

My level was used as a transitionary level since its placed between a cave level and a modern abandoned setting..

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The manmade structures were removed so that they wouldn't seem out of place.

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The climbable surface is no longer introduced in this section, only jumping is introduced here.

Level Transition I

Changes Made:

  • Sewer section became a collapsed subway section.

  • Dimmed lighting to give the section a darker feeling and give the floodlights a purpose.

  • Swapped waterfall asset.

  • Spread rocks and debris throughout the section.

  • Player is guided by the lights instead of the water flowing.

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Changes Made:

  • Changed water asset to since it is now water that has been there for a while.

  • Closed off  left and front tunnel.

  • Made area more spacious so that the player wouldn't feel claustrophobic.

  • Added different types of lights.

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Changes Made:

  • Changed this portion from being a collapsed sewer tunnel to stairs that got cut off.

  • Made it brighter at the top in order to attract the player.

  • Changed how the climbable surface looks to give it a more natural look.

  • The top now looks more like a collapsed wall.

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Explanation:

This section was transformed in order to introduce the modern aspect of the level and the one that follows.

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The climbable surface is introduced in this section due to it feeling more realistic.

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The subway is supposed to reach the next level but it collapsed and now the player has to find an alternate route.

Focal Point

Changes Made:

  • Transition area is now a collapsed wall.

  • Main Building looks more deteriorated and covered in plants.

  • Surrounding areas are now rocks instead of buildings.

  • Changed texture of building.

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Changes Made:

  • Added plants to serve as breadcrumbs.

  • Plants now guide the player and show them the way before they start climbing.

  • Back exit is now covered by rocks.

  • Added rubble and grass inside the building

  • Changed roof door and moved antenna.

  • Made antenna tip brighter to attract player.

Explanation:

Building looks more destroyed due to it being in the middle of the mountains and it being part of a secret facility.

 

It was hard for the player to know where to jump so I added plants that connected to the next jump.

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Antenna tip now glows and is placed in the middle of the screen so the player notices it immediately.

Level Transition II

Changes Made:

  • Made the building have a more clean aesthetic.

  • Added a window halfway through so that the player can see the tunnel.

Explanation:

Building was left empty and has fallen into disrepair due to it being abandoned.

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This section was not worked on much due to time constraints and limitations.

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Level End

Changes Made:

  • Tunnel is more hidden and dark.

  • Added destroyed cars that can be seen from the lobby of the building.

  • Overgrown vegetation can be seen.

  • Asphalt looks realistic.

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Changes Made:

  • Surrounding buildings have been removed.

  • Destroyed vehicles have been added to show that they got attacked.

  • Overgrown vegetation was added to convey that it was abandoned a long time ago.

  • Added tiles to the front of the building and grass.

Explanation:

The next level is a hospital set in rocky/foresty area so I had to adapt my ending to fit my teammates vision.

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I worked closely with my teammate and made changes according to his level start and suggestions he gave me.

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