Work In Progress - Jungle Block out

 I am currently working on a block out for a jungle level for my current project. As I make Progress I will throw up some pics and talk a bit about my process. I will be updating this entry from time to time with screenshots and sketches. Check in from time to time to see my progress.

6/21/2011

 After some sketches I began to block out this new area of the game. At first it was just going to be something a bit simple, something that involved elevation. We are working on a new mechanic in the game where the player can vault over small ledges and object, So this area is going to be more focused on that kind of game play.

 When adding elevation I try to keep thing grounded in reality. With this new vaulting code we can have the player scale walls and cliff sides. The cliff sides can't be too high else we will have the player jump twenty feet in the air to climb over a cliff. I need to make it that no area that is scalable is no higher then seven feet high. Since the player character is about 6ft tall. This doesn't mean that I can't have crates or other things for the player to climb first.

Day 1 - Building a path for the player to follow that would lead to a drop so the player can't back track.

6/22/2011

Day 2 - Trying to figure out scale is a bit tough. I want there to be plenty for the player to explore but I need to keep the action at good pace.

 I now had the layout for two of the new areas. The jungles/cliff and the waterfall area. As you can tell from the picture these new areas absolutely dwarf the first area of the game. I noticed this and realized that the new problem is that these new additions might be too big. I realized that I should transfer it into UDK as soon as possible in order to figure out what needs to be tweaked.

Day 2- I began to surround the edges of the map with some rocks. The green rocks are there to keep the player within the map. I also used these rocks to divide the player space in a few areas.

Day 2 - This is a top view of the entire jungle map. Here is a screenshot of the rocks beginning to circle around the map.

6/23/2011

Day 3 - At this moment the entire map has been blocked out. This map has 2 branching paths a large battle area and some cliffs the player can climb. At the right of the map is a large waterfall with a house wedged in between it. After that is another large cliff where the player is required to climb up.

Day 3- I imported the level into UDK and gave it a test run. I found out very quickly that some of the cliffs were too high for the player to climb and were not safe enough for the player to jump down. I had to go back and make the paths more apparent to the player. I can not have the player guess where they need to go it has to be as clear as possible.

Day 3 - I began to model out some simple trees that have very large roots. The idea here is that the player will be able to walk through the roots. Archways naturally draw the player to them. By adding archways on the players path it helps guide the player.

Day 3 - A screenshot of the first level and the jungle level.

Day 3 - Here we can see the 2nd path on the left in pink. That path leads up toward the blue open path which also has another branching path. The low road leads up toward the waterfall but it involves a lot more climbing then the high road.

Day 3 - The low path is in blue with the high road in pink. The low path is comprised of a bunch of slopes going downward whereas the high road goes up and over looks the low road.

6/24/2011

Day 4 - I begin to focus on concentrating on "Player Space". Here is a good example of an area on the map that had to much space going on. This area is too big and needs to be cut down so we can focus more on close quarters combat rather then wide open areas. When making a third person cover shooter we need the enemy engagements to be close, if the player can hide at the edge of the map and snipe all the enemies then the map is broken.

Day 4 - I cut the left side of the map which resulted in a more streamlined experience. While play testing the map I realized that it was kind of unnecessary of an area that detracted from the whole map and game play experience.

Day 4 - This is the waterfall section. I used the trees in green to guide where the player needs to go. The house is going to be set up with a small puzzle and will act as an arena area where the player will have to dispatch of a few enemies before they can advance.

Day 4 - This what the map looks like in its entirety. Still thinking about player space I decided that my focus should be about pulling things together to make a better experience. I need to factor in the time it is going to take to play  test and build the map with finalized assets.

6/29/2011

Day 5 - I had the guys on my team test out the level and a complaint I got early on was that there were too many drops. I decided that instead of multiple drops I should make a more fluid and easily recognizable path.

Day 5 - The path is more defined and now the player isn't constantly following down to get to the next area.

Day 5 - The problem with this area was that it was guiding the player in  the wrong direction. During play tests the player would ignore a whole section of the map because the entrance and exit are too close. To fix this I decided to flip things around a bit and made the paths leading to the entrance more clear.

Day 5 - By making the path more open toward the bottom it makes it easier for the player to find where they need to go. I added a simple vine mesh that will be used as an indicator that the player can climb. I used the tree on the top to create an arch to direct the player to head toward it to advance further on to the rest of the level.

Day 5 - This part here is where the jungle level ends. The player is supposed to climb up this area to advance to the next level and end this one.

Day 5 - I added the rocks around and different trees to define the player's path. During a play test I found that this area is a little too big, I have to keep in mind that we want the game to move at a brisk pace and if this area becomes too long the player will be taken out of the moment. Pacing is key when making an action oriented game. Too much action and the player will get bored, too little and the player will just stop playing the game.

Day 5 - The solution here was just to bring things closer together. The area remains fundamentally the same but we have the player wandering around a lot less.

Day 5 - This screenshot here shows the branching high road in pink. While play testing it I realized that the high road was a good idea but it wasn't adding anything unique to the overall player experience. The high road was just taking up a of space. As a team we decided to cut it from game so we can focus the player experience and make it more streamlined and keep the pacing up.

Day 5 - This is what the map looks like at the moment. It has been streamlined and refined over the last few days and this is very close to what will be imported into UDK.

6/30/2011

Day 6 - What I focused on this time around was the area connecting this level with the next level. I dubbed this area the "Swamp Path".

Day 6 - The idea of the swamp path is that it is not a combat area. The purpose of this area is to break up the pacing. The area right before this is meant to house a mini boss fight so here there are no enemies. The path consists of a bit of rocks and low vines. This area focuses on traversing the terrain. The last few areas were more combat based so I felt that a simple trek toward the next area would relax the player. The player would be more concerned about moving forward rather then watching their back.

Day 6 - This area I am working on is essentially a "Combat Bowl". A combat bowl allows the player to engage enemies from a couple different angles. This also allows enemies to come at the player from different angles.

 The design for this area would have different pieces of cover, high and low. Nothing to high or in the way. I want to keep the players line of sight open so they can always see where the enemies are coming from. If this area is too cover heavy the player will lose sight of the enemies and they will just overwhelm the player.

 The problem with this is area is that it is huge. A large area is great for a combat bowl but if it is too big then the player will lose sight of where they need to go.

Day 6 -  I ended up shrinking the area just a bit. This would allow for a more contained battle.

Once the player reaches this area they will be met with a mixture of machine gun enemies that will engage the player from mid range. In the background toward the cliffs there will be a sniper who will take potshots at the player when they are exposed from cover. The second type of enemy that will engage the player will be shotgun wielding enemies. What is great about the shotgun enemies is that they will rush the player forcing them out of cover. Even if the players are able to make some distance between the shotgun enemies and themselves they can toss grenades at them.

Day 6 - I went back to the mini boss section and I wanted to make an entrance way for the mini boss to enter from. The easy quick fix was to lower this giant cliff which is just kind of in the way.

Day 6 - I lowered the cliff down so that is towered over the player. The way this encounter works is when the player comes out the dilapidated house they are prompted to look toward their right. A off road truck drops off a small group of enemies. A four of them are equipped with AK-47s and the largest one wearing heavy Kevlar jumps out from the truck bed holding a large heavy machine gun. 

 This area is another combat bowl design. The player can remain out here in the open or retreat back to the house where the enemies will give chase. The idea here is that the player will have a few options. They can engage the enemies in the open, they can fall back into the house and they can even try to get to the second floor of the house and take out the enemies from there.

Day 6 - I stopped working on the block out. The next phase is to start putting things together, enemy placements, weapons and cover. Once that is done it will be play tested again and again until the flow feels right. The player test is an essential part of the level design process. From the feedback we get I will make the necessary changes. Once that is all done we can begin to add art assets.

- Danny Q
@Dannylv100