Introducing the player to the world
In this installment of "Level Design 101" I will go over the first level of the game Freeze-E Frosty's. I worked on this project for 9 months back in 2010. I was the lead Level Design and I designed 3 levels and the boss battle.
I will be discussing each section of the fist level, going through my thought process and talking about the decisions I made and why.
I will be discussing each section of the fist level, going through my thought process and talking about the decisions I made and why.
Level Goals and Objectives
The Main Menu.
Level Type: Campaign Level Name : Welcome to Freeze-E Frosty's - Single Mission/Tutorial | Mission Location - World Famous Freeze-E Frosty's Ice Cream Factory - Interior Factory and work stations -Ice, Snow and mechanical factory equipment | Visual Themes - Stylized cartoon elements - Lots of blues and cold colors - Contrast between factory and snow/ice |
 | Mission Difficulty This level will act as an introduction to the game's world and gameplay mechanics. The first few minutes of the level will steadily give the player information on the world and as the player progresses it will also give the player their in game abilities and show the player how to use them. The overall difficulty of the level is very easy. By the end of this level the player should have a very firm understanding of how to play the game. |
Level Story Frosty is the newest employee to the world famous Freeze-E Frosty's Ice Cream Factory. On his first day on the job he must learn how to use his freeze gloves and dash boots while making it to his work station. Once he Arrives at his station, things go horribly wrong and the factory begins to meltdown. Frosty must then escape whilst utilizing some of the abilities he learned along the way. | Level Goals - Player is introduced to "The Boss" - Player learns how to use the "Freeze Gloves" ability - Player learns how to "Jump" -Player learns how to "Interact" with items/objects - Player is introduced to the T-Rex enemy - Player learns how to use the "Dash" ability - Factory explodes, causing the events of the game to unfold | Enemy Units - There are no enemy units present in this level - There are hazards in the level that may injure or kill the player |
Level 1 - Side view of first level
The entirety of the first level is very large. It took weeks of iteration before I settled on a design.
The first level of the game serves as the tutorial that will teach the player everything they will need to know about the game.
This is where were introduce a few of the game's characters, we do some foreshadowing and we establish the world and atmosphere of Freeze-E Frosty's. It was very important for us a team to quickly establish the world and get the player in the game as quickly as possible.
This is where were introduce a few of the game's characters, we do some foreshadowing and we establish the world and atmosphere of Freeze-E Frosty's. It was very important for us a team to quickly establish the world and get the player in the game as quickly as possible.
Level 1 - Factory Entrance
The game opens up with a brief cinematic. At the end of the cinematic the player enters the room. The cinematic introduces the player to the world of the Freeze-E Frosty's Ice Cream Factory. It has a bit of humor and is very light and colorful. We establish early on that this game is going to be a lighthearted 2D adventure.
Once Frosty (the player) enters the factory, he stands in front of a large sign in the background. That sign in the background is a billboard that tells the player how to walk left and right in the world (A key to to move left and the D key is to move right).
Once Frosty (the player) enters the factory, he stands in front of a large sign in the background. That sign in the background is a billboard that tells the player how to walk left and right in the world (A key to to move left and the D key is to move right).
 Frosty stands in the lobby before he enters the factory. | As the player begins to walk into the waiting room, a monitor drops from the ceiling. This is where we introduce the character simply known as "Frosty's boss" or just "The Boss". He is the character in charge of the factory and he will be giving the player their missions. I wanted to introduce the player to the story as soon as they enter the factory without having to have a long cinematic that will take the player from the experience. This also meant that a lot of the story elements can be seen in the background of the levels. |
As the player gets to the door they encounter the one of the many NPCs in the game, the receptionist. The door is locked but as soon as the player gets close it will be unlocked and they will enter the next area and begin their adventure.
Level 1 - Factory Walkway
As soon as the player enters the walkway there is a wooden crate obstructing their path. We have an encounter with another NPC, "The Foreman" who will instruct the player to click on the left mouse button to use their "Freeze Gloves" to freeze the empty wooden crate, shattering it and clearing their path. On the wall behind the player we also have a sign with the picture of an NPC using their freeze gloves as an arrow clicks down on the mouse button, to help guide the player.
Once the player freezes the box in front of them they are rewarded with an audio cue of "Good job kid, just like that!" from the foreman. To enforce the freezing mechanic with have another freezable wooden crate in front of the player being held by two NPCs. The player must freeze the crate they are carrying to continue moving forward.
The next obstacle that the player comes across is a forklift that is moving its forks up and down. At this part we have a sign on the wall informing the player to use "W" to jump. The player will then know how to jump, this means that they can now jump onto the forks of the fork lift. The forks on the fork lift only lift the player high enough to know that they can get onto the ceiling of the walkway. In order to continue forward they must once again use W to jump onto the walkway.
Once the player freezes the box in front of them they are rewarded with an audio cue of "Good job kid, just like that!" from the foreman. To enforce the freezing mechanic with have another freezable wooden crate in front of the player being held by two NPCs. The player must freeze the crate they are carrying to continue moving forward.
The next obstacle that the player comes across is a forklift that is moving its forks up and down. At this part we have a sign on the wall informing the player to use "W" to jump. The player will then know how to jump, this means that they can now jump onto the forks of the fork lift. The forks on the fork lift only lift the player high enough to know that they can get onto the ceiling of the walkway. In order to continue forward they must once again use W to jump onto the walkway.
Frosty freezes a wooden crate.
Once the player reaches the top of the walkway they can go left and interact with some NPC characters. If the player goes right they will run into a group of NPC characters who are trying to fix a malfunctioning crane holding a steel crate. The player is supposed to fire their freeze gloves at the crane which will cause the crane to drop the steel crate and move out of the way. Here we reaffirm the two things the player learned, 1) They can use their freeze gloves with the left mouse button 2) They can use "W" to jump over obstacles. The player also learns something new, they can not freeze a steel crate. Steel Crates are reinforced and will not freeze or shatter when you fire upon them with the Freeze Gloves.
Once the player gets down from the top of the bridge there will be two NPCs talking amongst themselves in the background. As the player progresses further they will see a fellow worker use their freeze gloves to extinguish an NPC who is on fire. If they player chooses to they can either freeze the worker to get through or simply jump over them, either way we further reaffirm the skills they just learned.
Once the player gets down from the top of the bridge there will be two NPCs talking amongst themselves in the background. As the player progresses further they will see a fellow worker use their freeze gloves to extinguish an NPC who is on fire. If they player chooses to they can either freeze the worker to get through or simply jump over them, either way we further reaffirm the skills they just learned.
Level 1 - Elevator and Drawbridge
The player will get off the walkway and proceed to move right toward an elevator. In this area thy will find a large glove hand that will point them toward the elevator. If the player continues to go right they will see an image of Frosty's Boss appear on a nearby monitor. He will then inform the player to get back to work (to get on the elevator and go up to the next level).
| If the player reaches the end of this area they will see a large ice cream sandwich drawbridge. This drawbridge leads directly into the heart of the factory. The player can not continue to the factory at this point and is taunted by a lone NPC worker. The player's only option now is to take the elevator up toward the second floor. The player can avoid all of this and just take the elevator to the second floor. It is at this elevator that we teach the player to use "E" to activate switches/buttons/levers/interact. |  Frosty's Boss tells him to get back to work. |
Level 1 - T-Rex Laboratory
Now that the player has reached the lab area they have two choices. They can go left to interact with a group of NPCs or head straight toward the lab.
If the player heads into the lab it will suddenly lose power and the frozen T-Rex will begin to awake from his icy slumber. After the power is restored the door on the right opens and the player can continue to the next area of the factory.
If the player heads into the lab it will suddenly lose power and the frozen T-Rex will begin to awake from his icy slumber. After the power is restored the door on the right opens and the player can continue to the next area of the factory.
Frosty walks by the Frozen T-Rex as workers man their stations.
It is important to note that at this part of the game we did not want to stop the player from moving because we believed that if the event in the background is interesting enough then the player will naturally slow down and stop to watch rather then forcing them to sit still. Forcing the player to stop even for a few seconds can separate them from the game world.
After the factory meltdown there is an event with the T-Rex. He breaks free from his frozen slumber, eats an NPC and storms off into the bowels of the factory. His escape and rampage are foreshadowed by the loss of power in the earlier sequence.
After Meltdown: The elevator button has an event tied to it, at the moment the elevator will not go anywhere until the factory begins to meltdown. Once the factory has gone into meltdown mode the elevator will take the player to the second level and level 1 is completed.
After the factory meltdown there is an event with the T-Rex. He breaks free from his frozen slumber, eats an NPC and storms off into the bowels of the factory. His escape and rampage are foreshadowed by the loss of power in the earlier sequence.
After Meltdown: The elevator button has an event tied to it, at the moment the elevator will not go anywhere until the factory begins to meltdown. Once the factory has gone into meltdown mode the elevator will take the player to the second level and level 1 is completed.
Level 1 - Dash Tutorial and The Malfunctioning Bridge
This are is where we introduce the player to their new item, "Dash Boots". Once activated the player is told to use the "S" key to activate and use their dash ability. Ahead of the player are high pressure water jets shooting out from a few broken pipes. If the player attempts to use his gloves the water will become ice and form a temporary barrier. If the player attempts to just simply run past the water, the pressure will knock them back. The only way to get passed the water is to use the Dash Boots. The player needs to get through two more wall of waters before they can continue on. This is done to help reaffirm the dash mechanic.
Frosty Freezes the water coming out of the pipes before he learns he can simply just "Dash" through them.
The player eventually runs into a malfunctioning bridge. Here they have two options, 1)They can either dash across with proper timing, 2)jump over it using the W key. Once they reach the other side they will reach the first checkpoint in the game.
After Meltdown: The player back tracks through this area heading back toward the elevator. The first dangerous thing they encounter is the malfunctioning bridge, which has now collapsed, revealing a large pit of spikes. The player can once again dash over the gap or with some skill, clear it with a well timed jump.
We introduce the pit of spikes here so we can teach the player the consequences of death. If they player were to fall into the pit they would die, but be respawned nearby via a checkpoint.
After the player clears the gap they will then have to dodge some falling rocks. The rocks do moderate damage to the player and can easily be avoiding by a well timed dash. Once again, this is here to teach the player that they will face dangers in the environment.
After Meltdown: The player back tracks through this area heading back toward the elevator. The first dangerous thing they encounter is the malfunctioning bridge, which has now collapsed, revealing a large pit of spikes. The player can once again dash over the gap or with some skill, clear it with a well timed jump.
We introduce the pit of spikes here so we can teach the player the consequences of death. If they player were to fall into the pit they would die, but be respawned nearby via a checkpoint.
After the player clears the gap they will then have to dodge some falling rocks. The rocks do moderate damage to the player and can easily be avoiding by a well timed dash. Once again, this is here to teach the player that they will face dangers in the environment.
Level 1 - The Workstation and Meltdown
Once the player reaches their workstation they are prompted by "The Boss" to activate the workstation. They will use the "E" key to activate a series of switches that will then in turn activate a machines in the background. Once all the machines have been activated this will trigger an event where the machines malfunction and the factory begins to meltdown. At this point the player is prompted by their boss to head toward the elevator outside the T-Rex lab so the player can escape the dangerous factory floor.
- Danny Q
@Dannylv100
@Dannylv100
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