Caves
Description:
During my first internship, I had the privilege of working on a series of caves for Dune: Awakening. I worked on 12 designs total, and more than 2 of those made it into the shipped game. I worked closely with my mentor to learn the fundamentals of level design for this project and apply those skills directly, while also incorporating what I had learned from my school studies.
Gameplay: Combat, Looting, Exploration
Altar Room Cave
Poison Hazard Cave
The Process
These caves were integral to me gaining an understanding of natural spaces and how they fit into a structured game loop. They also were my first adventure into learning Funcom’s encounter tools and AI setup, along with all other LD ingredients.
For one of the caves I created, I had the idea to focus on the poison hazard as a threat to the player while also providing combat with NPCs. I separated the NPC threat from the poison hazard by creating a vertically layered space with NPCs existing atop the rocky bridges while the hazards were placed below.
I also placed loot inside of hazard zones on the floor level to reward the player for going out of their way into a dangerous area. I focused on making these hazards more visually readable using lighting and adjustment of VFX. I made sure to create highlighted paths that would lead the player out of the hazard area to mitigate frustration if they player couldn’t find a way out.
The most important aspect I needed to figure out about these caves was how I would weave all gameplay aspects into the spaces. I used top down maps and drawings to understand metrics, scale, and layout flow. I then would go into the engine and block out the layout, changing things as I iterated and heard feedback from my team.
I got the chance to test out different cover placements, loot locations, and hazards to experiment and find the fun of the level. I found that embracing spaces that allowed mobility while also providing pockets of loot and/or cover provided a balanced gameplay experience.
Overall, working on these caves was an amazing experience, especially as a first assignment! It taught me so much about the LD process for a smaller space that exists in a larger open-world. It was my first introduction into cross-departmental work on a level, which enlightened me to how important iteration is. It also helped me better understand how modular pieces can be used in an organic space in order to speed up iteration time and keep metrics intact. I enjoyed being hands-on with the levels and creating visual narratives that fit the theming of the space, while also facilitating fun combat scenarios that stuck out from the rest of the game.