To hone my skills as a level designer and combat designer I created a comprehensive level in Prodeus, a Doom-like game with a robust public developer toolkit. I also wanted to hone my puzzle design / level design skills so I made a few levels in Portal 2’s level creator.

Prodeus Level - Demon Church

I made this map to explore player flow, combat arena design, overall gameplay pacing, what it takes to create a fun and engaging combat scenario, and more. I started from a real life reference point / idea to ground myself in then I create a block out which allows me to play with and create a dynamic level.

Below are iterations on a Demon Church level I made. It goes into my full iterative process from conception of the main building to adding small refinements to surrounding space.

Iteration 1

This first iteration of the space is primarily to find the flow in the main and most complicated part of the level, the demon church itself. I needed an understanding the scale of the church from the outside to therefore know the scale on the inside. Then, I needed to understand the flow of combat and progression through the church. For the inside of the church I wanted to focus on verticality. Starting with messy forward moving combat on the first floor, then progressing to shooting from window to window on the third, then navigating a precarious criss cross pattern to a door that would lead outside. Additionally knowing the player experience inside of the church will allow me to make a surrounding area that compliments the main part of the level in a more meaningful way.

Iteration 2

To continue with my work above, I needed to start adding monsters, script their behaviors, set up a stronger layout for the players to explore, design with player sight lines in mind, and playtest / tweak a lot. I added a lot more thoughtful clutter, moving away from random blocks in the middle of the room I created subtle curved pathways which would naturally lead players to certain areas throughout the church as the fought. My goal was to use as much of the space as I could so I specifically placed enemies in strategic locations to direct attention and properly pace this final area of the level. I scripted moments to allow for the player’s perception of the space to change, like making them turn around or forcing them to cross to the other side of the church. Verticality was very important for me and I tried to play with it by positioning enemies above and below the player. You can see this in the video of a full playthrough below.

Iteration 3

With the inside of the demon church created, I turned my attention to creating the space and rest of the level that leads up to the church. I decided on placing it in the center of a strange valley town which has been partially destroyed an overrun by demons. I used this walkway up to the church as a test of how to create the outside rock formations and overall feel of the space.

Iteration 4

I designed the outside of this level to teach the player more about how to approach snipers in the level before entering the church. I also guided the player from the start of the level, to travel up to the the church to learn that it was locked then travel around the level to find the key in one of the only standing buildings. I also created light environment art to convey the state of the surrounding overrun town. I also did a texture and lighting pass to give a possible environment art team a better understanding of how the level should be textured/lit.

After playtesting the level many times I found that I needed more enemies which could attack from a far, putting pressure on the player and allowing close range enemies to swarm and attack the player. I also needed to add more obvious cover for the player to stand behind on order to evade sniper shots. In addition I also found that I gave the player way too much health and armor, making the level too easy and the church section lose it’s balance.

Portal 2

I sat down and made 10 Portal 2 levels using their level editor. Each level was designed to explore a different mechanic and offer a satisfying puzzle with it. Below there are write ups and walk through videos for three of my levels. Further below also included a supercut of three other levels I created.

Laser Tutorial

This is my favorite level I designed. The level introduces the player to the intricacies of how lasers work. I split the level up into three sections, specifically to introduce specific complexities to the player in a paced way. I play with angled platforms and laser direction cubes to create not only interesting puzzles which expand how players think about lasers but also creates interesting visuals which accentuate the architecture of the space. The hardest part of designing this level was finding a balance between creating a tutorial but also creating complicated puzzles which challenged players.

Ups and Downs

This level is specific designed to play with vertical momentum and angled platforms being used as ways to maneuver upwards. The original design of this level relied around puzzles which would have players maintaining momentum and solving puzzles mid air. This proved too difficult with platforms angled at anything less than 90 degrees as the player would lose momentum between portals making the solutions too finicky. So instead, I went for a broken up and 90 degree movement design which achieved the same effect and fun. I intended this level to be an easier level for people that understand the momentum mechanic but want to be challenged slightly more.

Puzzle Box

This level is a deceptively simple puzzle and it was one of the first I designed in this series. The entire puzzle revolves around moving a box through a disintegration wall using only flow pillars. I designed the center point of interaction to be essentially stationary, allowing the player to focus entirely on where the box was and what they needed to do to move it to the other side. The end result is a level that is just purely around using your wits and logic. It’s not meant to be all that hard but more one that is satisfyingly difficult without being overly complicated. I removed the video since I am running out of video storage for my site, sorry!