Role:
Lead Level Designer, Programmer
Tools:
Unreal, Unreal Landscape Brush, Blueprints, Tortoise SVN
Project Timeline:
January 2021 – May 2021
My Process:
When it comes to Level Design, the best approach for me is to get kinesthetic. I like to hop in and see what works, or get straight to paper and start drawing. I find it better to go through trial and error and walk myself through the player’s experience. This is why I like to code as well. I’m very hands-on.
Level Design Goals
The original concept sketches between my team and I were the references for the levels. We tried our best to follow the layouts bush for bush and rock for rock. However, moving these concepts off paper don’t always prove successful or effective. It was interesting to face the challenges of changing things as time goes on to accommodate playtester feedback, time, and realistic application of the things we originally sought after. It was big learning curve for me, but I found enjoyment in critique. The goal was to make the player feel trapped inside a space that feels much bigger than it looks. I think the level design team did a great job of putting the player in the shoes of Fae.
Programming Goals
It was my first time using Unreal Visual Scripting System, Blueprints, and the concept of object-oriented programming. “Playtest, playtest, playtest.” was my motto for the majority of project. From a design standpoint, there were very specific feelings that the team wanted to convey in Fae’s mechanics. Fae’s jump mechanic was often referenced as a Yoshi jump. Creating that involved a lot of research, tweaking settings, and constant feedback till the team settled on something that felt like what they were going for. I learned the great harmony that needs to exist between designers and programmers.
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