Role:
Level Designer, Programmer
Tools:
Unity, Odin Inspector, Probuilder, Bézier Path Creator, GitHub
Project Timeline:
April 2021 – Present
My Process:
A hands-on experience with level design is always my approach. This project in particular needed a very organic feel to its environment due to it taking place in nature. There were many times where I had to reference photos off the internet or go out in nature to observe the accurate orientation of certain plants. Through this process, I understood that Level Design is very versatile in how it utilizes Art and Programming to create gameplay.
Level Design Goals
There were many challenges with designing levels for Zombie Ants VR. I had never done natural and living accurate compositions or spaces. I even had a hand in creating a temporary asset in Maya to stand-in place for the entirety of the nest level. I also learned a great deal of basic design principles and guidelines. Game design documents, top down markups, and rough draft sketches are paramount to saving the team time in not having to redo levels in the future. The balance of lighting, scale, pace and feel were all new aspects I had to consider. I’m very excited to be working to optimize the player experience through level streaming as well . Creating a believable area that immerses the player into the world of an ant is the goal I’m working towards.
Programming Goals
I worked exclusively on the NPC ants that are found abundant in the levels. I was in charge of programming the ant AI, their different states, adding the animations, integrating the code into an editor script for visibility in the Inspector, and placement and application of said attributes in the levels.
Jaelene's Portfolio 