Harbor MP Level
Level Designer
INFO
Genre: Multiplayer action shooter
Role: Level Designer
Duration: 4 days
Engine Used: Unreal Engine 5
Platforms: PC
Tools Used: Photoshop
Other assets: TPS Multiplayer Pack, Blocking Starter Pack, and Prototype Grid Material from the unreal marketplace
OVERVIEW
This level was done as a test assignment for a company and I had to design a multiplayer level set in a harbor. The game mode is FREE FOR ALL with max 8 players on the map where they can also find weapons and shields.
PRODUCTION PROCESS
Rough paper sketch
Before starting to work inside the engine I gathered some references for various areas of harbors and started to sketch a 2D layout in Photoshop figuring out where I wanted the spawn points and how big the level will be. In this case, the final level is completely different from the initial layout.
Metrics
After having an idea about the general level I opened the engine and made a gym map with all the pieces I need that suits the mechanics of the game and the space that I'm trying to build.
Basic Blockout
When the metrics are ready I start with a basic blockout and geo of the level using simple shapes to define key elements that I want. In this case, boundaries, areas placement and general flow of the map
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
Lines of sight
When creating a multiplayer level it's always important to take into consideration line of sight from each point of view.
Spaces too big and empty are boring and don't offer players the gameplay opportunity that might occur once the space is occluded and has multiple paths of choices.
Landmarks and Areas
To make players navigate better the space I divided the level into areas and with visible landmarks, they can also recognize easily in which spot weapons are.
In this case the areas are:
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Warehouses on both sides of the map
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Containers lane in the middle
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Crates lane
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The parking lot for trucks
Spawn Points
While considering the spawn points I placed in a way that players are not surrounded by others. Putting spawn points on the sides and a distance from each other is something that worked the best in this case.
Near each of the spawn points I placed a weapon so players are ready to fight.
