Survival Horror Level
Level Designer
INFO
Genre: Horror Survival
Role: Level Designer/Scripter
Duration: 1 week
Engine Used: Unreal Engine 4
Platforms: PC
Tools Used: Photoshop
Other assets: Mixamo, Horror Engine, Blocking Starter Pack, and Prototype Grid Material from the unreal marketplace
SUMMARY
This Level was done as a test assignment for a company.
Players wake up in a dimly lit room with no memory of how they got there. As they navigate through the building, they begin to uncover the dark secrets of the place and discover that the building was once a research facility that experimented on humans and created monstrous creatures that are now roaming the halls. The story ends with them successfully finding the exit. Players must survive the creatures and overcome the obstacles to finally escape the facility and survive.
GATHERING REFERENCES
I usually start gathering a lot of references before jumping into the engine. In this case, I searched for a research facility that is used to work on legal drugs but also used to do research on humans as in the narrative I wrote previously. I focused on searching for common rooms and labs and tried to stick to reality as much as possible.
DESIGN WALKTHROUGH
The overall level is divided into 2 floors:
1st Floor
1. This is where the players start. The room is locked and they must find a way out of it. Here they also find a note and start the first interactions with the objects. It’s designed to be a safe space where players learn controls.
2. After exiting the room is presented immediately the Lobby which is the final goal. The floor is
completely open for the player to explore. Labs and meeting rooms are accessible where they can also find other interactive objects such as cabinets and drawers which they can loot from. While exploring they find out that the next goal is to unlock the Restricted Area (4.) of the building so they can find the keypad leading to open the Lobby section.
3. After searching and looting they find the key in the private office room inside a drawer.
4. On the right of the Restricted Area door I designed a space meant for environmental storytelling where the players can guess what happened already and give more immersion to the dramatic atmosphere.
After they unlock the door they go Upstairs to the second floor of the level.
2nd Floor
5. After going to the second floor, players are presented with a dramatic scene of rooms filled with horrible creatures, a sort of disgusting human mutants. While exploring the first part of the room players find a note that prompts them to explore and find a gun to kill them. The room, to the right of the players, is locked from the other side.
6. Players find that also this room is locked but need a key located in one of those two rooms guarded by the creatures. Players can choose what room to start exploring first.
7. Here players find and take a gun after sneaking through the room undetected. The gun location is presented with another bit of environmental storytelling. If they go explore first the Cryogenic room they will find the gun to shoot the creature inside the Prison/Cages room.
8. In the Prison room players find the key to enter the Dissection rooms while fighting/sneaking through the creature guarding it.
9. After opening the door players are immediately facing a creature looking to the opposite side, choosing if they want to kill him or spare ammunition and sneak around to explore for the keypad. Finally, they find the Keycard for the Lobby section on the first floor inside a cabinet.
A. (1st Floor) Players reach the first floor and the only way back to the Lobby door near the initial room is blocked by one of those creatures. Here they can kill him or sneak the way around it.
B. Killing the final creature leads the players to the Lobby door where they will use the Keycard achieved and the level ends.