Unreal Third Person Level
This assignment was the only assessment for my “Game Level Design” module. The task was to create a Sci-Fi themed third person platformer level with four minutes of gameplay. I had to base the level around a theme of a ship in space that is falling apart and as the player, you have four minutes to escape.
Gameplay Features
The level that I built featured several different rooms in which the player would be required to find out how to get through to the next one. This had to be done through the use of different abilities found throughout the map. The player could use these abilities in order to make their way through the level. The logic for the level was controlled through the different Unreal features with the use of their BluePrints visual scripting language. Before making any of the level, I made lots of drawings on paper in order to plan out how the level would play and what would be found in the different rooms of the level. You can find more details on this, over on the blog section of the website.
Abilities
Throughout the game, the player needed to obtain upgrades to their character that would help them to surpass certain obstacles. These included a double jump ability for being able to better reach far away gaps, a melee weapon that could be used to smash small boxes, and a gravity gun like weapon that allows the player to pick up and drop objects in the distance. The abilities can be found around the different rooms of the map and are obtained through the use of pickups. Once an item is picked up, it is added to the inventory for the player.
Summary
This level was one of the biggest projects I have worked on in the first term of the second year, with lots of planning required to make it enjoyable and playable to the extent of the assignment brief. It was also one of my personal favourite modules to work on as I find the planning and making of different level assets to be a really fun and interesting process. Please find below a video showcasing the end product of this piece of work.
